Carrabelle, Florida
Encyclopedia
Carrabelle is a city in Franklin County
, Florida
, United States
. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2009, the city had a population of 1,231.
at the mouth of the Carrabelle River. Carrabelle is surrounded by the Carrabelle River, Crooked River, Ochlockonee River
and the Gulf of Mexico
. To the south is Dog Island. According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²). 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (22.45%) is water.
of 2000, there were 1,303 people, 562 households, and 370 families,residing in the city. The population density
was 349.2 inhabitants per square mile (134.9/km²). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 211.7 per square mile (81.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.48% White, 5.68% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races
, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.
There were 562 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples
living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,749, and the median income for a family was $27,955. Males had a median income of $26,719 versus $19,018 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $14,677. About 14.8% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.
For many decades, Carrabelle had the only tertiary sewage treatment facility in the State of Florida, but this may have been updated in recent years.
expedition
of Panfilo de Narvaez
passed through the area on its way from Tampa Bay
to the Rio Grande
. From the late 17th century through early 18th century a few passages referring to the area are mentioned. Carrabelle, Dog Island, and St. George Island served as points to stage raids on local ports as well as San Marcos de Apalache in 1677 and 1682.
In 1876 explorer Nathaniel Holmes Bishop of Medford, Massachusetts
navigated the Crooked River through the lowlands to the Ochlockonee River
. In 1877 Oliver Hudson Kelly, from Massachusetts
founded the town and named it Rio Carrabelle. The following year the first U.S. Post office was established with its address as Rio Carrabelle. By 1881 the population was between 500 and 600 people.
In 1891 The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad
was established to connect Carrabelle northward through Tallahassee
to the Florida-Georgia line.
On August 1, 1899, the 2nd hurricane of the season struck the area almost destroying the town leaving just nine homes.
In 1942, Camp Gordon Johnston
was opened for the purpose of training amphibious soldiers on nearby beaches. The camp trained a quarter of a million men and closed in 1946.
On August 23, 2008, Tropical Storm Fay
made its record fourth landfall in the state of Florida at Carrabelle.
Carrabelle is the home of the "World's Smallest Police Station".
The "World's Smallest Police Station" came into being on March 10, 1963. The city had been having problems with tourists making unauthorized long distance phone calls on its police phone. The phone was located in a call box that was bolted to a building at the corner of U.S. 98 and Tallahassee Street. Johnnie Mirabella, St. Joe Telephone's lone Carrabelle employee at the time, first tried moving the call box to another building, but the illegal calls continued.
Mirabella noticed that the policeman would get drenched while answering phone calls when it was raining. So when the telephone company decided to replace its worn out phone booth in front of Burda's Pharmacy with a new one, he decided to solve both problems at once by putting the police phone in the old booth.
With the help of Curly Messer, who was a deputy sheriff at the time, Mirabella moved the phone booth to its current site on U.S. 98. The booth did protect the officers from the elements, but some people still snuck into it to make long distance calls. Eventually the dial was removed from the phone, making it impossible for tourists to make calls.
It has been featured on television shows "Real People
", "Ripley's Believe It or Not", "The Today Show
", "Johnny Carson
". It was featured in the movie "Tate's Hell" which was produced at Florida State University
. Along with police station T-shirts - the design is copyrighted - there are police station hats, visors, postcards, and calendars.
But life has not always been easy for the retired St. Joseph Telephone and Telegraph Company phone booth. Vandals have ripped phones out of the booth and shot holes through the glass. It has been knocked over by a pickup truck, a tourist once asked a gas station attendant to help him load it into his vehicle to take it back to Tennessee
and it was knocked over and damaged by Hurricane Kate.
Carrabelle has a local history museum which is located in the Marvin Justiss building also known as "Old City Hall" and is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm for visitors interested in learning about the local history of Carrabelle.
The Camp Gordon Johnston
WWII Museum is located in the Carrabelle City Complex, 1001 Gray Avenue and admission is free.
system. Students attend the Franklin County K-12 School in Eastpoint, Florida that was built in 2008.
Franklin County, Florida
Franklin County is a coastal county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 11,057. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 11,177...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The population was 1,303 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2009, the city had a population of 1,231.
Location
Carrabelle is located at about 20 miles east of Apalachicola, FloridaApalachicola, Florida
Apalachicola is a city in Franklin County, Florida, on US 98 about southwest of Tallahassee. The population was 2,334 at the 2000 census. The 2005 census estimated the city's population at 2,340...
at the mouth of the Carrabelle River. Carrabelle is surrounded by the Carrabelle River, Crooked River, Ochlockonee River
Ochlockonee River
The Ochlockonee River is a fast running river originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida.- Background :The Ochlockonee originates south of the town of Sylvester in Worth County in southwest Georgia emptying into Ochlockonee Bay, then into Apalachee Bay, in Florida...
and the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
. To the south is Dog Island. According to the United States Census Bureau
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau is the government agency that is responsible for the United States Census. It also gathers other national demographic and economic data...
