Levy County, Florida: Map

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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.