Casselberry, Florida

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Casselberry, Florida
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settlement_type = City
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map_caption = Location in Seminole County and the state of Florida

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map_caption1 = U.S. Census Map
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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|Seminole
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leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Bob Goff
leader_title1 = City manager
leader_name1 = Barbara Lipscomb
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established_date = 1849
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established_date2 = October 10th, 1940
established_title3 =
established_date3 = July 25, 1965
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area_total_km2 = 18.4
area_land_km2 = 17.3
area_water_km2 = 1.1
area_total_sq_mi = 7.1
area_land_sq_mi = 6.7
area_water_sq_mi = 0.4
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population_as_of = 2000
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population_total = 22629
population_density_km2 = 1229.8
population_density_sq_mi = 3187.2
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timezone = Eastern (EST)
utc_offset = -5
timezone_DST = EDT
utc_offset_DST = -4
latd = 28 |latm = 39 |lats = 37 |latNS = N
longd = 81 |longm = 19 |longs = 24 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 17
elevation_ft = 56
postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 32700-32799
area_code = 407
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 12-11050GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0280117GR|3
website = http://www.casselberry.org
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Casselberry is a city in Seminole County, Florida, United States. The population was 22,629 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2006, the city had a population of 24,647. [http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2005-04-12.csv] It is usually considered a suburb in the Greater Orlando area.

Geography

Casselberry is located at coor dms|28|39|37|N|81|19|24|W (28.660275, -81.323264).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 18.4 km² (7.1 mi²). 17.2 km² (6.7 mi²) of it is land and 1.1 km² (0.4 mi²) of it (6.06%) is water.

Casselberry features over 30 lakes and ponds, the largest being Lake Howell, the Triplet Chain of Lakes, Lake Kathryn, and Lake Concord.

History

Prior to European settlement in the 1800’s Native American groups inhabited the Seminole County area, including land in present-day Casselberry. A blockhouse known as Fort Concord was constructed on the shores of Lake Concord in 1849 to protect local settlers during conflicts between the Seminole Wars. After the Homestead Act was passed in 1862, settlers began homesteading the land around Lake Concord and the Triplet Chain of Lakes. Annie E. Griffin of Eastman, Georgia platted the area’s first subdivision in 1889 after inheriting the land from her deceased husband. An African-American community cemetery, called Evergreen Cemetery, was established in 1903 under the care of a group of trustees from surrounding communities. In 1925, Gordon J. Barnett of New York came to Altamonte Springs and acquainted himself with all aspects of the local fern industry and soon opened his own fernery. Barnett then began a housing development west of Lake Concord called Fern Park Estates comprised of small lots that included a fernery for individual owners. In 1926, Hibbard Casselberry of Winnetka, Illinois was visiting his wife’s aunt in nearby Winter Park, Florida when he met Gordon Barnett and signed on as his exclusive sales agent for Fern Park Estates. Casselberry and Barnett split soon after but Casselberry purchased land surrounding Fern Park Estates and began platting his own subdivision: Winter Park Ferneries. The area became known as Fern Park and a post office was established under that name in 1928. Casselberry continued to develop and expand his fernery and real estate business throughout the 1930’s while Barnett was elected to the Florida House of Representatives in 1937. When Barnett introduced a bill to incorporate the Town of Fern Park it was passed and moved to the senate before Fern Park residents could petition the bill, and then Barnett withdrew it.

Hibbard Casselberry convinced the residents of Fern Park that the best way to avoid property taxes was to incorporate their own tax-free town. A town meeting was held on October 10th, 1940 where the tax-free Town of Casselberry was officially incorporated, including parts of Barnett’s Fern Park Estates. As more property was brought into the city limits of Casselberry, the area of Fern Park was pushed further south towards SR 436. With the beginning of World War II the ferneries were declared non-essential and Hibbard Casselberry secured government contracts for the manufacturing of bandoliers, bomb parachutes, and hospital tent liners. The city returned to the fern industry after the war but also continued work in textiles and Johnson Electronics became a major employer for the city in the 1950’s.

Despite the fact that Casselberry was an incorporated town and Fern Park remained unincorporated the United States Postal Service refused to grant Casselberry its own post office due to a policy prohibiting the naming of post offices after living persons. Casselberry established a contract post office in 1957 at its own expense and the town was finally granted a post office in 1959, although Hibbard Casselberry lived another ten years. The City of Casselberry was incorporated on July 25th, 1965 and Casselberry’s citizens eventually voted to have property taxes in 1976. Casselberry’s first city hall was dedicated in 1970 and comprises part of the current municipal complex.

Demographics

As of the censusGR|2 of 2000, there were 22,629 people, 9,746 households, and 5,740 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,311.9/km² (3,396.5/mi²). There were 10,450 housing units at an average density of 605.8/km² (1,568.5/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 85.65% White, 5.38% African American, 0.28% Native American, 1.90% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.17% from other races, and 2.58% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 15.13% of the population.

There were 9,746 households out of which 24.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.8% were married couples living together, 12.3% had a female householder with no husband present, and 41.1% were non-families. 30.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.5% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.31 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.7% under the age of 18, 9.6% from 18 to 24, 32.3% from 25 to 44, 22.9% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 93.4 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 90.6 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $38,627, and the median income for a family was $45,354. Males had a median income of $31,332 versus $24,778 for females. The per capita income for the city was $19,626. About 6.2% of families and 8.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 8.2% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Public Schools

*Casselberry Elementary School
*South Seminole Middle School
*Tuskiwilla Middle School
*Sterling Park Elementary
*English Estates Elemntary

Private Schools

*Kenworthy School
*The Geneva School

Parks and Recreation

The City of Casselberry maintains 17 parks ranging from small neighborhood parks to large centers for recreation. Some of these parks include:

*Anniversary Park
*Branch Tree Park
*Crystal Bowl Park
*Dew Drop Park
*Lake Hodge Park
*Pawmosa Dog Park
*Plumosa Oaks Park
*Rotary Park
*Secret Lake Park
*Sunnytown Park
*Sunset Park
*Veterans Memorial Park
*Wirz Park

References

External links

* [http://www.casselberry.org/ City of Casselberry]
* [http://www.seminolebusinessdirectory.com Seminole County Business Directory]
* [http://www.visitseminole.com/tourism-cvb/about/casselberry.asp Seminole County Convention and Visitors Bureau]