, the city has a total area of 4.8 square miles (12.4 km²). 3.7 square miles (9.6 km²) of it is land and 1.1 square miles (2.8 km²) of it (22.45%) is water.
Demographics
As of the censusCensus
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring and recording information about the members of a given population. It is a regularly occurring and official count of a particular population. The term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common...
of 2000, there were 1,303 people, 562 households, and 370 families,residing in the city. The population density
Population density
Population density is a measurement of population per unit area or unit volume. It is frequently applied to living organisms, and particularly to humans...
was 349.2 inhabitants per square mile (134.9/km²). There were 790 housing units at an average density of 211.7 per square mile (81.8/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 91.48% White, 5.68% African American, 0.31% Native American, 0.08% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.84% from other races
Race (United States Census)
Race and ethnicity in the United States Census, as defined by the Federal Office of Management and Budget and the United States Census Bureau, are self-identification data items in which residents choose the race or races with which they most closely identify, and indicate whether or not they are...
, and 1.53% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.61% of the population.
There were 562 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.0% were married couples
Marriage
Marriage is a social union or legal contract between people that creates kinship. It is an institution in which interpersonal relationships, usually intimate and sexual, are acknowledged in a variety of ways, depending on the culture or subculture in which it is found...
living together, 12.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.0% were non-families. 30.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.83.
In the city the population was spread out with 23.3% under the age of 18, 7.8% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 27.5% from 45 to 64, and 17.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 93.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $23,749, and the median income for a family was $27,955. Males had a median income of $26,719 versus $19,018 for females. The per capita income
Per capita income
Per capita income or income per person is a measure of mean income within an economic aggregate, such as a country or city. It is calculated by taking a measure of all sources of income in the aggregate and dividing it by the total population...
for the city was $14,677. About 14.8% of families and 19.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.9% of those under age 18 and 24.2% of those age 65 or over.
For many decades, Carrabelle had the only tertiary sewage treatment facility in the State of Florida, but this may have been updated in recent years.
History
In 1528 the first SpanishSpain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
expedition
Exploration
Exploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
of Panfilo de Narvaez
Pánfilo de Narváez
Pánfilo de Narváez was a Spanish conqueror and soldier in the Americas. He is most remembered as the leader of two expeditions, one to Mexico in 1520 to oppose Hernán Cortés, and the disastrous Narváez expedition to Florida in 1527....
passed through the area on its way from Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay
Tampa Bay is a large natural harbor and estuary along the Gulf of Mexico on the west central coast of Florida, comprising Hillsborough Bay, Old Tampa Bay, Middle Tampa Bay, and Lower Tampa Bay."Tampa Bay" is not the name of any municipality...
to the Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
. From the late 17th century through early 18th century a few passages referring to the area are mentioned. Carrabelle, Dog Island, and St. George Island served as points to stage raids on local ports as well as San Marcos de Apalache in 1677 and 1682.
In 1876 explorer Nathaniel Holmes Bishop of Medford, Massachusetts
Medford, Massachusetts
Medford is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, in the United States, on the Mystic River, five miles northwest of downtown Boston. In the 2010 U.S. Census, Medford's population was 56,173...
navigated the Crooked River through the lowlands to the Ochlockonee River
Ochlockonee River
The Ochlockonee River is a fast running river originating in Georgia and flowing for before terminating in Florida.- Background :The Ochlockonee originates south of the town of Sylvester in Worth County in southwest Georgia emptying into Ochlockonee Bay, then into Apalachee Bay, in Florida...
. In 1877 Oliver Hudson Kelly, from Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
founded the town and named it Rio Carrabelle. The following year the first U.S. Post office was established with its address as Rio Carrabelle. By 1881 the population was between 500 and 600 people.
In 1891 The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad
Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Georgia Railroad
The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Gulf Railroad was a short railroad running in north Florida and southern Georgia.- History :The Carrabelle, Tallahassee and Gulf Railroad was incorporated on January 5, 1891. It was projected along a route extending from Carrabelle through Tallahassee and northward...
was established to connect Carrabelle northward through Tallahassee
Tallahassee, Florida
Tallahassee is the capital of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County, and is the 128th largest city in the United States. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2010, the population recorded by...
to the Florida-Georgia line.
On August 1, 1899, the 2nd hurricane of the season struck the area almost destroying the town leaving just nine homes.
