Lake County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 297,052. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont.
Lake County is included in the Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area.
History
Lake County was created in 1887 from portions of Sumter and Orange counties. It was named for the many lakes contained within its borders (250 named lakes and 1,735 other bodies of water).
During the Great Depression, citrus became the leading industry in Lake County.
In 1949 the Groveland Four, Ernest Thomas, Charles Greenlee, Samuel Shepherd and Walter Irvin, were wrongly convicted of rape. The convictions were eventually overturned by the U. S. Supreme Court in a case argued by NAACP special counsel Thurgood Marshall. However, Ernest Thomas had already been killed by a posse. Samuel Shepard and Walter Irvin were shot by Lake County Sheriff Willis McCall while being transferred, in handcuffs, to the Lake County jail. The descendants of the Groveland Four petitioned Florida governor Rick Scott in 2012 for an apology from the State of Florida, citing new evidence from an FBI file on the case that no rape ever occurred. The 2012 book Devil in the Grove documents this episode.
American heavy metal guitarist Randy Rhoads was killed in a plane crash in Leesburg on Friday March 19, 1982. Rhoads had played in the then nascent Ozzy Osbourne solo band following his tenure in Quiet Riot.
On February 2, 2007, a series of early morning tornadoes killed 21 people in the area. Governor Charlie Crist declared a state of emergency.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 1,157 square miles (3,000Â km2), of which 938 square miles (2,430Â km2) is land and 219 square miles (570Â km2) (18.9%) is water.
Sugarloaf Mountain is the highest point in peninsular Florida, at 312 feet (95 m) above sea level.
Adjacent counties
National protected areas
- Lake Woodruff National Wildlife Refuge (part)
- Ocala National Forest (part)
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 210,528 people, 88,413 households, and 62,507 families residing in the county. The population density was 221 people per square mile (85/km²). There were 102,830 housing units at an average density of 108 per square mile (42/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 87.46% White, 8.31% Black or African American, 0.33% Native American, 0.79% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 1.88% from other races, and 1.18% from two or more races. 5.61% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 88,413 households out of which 23.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.90% were married couples living together, 8.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.30% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.70% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.75.
In the county, the population was spread out with 20.30% under the age of 18, 5.80% from 18 to 24, 23.80% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 26.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 45 years. For every 100 females there were 93.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $36,903, and the median income for a family was $42,577. Males had a median income of $31,475 versus $23,545 for females. The per capita income for the county was $20,199. About 6.90% of families and 9.60% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 6.30% of those age 65 or over.
Government
Lake County is represented by U.S. Representatives Corrine Brown (D-FL5), Alan Grayson (D-FL9), Daniel Webster (R-FL10), and Rich Nugent (R-FL11). In the Florida Senate, Lake County is represented by Senators Dorothy Hukill (R-FL8), and Alan Hays (R-FL11) . In the Florida House, Lake County is represented by Florida Representatives Bryan Nelson (R-FL31), Larry Metz (R-FL32), and H. Marlene O'Toole (R-FL33).
The Florida Department of Corrections has Region III Correctional Facility Office on the grounds of the Lake Correctional Institution in an unincorporated area in Lake County.
Libraries
The Lake County Public Library System consists of 15 branches:
- Astor County Library
- Cagan Crossings Community Library
- Cooper Memorial Library
- East Lake County Library
- Fruitland Park Library
- Helen Lehmann Memorial Library
- Lady Lake Public Library
- Leesburg Public Library
- Marianne Beck Memorial Library
- Marion Baysinger Memorial Library
- Minneola Schoolhouse Library
- Paisley County Library
- Tavares Public Library
- Umatilla Public Library
- W.T. Bland Public Library
Elections
Lake County has voted Republican in U. S. Presidential races since 1948.
Senate and House
Lake County last voted for a Democrat in a United States Senate race in 2006, when US Senator Bill Nelson won in Florida and won Lake County 55.57% to Katherine Harris's 42.79%. He lost the county in 2012, but won the election.
