Columbia County is a county located in the north central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 69,698, up from 67,531 at the 2010 census. Its county seat is Lake City. Columbia County comprises the Lake City, FL Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Gainesville-Lake City, FL Combined Statistical Area. Osceola National Forest is partially in Columbia County.

History After Florida became a territory of the United States in 1821, pioneer and immigrant settlers from the United States formed their own settlement adjacent to a Seminole village called Alligator Village, and called it Alligator. Following the 1823 Treaty of Moultrie Creek, the residents of Alligator village relocated to the banks of Peace Creek in the newly established Seminole reservation, leaving Alligator Town on its own.

When Columbia County was formed in 1832 from Duval and Alachua counties, Alligator Town was designated as the seat of the county government. It was renamed as Columbia, the poetic form for the United States. The county was developed for agriculture and the timber industry, with products such as turpentine, lumber, and plywood. From 1832 to 1839, the county seat was Newnansville, but that town and area were returned to Alachua County.

In November 1858 a railroad was completed connecting Jacksonville to Alligator, which opened the town to more commerce and passenger traffic. Alligator Town was incorporated and its name changed to Lake City in 1859; M. Whit Smith was elected as the town's first mayor."Lake City Florida. Celebrating 150 Years. A Guide to the Sesquicentennial Celebration." Lake City, FL, 2009, pg. 21. According to an urban legend, the name was changed because the mayor's wife Martha Jane, who had recently moved to the town, refused to hang her lace curtains in a town named Alligator.

During the American Civil War, the railroad between Lake City and Jacksonville was used to send beef and salt to Confederate soldiers. In February 1864 Union troops under Truman Seymour advanced west from Jacksonville. His objective was to disrupt Confederate supplies, and obtain African-American recruits and supplies. Confederate General Joseph Finnegan assembled troops and called for reinforcements from P. G. T. Beauregard in response to the Union threat. On February 11, 1864, Finnegan's troops defeated a Union cavalry raid in Lake City. After the Union cavalry was repulsed, Finnegan moved his forces to Olustee Station about ten miles east of Lake City (in Baker County). The Confederate presence at Olustee Station was reinforced to prepare for the Union troops coming from Jacksonville.

Union forces engaged the Confederates at the Battle of Olustee on February 20, 1864, near the Olustee Station. It was the only major battle in Florida during the war. Union casualties were 1,861 men killed, wounded or missing; Confederate casualties were 946 killed, wounded or missing. The Confederate dead were buried in Lake City. In 1928 a memorial for the Battle of Olustee was established in downtown Lake City.

Lake City's first newspaper was published in 1874, called the Lake City Reporter. Charles H. Thompson, an African American minister, represented Columbia County in the Florida House of Representatives and served as a county commissioner in 1874 and 1875.Florida's Black Public Officials by Canter Brown Jr. page 131 In 1876 the Bigelow Building was completed; it later was adapted for use as the City Hall. The first fire department was established in 1883 to complement the police department. In 1891 Lake City became the first city in Florida to have electric lights from a local power and light company.

White violence rose against blacks in the late 19th century in a regionwide effort to establish and maintain white supremacy as Southern states disenfranchised most blacks and imposed Jim Crow. Whites lynched 20 African Americans in Columbia County from 1877 to 1950, mostly in the decades near the turn of the 20th century. It was tied with Polk County for the second-highest total of lynchings of any county in the state.Lynching in America/ Supplement: Lynchings by County, 3rd Edition, 2017, p. 3

Among these murders was the mass lynching on May 21, 1911, of six black men who were taken from the jail by a white mob in Lake City. They were being held on charges of murdering one white sawmill worker and wounding another in Leon County, after whites had attacked them at a private house following an earlier altercation between two men. A group of a dozen white men, reportedly from Tallahassee, tricked the white youth guarding the jail by posing as officials and gained release of the suspects. They took the men outside town and shot them repeatedly to death."Mob Fury Upon Six Negroes", The Tennessean (Nashville, Tennessee), May 22, 1911; accessed March 20, 2018Bill Bond, "[NAACP] Report On Lynchings Details Hideous Chapter In History" , Orlando Sentinel, January 25, 1987; accessed March 20, 2018

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.5%) is water. Osceola National Forest is partially within the county.

Columbia County is coterminous with the Lake City, Florida Micropolitan Statistical Area (μSA). The μSA was first defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget in 2003. It was added to the Gainesville-Lake City, Florida Combined Statistical Area in 2020.

