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Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 18,564. Its county seat is Bonifay, Florida6.
History
Holmes County was created in 1848. It was named for Thomas J. Holmes, who came from North Carolina to settle in the area about 1830.
Holmes County was recently chosen as the site for Jim Fowler's theme park to be called Jim Fowler's Life in the Wild. It is to be a wilderness education and preservation theme park located at the corner of Interstate 10 and Hwy 79 in Holmes County. [1] As of August 3, 2006, the wildlife park project near Bonifay has been halted due to the termination of the agreement by the Holmes County Development Commission to sell 790 acres to Jim Fowler and his Fowler Center for Wildlife Education for the purpose of building the park. [2]
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,266 km² (489 mi²). 1,250 km² (482 mi²) of it is land and 16 km² (6 mi²) of it (1.28%) is water.
Adjacent Counties
Geneva County, Alabama - north
Jackson County, Florida - east
Washington County, Florida - south
Walton County, Florida - west
Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 18,564 people, 6,921 households, and 4,893 families residing in the county. The population density was 15/km² (38/mi²). There were 7,998 housing units at an average density of 6/km² (17/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 89.79% White, 6.51% Black or African American, 1.01% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.79% from other races, and 1.48% from two or more races. 1.93% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 6,921 households out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.60% were married couples living together, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 26.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.43 and the average family size was 2.92.
In the county the population was spread out with 23.10% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 29.30% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 112.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 113.60 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $27,923, and the median income for a family was $34,286. Males had a median income of $25,982 versus $19,991 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,135. About 15.40% of families and 19.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 25.70% of those under age 18 and 17.90% of those age 65 or over.
Triracial people
Main article: Dominickers
The so-called "Dominickers," a number of related mixed-race (white, black, and Euchee Indian) families, lived for decades after the Civil War and well into the twentieth century in a rural area near Ponce de Leon, with a separate church and segregated public elementary school. Although considered a separate ethnicity from both whites and blacks, many Dominickers married into local white families, so that group boundaries blurred; some descendants still live in the area. The 1950 federal census identified 60 members of this group living in Holmes County at that time[1]. Few facts are known about their origins, and little has been published about them.
Municipalities
Incorporated
City of Bonifay
Town of Esto
Town of Noma
Town of Ponce de Leon
Town of Westville