2012 general election results
For US Senator: Bill Nelson (D) vs. Connie Mack IV (R): 55.23% to 42.23%
Corrine Brown (D) vs. LeAnne Kolb (R): 70.8% to 26.3%
Alan Grayson (D) vs. Todd Long (R): 62.5% to 37.5%
Daniel Webster (R) vs. Val Demings (D): 51.7% to 48.3%
Richard Nugent (R) vs. David Werder (D): 64.5% to 35.5%
Dorothy Hukill (R) vs. Frank Bruno (D): 57.0% to 43.0%
Alan Hays (R) vs. John Iller (I): 71.6% to 28.4%
All three Florida House Representatives were not contested in 2012.
2010 general election results
Florida governor: Rick Scott (R) vs. Alex Sink (D): 48.87% to 47.72%
US Senator: Marco Rubio (R) vs. Charlie Crist (I) vs. Kendrick Meek (D): 48.89% to 29.71% to 20.20%
Voter registration
Data comes from the Lake County Supervisor of Elections.
Education
There are a number of public schools in the county.
Colleges
The following colleges are located in the county:
- Lake-Sumter State College
- Beacon College
- Southern Technical College
Transportation
Aviation
The Tavares Seaplane Base is a city-owned, public-use seaplane base located on Lake Dora in Tavares.
The Leesburg International Airport is a former Army Airfield and municipal airport located along Lake Harris east of downtown Leesburg, Florida.
Mid Florida Air Service Airport is located on State Road 44 east of Eustis.
- Umatilla Municipal Airport
Major highways
- Florida's Turnpike runs north and south from Southeastern and Central Florida. Three interechanges exist in the county; US 27/SR 19 (Exit 285), southbound US 27 (Exit 289) and the more recently built County Road 470 (Exit 296).
- US 27 is the main local road through western Lake County, running south to north. It spans from Four Corners to The Villages.
- US 441 is another south to north US highway running through Mount Dora from Orange County around Lake Dora, where it merges with SR 44, has a wrong-way concurrency with SR 19 in Tavares, and lets go of SR 44 in Leesburg only to join US 27 as they both head into Marion County.
- SR 19 is a mostly scenic north and south road from SR 50 in Groveland through Tavares, Eustis, and Ocala National Forest.
- SR 33 is the north-south road from Lakeland in Polk County to Groveland. A county extension exists as a hidden route along SR 50 to Mascotte, where it become an exposed county road leading to US 27 in Okahumpka.
- SR 40 is the northernmost east-west route in Lake County, and runs through Ocala National Forest.
- SR 44 runs east and west through Central Lake County from west of Leesburg where it joins southbound US 441 until it breaks away near Mount Dora and heads northeast into Volusia County.
- SR 46 starts at an interchange with US 441 and County Road 46 in Mount Dora and through Sorrento and Mount Plymouth along the northern border of Orange County.
- SR 50 is the main east-west road through southern Lake County.
Public transportation
LakeXpress is the public transportation agency that serves the Lake County, Florida area since 2007.
Communities
Cities
Towns
- Astatula
- Howey-in-the-Hills
- Lady Lake
- Montverde
Census-designated places
Other unincorporated communities
Notable people
- Flora Call and Elias Disney were married January 1, 1888, in the Lake County town of Kismet. They lived for a short time in the adjoining town of Acron, Florida. They were the parents of Walt Disney.
See also
- Lake County Schools
- National Register of Historic Places listings in Lake County, Florida
References
External links
Government links/Constitutional offices
- Lake County Board of County Commissioners
- Lake County Supervisor of Elections
- Lake County Property Appraiser
- Lake County Sheriff's Office
- Lake County Tax Collector
Special districts
- Lake County School Board
- Project Student Safety
- St. Johns River Water Management District
- Southwest Florida Water Management District
Judicial branch
- Lake County Clerk of Circuit and County Courts
- Public Defender, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida serving Citrus, Hernando, Lake, Marion, and Sumter counties
- Office of the State Attorney, 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
- 5th Judicial Circuit of Florida
Miscellaneous links
- Photographs From the State Library & Archives of Florida.
- Workforce Central Florida
- Lake County Collection on RICHES Mosaic Interface