Adjacent counties

Echols County, Georgia - north Clinch County, Georgia - northeast Baker County - east Union County - southeast Alachua County - south Gilchrist County - southwest Suwannee County - west Hamilton County - northwest

National protected area Osceola National Forest (part)

Demographics

Racial and ethnic composition +Columbia County, Florida – Racial and ethnic compositionRace / Ethnicity (NH = Non-Hispanic)Pop 1980Pop 1990Pop 2000Pop 2010 Pop 2020% 1980% 1990% 2000% 2010% 2020White alone (NH)28,06233,97844,05850,47549,09679.27%79.74%77.96%74.74%70.44%Black or African American alone (NH)6,7627,6449,52211,66311,44119.10%17.94%16.85%17.27%16.42%Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)461002683162360.13%0.23%0.47%0.47%0.34%Asian alone (NH)1362603726118670.38%0.61%0.66%0.90%1.24%Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)x included in the Asian category in the 1980 Censusx included in the Asian category in the 1990 Census203627xx0.04%0.05%0.04%Other race alone (NH)261236942950.07%0.03%0.06%0.14%0.42%Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)x not an option in the 1980 Censusx not an option in the 1990 Census6911,0602,673xx1.22%1.57%3.84%Hispanic or Latino (any race)3676191,5463,2765,0631.04%1.45%2.74%4.85%7.26%Total35,39942,61356,51367,53169,698 100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%100.00%

2020 census

As of the 2020 census, there were 69,698 people, 26,424 households, and 15,740 families residing in the county. The median age was 42.9 years; 21.4% of residents were under the age of 18 and 20.6% were 65 years of age or older.

For every 100 females there were 104.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 104.9 males age 18 and over.

The racial makeup of the county was 72.8% White, 16.6% Black or African American, 0.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 1.3% Asian, 0.1% Native Hawaiian and Pacific Islander, 2.2% from some other race, and 6.7% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino residents of any race comprised 7.3% of the population.

36.3% of residents lived in urban areas, while 63.7% lived in rural areas.

Of the 26,424 households, 29.3% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 44.7% were married-couple households, 19.6% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 28.1% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 27.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.

There were 29,775 housing units, of which 11.3% were vacant. Among occupied housing units, 71.5% were owner-occupied and 28.5% were renter-occupied. The homeowner vacancy rate was 1.8% and the rental vacancy rate was 8.1%.

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 56,513 people, 20,925 households, and 14,919 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 23,579 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 79.72% White, 17.03% Black or African American, 0.53% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 0.60% from other races, and 1.42% from two or more races. 2.74% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 20,925 households, out of which 32.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% were married couples living together, 12.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.70% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 3.02.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.40% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 27.70% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 102.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 101.70 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $30,881, and the median income for a family was $35,927. Males had a median income of $27,353 versus $21,738 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,598. About 11.40% of families and 15.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.10% of those under age 18 and 13.60% of those age 65 or over. Politics Voter registration According to the Secretary of State's office, Republicans are the majority of registered voters in Columbia County. Columbia County Voter Registration & Party Enrollment as of September 30, 2022myflorida.com} Political Party Total Voters Percentage Republican 22,477 52.05% Democratic 12,176 28.20% Independent 7,921 18.34% Third Parties 608 1.41% Total 43,182 100%

Statewide elections

Education

The Columbia County School District, the only school district in the county, - Text list operates its public schools.

Library The Columbia County Public Library consists of 3 branches. Main Branch West Branch Fort White Branch

Transportation

Airports Columbia County's main airport is Lake City Municipal Airport. Private airstrips also exist throughout the county.

Major roads

(Interstate 10) is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Columbia County. It contains three interchanges within the county; the first being I-75 in Springville (Exits 296 A-B), and the other two in Five Points, north of Lake City, US 41 (Exit 301), and US 441(Exit 303). Beyond this point I-10 runs through Osceola National Forest. (Interstate 75) is the southeast-to-northwest interstate highway in the county, which enters from Alachua County at bridges over the Santa Fe River. It has four interchanges in the county with US 41/441 in Ellisville (Exit 414), SR 47 (Exit 423), US 90 in Lake City (Exit 427) and I-10 in Springville (Exits 435 A-B). is another southeast-to-northwest road in southwestern Columbia County, that enters from a bridge over the Santa Fe River, runs through Fort White, and leaves at another bridge over the Ichetucknee River at Ichetucknee Springs State Park. runs north from High Springs in a concurrency with US 441 until just before it reaches Lake City, Then the two routes run parallel to each other until US 41 branches off to the northwest on its way to Hamilton County, Valdosta, Georgia, and points north.