Jefferson County, Florida

**Jefferson County** is a county in the U.S. state of Florida.  As of 2020, the population is 14,510.  Its county seat is Monticello, Florida.

Jefferson County is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area.

## History
Jefferson County was created in 1827.  It was named for Thomas Jefferson, third President of the United States of America, who served from 1801 to 1809.  Monticello is a racially diverse town (see *People*).

### Forts of Jefferson County
Jefferson County has many old forts that were used by early settlers and the military.

*Fort Roger Jones (1839), Aucilla (Ocilla Ferry), north of US 90.
*Fort Noel (1839 - 1842), south of Lamont on the Aucilla River, six miles (10&nbsp;km) northwest of Fort Pleasant in Taylor County. Also known as Fort Number Three (M).
*Camp Carter (1838), near Waukeenah.
*Fort Welaunee (1838), a settlers' fort on the Welaunee Plantation near Wacissa. Fort Gamble (1839 - 1843) was later established here.
*Fort Aucilla (1843), two miles (3&nbsp;km) south-east of Fort Gamble, southwest of Lamont, between the Aucilla and Wacissa Rivers. Also spelled Ocilla.
*Fort Wacissa (1838), a settlers' fort located south of Wacissa on the Wacissa River, west of Cabbage Grove.

## Land
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which  is land and  (6.0%) is water.

Jefferson County is the only county in Florida which borders both the state of Georgia and the Gulf of Mexico.

### Counties nearby
*Thomas County, Georgia - north
*Brooks County, Georgia - northeast
*Madison County, Florida - east
*Taylor County, Florida - southeast
*Wakulla County, Florida - southwest
*Leon County, Florida - west

### National protected area
* St. Marks National Wildlife Refuge (part)

### Waterbodies
*Aucilla River
*Lake Miccosukee
*Wacissa River

## People
At the 2020 census, 14,510 people lived in the county. There were 5,816 households and 1,013 people who did not live in households. The population density was 24.3 people per square mile (9.4/km²). The median age was 49.8 years (47.6 for males, 52.0 for females).

Of the total population, 16.9% were under 18 years old, 58.3% were 18 to 64, and 24.7% were 65 or over. Males made up 51.6% and females made up 48.4% of the people. The population was 60.1% White (non-Latino), 31.7% Black (non-Latino), 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, and 2.8% *Two or more races* (non-Latino). Less than 1% of the people were from other races.

Of the 5,816 households, 3,762 (64.7%) were families, 1,370 (23.6%) had children under 18, 2,686 (46.2%) had a married couple, and 1,754 (30.2%) had one person living alone. The average household size was 2.3 people. There were 6,690 housing units, and 86.9% had people living in them all year. Of these households, 77.2% were owner-occupied, while 22.8% were renters.

As of 2022, the median (middle) yearly income for a household was about $51,573, and the median income for a family was about $69,690. The per capita income was about $29,189. About 12.4% of families and 18.3% of all people in Jefferson County lived below the poverty line. This includes 31.0% of children under 18 years old and 12.5% of people over 65 years old.

## Government and politics
Jefferson County was one of only a handful of counties in the Florida Panhandle that politically favored the Democratic Party. However, Republican Donald Trump won the county in 2016 and 2020.

## Schools
The Jefferson County School District operates one public K-12 school, south of Monticello.

The number of students decreased in the 2000s, so a separate middle school shut down in 2005. The district declared a *financial emergency* because of budget deficits. On April 23, 2009, the Florida Department of Education took over financial oversight of the district. The schools were also doing poorly by educational measures. In 2015, the state of Florida took control of the district. They moved the elementary school to the middle and high school campus, and changed them into a charter school. Jefferson County was the first school district in Florida that was run entirely as charter schools. In 2022, the county took control of the school again. 

There is one private school, Aucilla Christian Academy.

## Cities and towns
### Incorporated
* City of Monticello

### Unincorporated
* Alma
* Ashville
* Aucilla
* Capps
* Casa Blanco
* Cody
* Dills
* Drifton
* Fanlew
* Festus
* Fincher
* Jarrott
* Lamont
* Limestone
* Lloyd
* Lois
* Montivilla
* Nash
* Thomas City
* Wacissa
* Waukeenah

## References
## Other websites
### Government websites
* Jefferson County Home Page 
* Jefferson County Economic Development Council
* Jefferson County Tourist Development Council
* Chamber of Commerce 

### Constitutional Offices
* Jefferson County Board of County Commissioners
* Jefferson County Supervisor of Elections
* Jefferson County Property Appraiser
* Jefferson County Sheriff's Office 
* Jefferson County Tax Collector

### Jefferson County Schools
*Public School System
** Jefferson County School District
*Private School System
** Aucilla Christian Academy

### Judicial Branch
* Jefferson County Clerk of Courts 
* Public Defender, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida  serving  Franklin, Gadsden, Jefferson, Leon, Liberty, and Wakulla counties
* Office of the State Attorney, 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida
* Circuit and County Court for the 2nd Judicial Circuit of Florida

### Special Districts
* Suwannee River Water Management District
* Northwest Florida Water Management District