In 1942, Camp Gordon Johnston
Camp Gordon Johnston
Camp Gordon Johnson was a World War II United States Army training center located in Carrabelle, Florida, United States.-History:Camp Johnson opened in September 1941 as Camp Carrabelle and was later named after Colonel Gordon Johnston, a well decorated soldier who served in the Spanish-American...
was opened for the purpose of training amphibious soldiers on nearby beaches. The camp trained a quarter of a million men and closed in 1946.
On August 23, 2008, Tropical Storm Fay
Tropical Storm Fay (2008)
Tropical Storm Fay was a tropical storm and the sixth named storm of the 2008 Atlantic hurricane season. Fay formed from a vigorous tropical wave on August 15 over the Dominican Republic...
made its record fourth landfall in the state of Florida at Carrabelle.
Attractions
- Historic deep water fishing village
- World's Smallest Police Station
- Crooked River LightCrooked River LightThe Crooked River Light, also known as the Carrabelle Light, was built in 1895 to replace the Dog Island Light on Dog Island, which had been destroyed in 1875 by a hurricane...
house - Carrabelle Beach
- Tate's Hell State ForestTate's Hell State ForestTate's Hell State Forest is 202,437 acres of land in Franklin and Liberty counties in Florida. The forest is located near Carrabelle off US 98 along the coast...
- Camp Gordon JohnstonCamp Gordon JohnstonCamp Gordon Johnson was a World War II United States Army training center located in Carrabelle, Florida, United States.-History:Camp Johnson opened in September 1941 as Camp Carrabelle and was later named after Colonel Gordon Johnston, a well decorated soldier who served in the Spanish-American...
WWII Museum - Waterway to Dog Island, St George Sound, and eastern start point to the Gulf Intracoastal WaterwayGulf Intracoastal WaterwayThe Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately 1700 kilometers from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas.The waterway provides a channel with a controlling...
The "World's Smallest Police Station" came into being on March 10, 1963. The city had been having problems with tourists making unauthorized long distance phone calls on its police phone. The phone was located in a call box that was bolted to a building at the corner of U.S. 98 and Tallahassee Street. Johnnie Mirabella, St. Joe Telephone's lone Carrabelle employee at the time, first tried moving the call box to another building, but the illegal calls continued.
Mirabella noticed that the policeman would get drenched while answering phone calls when it was raining. So when the telephone company decided to replace its worn out phone booth in front of Burda's Pharmacy with a new one, he decided to solve both problems at once by putting the police phone in the old booth.
With the help of Curly Messer, who was a deputy sheriff at the time, Mirabella moved the phone booth to its current site on U.S. 98. The booth did protect the officers from the elements, but some people still snuck into it to make long distance calls. Eventually the dial was removed from the phone, making it impossible for tourists to make calls.
It has been featured on television shows "Real People
Real People
Real People is an NBC reality television series that aired from 1979 to 1984, on Wednesday and then Sunday nights. Its initial episodes aired live in the Eastern and Central Time Zones.-Synopsis:...
", "Ripley's Believe It or Not", "The Today Show
The Today Show
Today is an iconic American morning news and talk show airing every morning on NBC. Debuting on January 14, 1952, it was the first of its genre on American television and in the world. The show is also the fourth-longest running American television series...
", "Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
". It was featured in the movie "Tate's Hell" which was produced at Florida State University
Florida State University
The Florida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. Along with police station T-shirts - the design is copyrighted - there are police station hats, visors, postcards, and calendars.
But life has not always been easy for the retired St. Joseph Telephone and Telegraph Company phone booth. Vandals have ripped phones out of the booth and shot holes through the glass. It has been knocked over by a pickup truck, a tourist once asked a gas station attendant to help him load it into his vehicle to take it back to Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
and it was knocked over and damaged by Hurricane Kate.
Carrabelle has a local history museum which is located in the Marvin Justiss building also known as "Old City Hall" and is open on Friday and Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm for visitors interested in learning about the local history of Carrabelle.
The Camp Gordon Johnston
Camp Gordon Johnston
Camp Gordon Johnson was a World War II United States Army training center located in Carrabelle, Florida, United States.-History:Camp Johnson opened in September 1941 as Camp Carrabelle and was later named after Colonel Gordon Johnston, a well decorated soldier who served in the Spanish-American...
WWII Museum is located in the Carrabelle City Complex, 1001 Gray Avenue and admission is free.
Education
Carrabelle is a part of the Franklin County School DistrictFranklin County School District
The Franklin County School District is a public school district in Franklin County, Georgia, USA, based in Carnesville, Georgia. It serves the communities of Canon, Carnesville, Franklin Springs, Gumlog, Lavonia, