Marion County is a county located in the U.S.
state of Florida
. The
U.S. Census Bureau 2006 estimate for
the county is 316,183.
Its county seat is
Ocala,
Florida
.
Marion County is coterminous with the
Ocala Metropolitan
Statistical Area.
History
Marion
County was created in 1844 from portions of Alachua, Mosquito (Orange
), and Hillsborough
counties. Until 1853, Marion County included most of
what are now Lake
and Sumter
counties. The county is named after General Francis Marion of South Carolina
, a guerilla fighter and hero of the American Revolutionary
War. Many of the early settlers of Marion County were
from South Carolina. The county motto is "Kingdom of the Sun."
Farms in the county are known for breeding champion race horses
such as
Affirmed and
Needles.
Geography
According to the
U.S.
Census Bureau, the
county has a total area of 1,663
square
miles (4,307
km²), of which,
1,579 square miles (4,089 km²) of it is land and
84 square miles (218 km²) of it (5.06%) is water..
Location and Terrain
Marion County is generally composed of rolling hills, some high and
some low. The majority of its trees consist of live oaks, pine, and
palm trees.
Marion County is considered the southernmost
county in North Central
Florida, and the northernmost county in Central Florida
.
It is
about a two hour drive from many of Florida's major cities,
Orlando
is 75
minutes to the southeast while Daytona Beach
is about 90 minutes to the east.
Tampa
is about 75 minutes to the southwest.
Jacksonville
is roughly a two hour drive northeast .
Miami
is about
five hours to the southeast. Fort Lauderdale
is about a four-hour drive from Marion
County.
Marion County also has three large lakes at its opposite borders.
Orange Lake is in the far northern part of Marion County, near the
border with
Alachua County.
Lake Kerr is in the northeastern part of
the county, near the town of Salt
Springs, which is near the border with Putnam
County
. Lake
Weir
, the largest of the three, is in the far southern
region near the border with Lake County. Part of Lake George
is in Marion County also.
Marion
County is inland, centered between the Atlantic Ocean
to the east and the Gulf of Mexico
to the west. Because of this, Marion County
is not affected as much by hurricanes as the more coastal counties
to its east and west are. However, tornadoes are a major threat to
this region of the state. Although Marion County is not near either
of Florida's coasts, it is situated slightly to the west.
Therefore, it takes a little less than an hour to get to the Gulf
of Mexico while it takes about half an hour longer to get to the
Atlantic Ocean.
Adjacent counties
National protected area
Demographics
As of the
census of 2000, there were 258,916
people, 106,755 households, and 74,621 families residing in the
county. The
population density
was 164 people per square mile (63/km²). There were 122,663 housing
units at an average density of 78 per square mile (30/km²).
The racial makeup of the county was 84.16%
White, 11.55%
Black or
African American, 0.45%
Native American, 0.70%
Asian, 0.02%
Pacific Islander, 1.69% from
other races, and 1.44%
from two or more races. 6.03% of the population were
Hispanic or
Latino of any race.
There were 106,755 households out of which 24.70% had children
under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were
married couples living together, 10.70% had a
female householder with no husband present, and 30.10% were
non-families. 25.00% of all households were made up of individuals
and 13.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or
older. The average household size was 2.36 and the average family
size was 2.79.
In the county the population was spread out with 21.40% under the
age of 18, 6.40% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 23.90% from
45 to 64, and 24.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median
age was 44 years. For every 100 females there were 93.30 males. For
every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $31,944, and
the median income for a family was $37,473. Males had a median
income of $28,836 versus $21,855 for females. The
per capita income for the county was
$17,848. About 9.20% of families and 13.10% of the population were
below the
poverty line, including
20.20% of those under age 18 and 7.40% of those age 65 or
over.
Municipalities
Unincorporated
Education
Public School System
- 28 elementary schools
- 8 middle schools
- 1 4-8 school
- 1 k-8 center
- 8 high schools
- 3 charter schools
- 14 special needs schools
Elementary Schools
- Anthony Elementary School
- Belleview Elementary School
- Belleview-Santos Elementary School
- College Park Elementary School
- Dr. N.H. Jones Elementary (Magnet)
- Dunnellon Elementary School
- East Marion Elementary School
- Eighth Street
Elementary School
- Emerald Shores Elementary School
- Evergreen Elementary
School
- Fessenden Elementary School
- Fort McCoy School (K-8)
- Greenway Elementary
School
- Hammett Bowen Jr. Elementary School
- Harbour View Elementary School
- Horizon Academy at Marion Oaks(4th-8th)
- Madison Street Academy of Visual and Performing Arts
(Magnet)
- Maplewood Elementary School
- Oakcrest Elementary School
- Ocala Springs Elementary School
- Reddick-Collier Elementary School
- Romeo Elementary School
- Saddlewood Elementary School
- Shady Hill Elementary School
- South Ocala Elementary School
- Sparr Elementary School
- Stanton-Weirsdale Elementary School
- Sunrise Elementary School
- Ward-Highlands Elementary School
- Wyomina Park Elementary School
Middle Schools
High Schools
Marion
County Public Schools Homepage
References
External links
Government links/Constitutional offices
Special districts
Judicial branch
Tourism links
Miscellaneous links
- Photographs From the State Library &
Archives of Florida.
- east
- southwest
- west
(part)
, Lake
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