Blountstown, Florida

Blountstown, Florida
City
Downtown Blountstown
Motto(s): "The Kingdom Of Opportunity"
Location in Calhoun County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 30°26′35″N 85°2′43″W / 30.44306°N 85.04528°W / 30.44306; -85.04528Coordinates: 30°26′35″N 85°2′43″W / 30.44306°N 85.04528°W / 30.44306; -85.04528
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Calhoun
Government
• Mayor	Tony Shoemake
Area[1]
• Total	3.20 sq mi (8.28 km2)
• Land	3.19 sq mi (8.26 km2)
• Water	0.01 sq mi (0.03 km2)
Elevation	62 ft (19 m)
Population (2010)
• Total	2,514
• Estimate (2017)[2]	2,454
• Density	769.76/sq mi (297.20/km2)
Time zone	UTC-6 (Central (CST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC-5 (CDT)
ZIP code	32424
Area code(s)	850
FIPS code	12-06925[3]
GNIS feature ID	0279006[4]
Website	http://www.blountstown.org

Modern Calhoun County Courthouse

Blountstown is a city in Calhoun County, Florida, United States. The population was 2,514 at the 2010 census, which represented an increase from 2,444 in 2000. It is the county seat of Calhoun County.^[5]

Name

Blountstown is named for John Blount, a Creek Indian Chief who served as a guide for General Andrew Jackson during his invasion of Spanish Florida in 1818. This invasion caused the United States to purchase Florida from Spain and the territory became a part of the U.S. in 1821.^[6]

History

The City of Blountstown was named for John Blount, a Seminole Indian Chief. Blount was a guide for General Andrew Jackson who invaded Spanish Florida in 1818. This invasion caused the United States to purchase Florida from Spain and the territory became a part of the U.S. in 1821.

John Blount was rewarded for his services to General Jackson with a trip to Washington, D.C. to visit the President. In 1823, he was granted a reservation along the west side of the Apalachicola River, four miles by two miles square. Blount and his tribe traded with the American and English trading companies while living on his reservation. Several trading posts were located on the "Big River" and the Gulf of Mexico.

Chief Blount had several hundred head of cattle, which grazed in the area. The earlier settlers near the reservation were allowed to slaughter the cattle with Blount being paid in the cattle hides. The hides were placed in canoes and carried down stream to Apalachicola and exchanged for supplies for the Indian people.

There were many products sold by the Indian for such items as cloth, shoes, knives, coffee, and guns. An unusual product was bees' honey and wax. Thousands of trees grew near the Blount lands, which had beehives in their hollows. The warriors would go to the trees at night and secure the honey and wax that was traded to the merchants. The wild bear liked honey and would climb the trees and rob the bees of their honey. The Indian could usually discover a honey or bee tree when a bear lost his hold on the tree and fell to his death at the foot of the tree.

The U.S. government eventually purchased Blount's reservation and transported the tribe to Texas. The cotton planter then settled the rich river bottomland and planted cotton, which furnished the clothing mills in England. The cotton planter used the steamboats to travel to Columbus, Georgia and sometimes to foreign countries. He bought many fine articles for his household which included ice transported from the Great Lakes. The cotton economy declined after the Civil War and large forests furnished trees, which were floated down the Apalachicola River on rafts and manufactured into lumber.

In 1880, Blountstown became the County seat of Calhoun County and a courthouse was built near the river. In 1903, another courthouse was constructed in "new" Blountstown. This courthouse was used until 1973 when the new courthouse was constructed. However, the old courthouse has been restored and is listed as a historic Florida landmark.

Fascinating residents of Blountstown have included the late Fuller Warren, former Governor of Florida, as well as Everett Yon, a native of Blountstown who was honored at the University of Florida with the creation of Yon Hall.^[7]

Today, the city is primarily known as the home of the Calhoun Correctional Institution.

Geography

Blountstown is located at 30°26′35″N 85°02′43″W / 30.442957°N 85.045402°W / 30.442957; -85.045402.^[8]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²), of which 3.2 square miles (8.3 km²) is land and 0.31% is water.

Demographics

As of the census^[3] of 2000, there were 2,444 people, 913 households, and 595 families residing in the city. The population density was 767.2 people per square mile (295.8/km²). There were 1,046 housing units at an average density of 328.4 per square mile (126.6/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 65.18% White, 31.79% African American, 1.27% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population.

There were 913 households out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couples living together, 21.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the city, the population was spread out with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,271, and the median income for a family was $30,880. Males had a median income of $23,313 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,498. About 18.5% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Blountstown has three schools: Blountstown Elementary School,^[10] servicing Kindergarten-Fifth; Blountstown Middle School for Sixth-Eighth;^[11] and Blountstown High School for Ninth-Twelfth.^[12]

Notable people

• Patricia Dane - Hollywood actress of 1940s and early 1950s; starred in films Grand Central Murder, Johnny Eager and Life Begins for Andy Hardy; wife of bandleader Tommy Dorsey; died in Blountstown in 1995
• Carey Loftin - Hollywood stuntman and actor, born in Blountstown
• Fuller Warren - 30th governor of Florida
• Socialburn - band
• Ralph Yoder - Two-term elected school superintendent
• Corn Griffin - heavyweight boxer born in Blountstown, whose memorable 1934 TKO loss to James J. Braddock was recreated for the 2005 film Cinderella Man

Images

• 
  Sign for Blountstown
• 
  Old Calhoun County Courthouse

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Blountstown, Florida.

• The County Record newspaper that serves Blountstown, Florida is available in full-text with images in Florida Digital Newspaper Library