Ojus, Florida

Ojus, Florida
—  CDP  —
Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida
U.S. Census Bureau map showing CDP boundaries
Coordinates: 25°57′24″N 80°9′29″W / 25.95667°N 80.15806°W / 25.95667; -80.15806Coordinates: 25°57′24″N 80°9′29″W / 25.95667°N 80.15806°W / 25.95667; -80.15806
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Miami-Dade
Area
– Total	3.3 sq mi (8.5 km2)
– Land	2.8 sq mi (7.2 km2)
– Water	0.5 sq mi (1.3 km2)
Elevation	10 ft (3 m)
Population (2000)
– Total	16,642
– Density	5,043/sq mi (1,957.9/km2)
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
– Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
ZIP codes	33163, 33180 , 33179
Area code(s)	305
FIPS code	12-51125[1]
GNIS feature ID	0288066[2]

Ojus is a census-designated place and formerly incorporated town in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. The population was 16,642 at the 2000 census. Ojus borders Aventura to the east, I-95 to the west, North Miami Beach to the south and Broward County to the north. Ojus is currently planning to incorporate and become its own city.

Geography

Ojus is located at 25°57′24″N 80°9′29″W / 25.95667°N 80.15806°W / 25.95667; -80.15806 (25.956720, -80.157917)^[3].

According to the United States Census Bureau, the CDP has a total area of 3.3 square miles (8.5 km²), of which, 2.8 square miles (7.3 km²) of it is land and 0.5 square miles (1.3 km²) of it (14.94%) is water.

It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 10 feet.

Surrounding Areas

• Hallandale Beach
• Aventura
• North Miami Beach
• Ives Estates

History

Ojus, like many neighborhoods in Dade County once were actual towns, complete with their own governments, charters, and schools. The town of Ojus, which thrived in the early 1930s and was located south of what is now the county line and just east of the city of North Miami Beach, didn't last very long, but the neighborhood situated on the original town site still bears the Ojus name.

Ojus was one of two settlements that shared the Snake Creek region, the 2,000 or so acres of swampy, mangrove-filled land at the northernmost end of Biscayne Bay (FIU's Bay Vista campus occupies a portion of this land today). The other town, Fulford, eventually blended in and became part of North Miami Beach.

When Henry Flagler brought his railroad down to Lemon City (a year or so before he extended it to Miami in 1896), he placed depots at numerous spots along the route, and small towns quickly developed around those stops. The distance between Fulford and Ojus was only a mile or so, but it was great enough in those days of poorly paved roads and difficult travel conditions to generate separate communities.

Ojus originally was named in 1897 by Albert Fitch, a farmer who wanted to grow pineapples in the rich soil. The word Ojus is a Seminole Indian word for "plenty" or "lots of," and when Fitch was in the area, Ojus had plenty of everything, including just about any type of crop imaginable - peas, beans, sugar cane, and tomatoes.

When a prison camp was established in Ojus in the early 1900s, rock mining in the area began and it was discovered that the rock coming out of Ojus had qualities that made it ideal for road building. A Palm Beach mining company moved into the area to take advantage of the plentiful rock, which was in great demand in Palm Beach County. In 1913, the company was employing almost 200 men and shipping 50 to 60 carloads of rock daily.

Intent on developing the town, Maule (who?) opened a general store, built apartments for his employees and even opened a movie theater. In 1915, the Ojus School added another teacher, bringing its total to two. Combined with the farming industry, which was still going strong, the population in Ojus by 1920 was greater than that of Fulford and Arch Creek combined.

Unfortunately, Ojus didn't live long enough to see its promise fulfilled. By 1936, the inability of the city's government to collect taxes, combined with the unwillingness of the residents to pay them, resulted in bankruptcy. An act of the Legislature dissolved the town's incorporation papers.

Today there are reminders of Ojus all around the ever-shrinking neighborhood. Ojus Elementary School and the Ojus Branch Post Office are but two of the markers that remind visitors of the area's history.

With shopping centers, condominiums, and high-rise office buildings pushing in on all sides, Ojus nevertheless continues to be among the city's oldest populated areas.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 16,642 people, 7,089 households, and 4,345 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 5,973.2 people per square mile (2,303.1/km²). There were 8,035 housing units at an average density of 2,883.9/sq mi (1,111.9/km²). The racial makeup of the CDP was 85.09% White (of which 59.5% were Non-Hispanic White,)^[4] 7.05% African American, 0.13% Native American, 1.74% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 3.08% from other races, and 2.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 30.60% of the population.

There were 7,089 households out of which 27.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.2% were married couples living together, 11.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.7% were non-families. 33.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the CDP the population was spread out with 21.5% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 25.6% from 45 to 64, and 19.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.0 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $33,294, and the median income for a family was $41,693. Males had a median income of $34,773 versus $28,781 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $25,392. About 11.1% of families and 13.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.2% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

As of 2000, speakers of English as a first language accounted for 47.42% of residents, while Spanish made up 32.70%, Russian was at 3.35%, Yiddish was at 2.96%, Hebrew at 2.92%, and the mother tongue of French Creole was 2.41% of the population's speakers. Both Portuguese and French tied with 2.11% of the populace. Arabic made up 0.74% of speakers, while both Chinese and German were spoken by 0.55% of all residents. Also, both Greek and Hungarian were both a mother tongue of 0.52% of the population.^[5]

As of 2000, Ojus had the fifty-sixth highest percentage of Cuban residents in the US, with 6.77% of the populace.^[6] It had the thirty-fifth highest percentage of Colombian residents in the US, at 3.71% of the population,^[7] and the fifty-first highest percentage of Haitian residents in the US, at 3.0% of its population (tied with Avon Park, FL and Haines City, FL.)^[8] It also had the nineteenth most Peruvians in the US, at 2.29%,^[9] while it had the twentieth highest percentage of Brazilians, at 1.60% of all residents (tied with four other US areas.)^[10] Ojus' Israeli community had the seventeenth highest percentage of residents, which was at 1.70% (tied with Sunny Isles Beach.)^[11] It's also home to the 113th highest percentage of Dominican residents in the US, at 1.42% of the population,^[12] while it's Romanian community was the twenty-first highest percentage in the US, and accounted for 1.0% of all residents (tied with Davison, Michigan, Thompson, Ohio and Viola, NY.)^[13]

References

1. ^ ^{a b} "American FactFinder". United States Census Bureau. http://factfinder.census.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
2. ^ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. http://geonames.usgs.gov. Retrieved 2008-01-31. 
3. ^ "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. 2011-02-12. http://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html. Retrieved 2011-04-23. 
4. ^ "Demographics of Ojus, FL". MuniNetGuide.com. http://www.muninetguide.com/states/florida/municipality/Ojus.php. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
5. ^ "MLA Data Center Results of Ojus, FL". Modern Language Association. http://www.mla.org/map_data_results&state_id=12&county_id=&mode=place&zip=&place_id=51125&cty_id=&ll=&a=&ea=&order=r. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
6. ^ "Ancestry Map of Cuban Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Cuban.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
7. ^ "Ancestry Map of Colombian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Colombian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
8. ^ "Ancestry Map of Haitian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Haitian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
9. ^ "Ancestry Map of Peruvian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Peruvian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
10. ^ "Ancestry Map of Brazilian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Brazilian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
11. ^ "Ancestry Map of Israeli Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Israeli.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
12. ^ "Ancestry Map of Dominican Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Dominican-Republic.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07. 
13. ^ "Ancestry Map of Romanian Communities". Epodunk.com. http://www.epodunk.com/ancestry/Romanian.html. Retrieved 2007-11-07.