Fort Meade, Florida

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Fort Meade, Florida
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settlement_type = City
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map_caption = Location in Polk County and the state of Florida


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = flag|United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = flag|Florida
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = noflag|Polk
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area_total_km2 = 13
area_land_km2 = 12.9
area_water_km2 = 0.1
area_total_sq_mi = 5
area_land_sq_mi = 5
area_water_sq_mi = 0
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_total = 5691
population_density_km2 = 437.8
population_density_sq_mi = 1138.2
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timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 27 |latm = 45 |lats = 6 |latNS = N
longd = 81 |longm = 47 |longs = 48 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 42
elevation_ft = 138
postal_code_type = ZIP code
postal_code = 33841
area_code = 863
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 12-24100GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0282697GR|3
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Fort Meade is a city in Polk County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,691 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 5,761. ^{[http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls]}

Geography

Fort Meade is located at coor dms|27|45|6|N|81|47|48|W (27.751628, -81.796767).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 13.0 km² (5.0 mi²). 12.9 km² (5.0 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (1.00%) is water.

History

Historic Fort Meade

Fort Meade is the oldest city in Polk County, dating its origins to 1849 when it was an old military road from Tampa (Fort Brooks) to Fort Pierce during the Indian wars. The 1880s business district was located on old Wire Street (now Broadway), which was a casualty to 4 devastating fires.

The earliest known burial is John I. Hooker (1821-1862) located in the Evergreen Cemetery in town. Fort Meade's Christ Church (Episcopal) located at 526 N. Oak was built in 1889. It is a frame vernacular with Gothic Revival elements and was designed by architect J. H. Weddell. A minister by the name of C.E Butler had committed suicide at the church in 1894. Located next to Christ Church is the famous Rev. Wm James Reid House. Located within the historic district, the house was used for the HBO motion picture The Judgement featuring Blythe Danner, Keith Carradine and Jack Warden (1990). Future Confederate General Stonewall Jackson, was stationed at the fort in 1851. The town was burned by Union forces in 1864 and all of the original structures were destroyed, except the 2nd fort which was dismantled in the 1890s. Fort Meade has over 300 hundred homes on the National Register of Historic Places and a handful that date to the late 1800s.

Related: also check out the Old Fort Meade School House Museum circa 1885.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 5,691 people, 2,068 households, and 1,528 families residing in the city. The population density was 441.2/km² (1,143.8/mi²). There were 2,625 housing units at an average density of 203.5/km² (527.6/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 67.60% White, 21.84% African American, 0.40% Native American, 0.09% Asian, 9.21% from other races, and 0.86% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.17% of the population.

There were 2,068 households out of which 31.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 16.4% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.1% were non-families. 22.2% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.16.

In the city the population was spread out with 28.4% under the age of 18, 8.5% from 18 to 24, 24.9% from 25 to 44, 20.4% from 45 to 64, and 17.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 95.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.2 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $32,984, and the median income for a family was $38,125. Males had a median income of $30,617 versus $21,813 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,499. About 15.0% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.9% of those under age 18 and 8.2% of those age 65 or over.

Historic Homes and Buildings:

Media

* [http://bull.fm WZZS-FM (106.9 The Bull)]
* [http://lazeta.fm WZSP-FM (105.3 La Zeta)]

References

Hazardous Waste Site Dumping

"On December 7 1971, at a chemical plant site in Fort meade Florida, two billion gallons of slightly toxic liquid were released into Whidden creek. The waste also flowed into Peace River and Charlotte Estuary, and for 10 to convert|50|mi|km tens of thousands of water going creatures had died, including fish and clams."Book: Laying Waste, page 312 - Michael Brown - ISBN 0-671-45359-9

External links

* [http://www.cityoffortmeade.com/ City of Fort Meade]
* [http://www.fortmeadechamber.com/ Fort Meade Chamber Of Commerce]