Fort Meade (Florida)

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Fort Meade
Christ Church, built in 1889
Christ Church, built in 1889
County and state location
Polk County Florida Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Fort Meade Highlighted.svg
Basic data
Foundation : 1849
State : United States
State : Florida
County : Polk County
Coordinates : 27 ° 45 ′  N , 81 ° 48 ′  W Coordinates: 27 ° 45 ′  N , 81 ° 48 ′  W
Time zone : Eastern ( UTC − 5 / −4 )
Residents : 5,626 (as of 2010)
Population density : 436.1 inhabitants per km 2
Area : 13.0 km 2  (approx. 5 mi 2 ) of
which 12.9 km 2  (approx. 5 mi 2 ) are land
Height : 42 m
Postal code : 33841
Area code : +1 863
FIPS : 12-24100
GNIS ID : 0282697
Website : www.cityoffortmeade.com
Mayor : Richard Cochrane

Fort Meade is a city in Polk County in the US state of Florida with 5626 inhabitants (as of 2010). It belongs to the Metropolitan Statistical Area Lakeland – Winter Haven .

geography

Fort Meades geographic coordinates are 27 ° 45 ′  N , 81 ° 48 ′  W (27.751628, −81.796767). Fort Meade is located about 30 km southwest of Legoland Florida in Winter Haven . Fort Meade is located on the Central Florida Highlands, which are part of the Atlantic coastal plain . The district consists of flat land and gently rolling hills. US Highway 17 runs north-south through the center of the city and connects this north with Bartow (15 km away) and south with Wauchula . US Highway 98 also runs into the city from the north on the same route , but turns east on East Broadway Avenue and leads to Frostproof and US Highway 27 .

According to the United States Census Bureau , the city has a total area of ​​13.0 km 2 of which 12.9 km 2 is land and 0.1 km 2 (= 1.00%) is water. The Peace River , which flows in a north-south direction , meanders east of the city. Fort Meades climate is subtropical ( climate classification according to Köppen and Geiger : Cfa ).

history

Fort Meade is the oldest city in Polk County and was founded during the Indian Wars of 1849 on the old military road from Tampa (Fort Brooke) to Fort Pierce . The Central Business District, created in the 1880s, was on Wire Street (now Broadway), but fell victim to four devastating fires. Today over 150 historical buildings are classified as monuments. In 1886 the Florida Southern Railway built a railway line from Lakeland via Fort Meade to Punta Gorda , which was integrated into the Plant System in 1892 . In the 1890s, the Fort Meade Street Railway was a horse-drawn tram in the city .

The first known burial in Evergreen Cemetery in town is that of John I. Hooker (1821–1862). Fort Meades Christ Church (Episcopal) at 526 N. Oak Street was built in 1889. It is a traditional timber frame construction with neo-Gothic elements and was designed by J. H. Weddell. A pastor named C. E. Butler committed in 1894 in the church suicide . Right next to the church is the Rev. Wm James Reid House . Located in the historic district , the house was used for the 1990 HBO film The Judgment, starring Blythe Danner , Keith Carradine and Jack Warden .

The later Confederate General Stonewall Jackson was stationed at the local fort in 1851. During the Civil War in 1864 the city was set on fire by Union troops , and almost all of the original buildings were destroyed.

Demographics

Lightsey House in a postcard shot from 1907

According to the 2010 census, the then 5626 inhabitants were distributed over 2626 households. The population density was 436.1 inh / km². 68.3% of the population identified themselves as whites, 18.2% as African American , 0.5% as Indians and 0.3% as Asian Americans . 10.7% said they belonged to another ethnic group and 1.9% to several ethnic groups. 26.1% of the population was made up of Hispanics or Latinos .

In 2010 there were children under the age of 18 in 36.4% of all households and persons aged 65 and over lived in 37.8% of all households. 73.3% of households were family households (consisting of married couples with or without offspring or a parent with offspring). The average household size was 2.76 people and the average family size was 3.20 people.

28.7% of the population were younger than 20 years, 23.5% were 20 to 39 years old, 23.3% were 40 to 59 years old, and 24.5% were 60 years or older. The mean age was 38 years. 49.3% of the population were male and 50.7% were female.

The median annual income was $ 44,694, with 11.8% of the population living below the poverty line.

In 2000, 81.10% of the population spoke English as their first language and 18.90% spoke Spanish .

Attractions

The Christ Church , the Fort Meade Historic District and W. Henry Lewis House are the National Register of Historic Places listed.

Known residents

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ http://www.cityoffortmeade.com/mayor_city_council.php
  2. ^ Florida's Geological History. University of Florida, accessed September 10, 2013 .
  3. ↑ World Map of the Köppen-Geiger climate classification updated. University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna, November 6, 2008, accessed September 10, 2013 .
  4. ↑ Historical Highlights. (PDF; 4.0 MB) Polk County Historical Association, September 1994, p. 7 , archived from the original on March 5, 2012 ; Retrieved September 10, 2013 .
  5. ^ Gregg Turner: A Short History of Florida Railroads. Arcadia Publishing , Mount Pleasant 2014, ISBN 978-1-439642-54-2 .
  6. ^ Map of Civil War, Polk County. (PDF; 2.8 MB) Polk County Historical Association, June 2003, p. 12 , archived from the original on March 5, 2012 ; Retrieved September 10, 2013 .
  7. ^ Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010. United States Census Bureau , accessed August 22, 2014 .
  8. ^ Language distribution 2000. Modern Language Association , accessed August 22, 2014 .
  9. ^ FLORIDA - Polk County. National Register of Historic Places , accessed August 16, 2015 .
  10. ^ Andrew McCutchen Statistics and History - Baseball-Reference.com. In: baseball-reference.com. Retrieved September 10, 2013 .