Levy County is a county located in the state
of Florida
. As
of 2000, the population was 34,450. The
U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for
the county is 37,998.
Its county seat is
Bronson,
Florida
. Levy is pronounced
lee vee.
History
Levy County was created in 1845. It was named for
David Levy, the first member of
the
United States Senate to
have been, at one time, a practicing
Jew. Levy
was also one of Florida's first two U.S. Senators and served from
1845 to 1851 and again from 1855 to 1861.
Levy also constructed
the first railroad in Florida linking the ports of Cedar
Key
in on the Gulf of Mexico
to Fernandina
on the Atlantic Ocean
.
In the
first week of January 1923 it was the scene of the Rosewood
massacre
.
Geography
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total
area of 1,412
square miles
(3,658
km²), of which,
1,118 square miles (2,897 km²) of it is land and
294 square miles (761 km²) of it (20.81%) is water.
Adjacent counties
National protected areas
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 34,450
people, 13,867 households, and 9,679 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 31 people per square mile (12/km²). There were 16,570 housing
units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The
racial makeup of the county was 85.88%
White, 10.97%
Black or
African American, 0.47%
Native American, 0.37%
Asian, 0.03%
Pacific Islander, 0.96% from
other races, and 1.32%
from two or more races. 3.89% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 13,867 households out of which 27.40% had children under
the age of 18 living with them, 53.40% were
married couples living together, 11.80% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were
non-families. 24.90% of all households were made up of individuals
and 11.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family
size was 2.88.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.60% under the
age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 25.00% from 25 to 44, 26.60% from
45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 94.00 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $26,959, and
the median income for a family was $30,899. Males had a median
income of $26,029 versus $20,252 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$14,746. About 15.00% of families and 18.60% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
25.80% of those under age 18 and 12.90% of those age 65 or
over.
Utilities
On April
7, 2008, Progress Energy
Florida, St. Petersburg
, announced it had authorized Shaw and Westinghouse
to purchase long-lead-time materials for up to two AP1000 nuclear
reactors for a greenfield plant
in Levy County, producing about 1,100 MW
each.
Progress expects to apply for a
Combined
Construction and Operating License (COL) in the summer of 2008,
according to a spokeswoman. Southern and SCE&G would not reveal
cost estimates, but Progress has said its plant will cost $14
billion, with $3 billion more for transmission
infrastructure.
Applying for a COL does not commit the utilities to construct the
plant, but it is part of the licensing process, say officials of
all the utilities. The application starts a 40-month review by the
Nuclear Regulatory
Commission, meaning that approval could come in August
2011.
Progress
Energy’s Levy County plant
would be one of the first greenfield nuclear plants
to start construction in more than 30 years. The units on
all three sites would enter commercial operation around
2016–17.
Municipalities
Incorporated
- Town
of Bronson

- City
of Cedar
Key

- City
of Chiefland

- City
of Fanning
Springs

- Town
of Inglis

- City
of Otter
Creek

- City
of Williston

- City
of Yankeetown

Unincorporated
References
External links
Government links/Constitutional offices
Special districts
Judicial branch
Tourism links/Chambers of Commerce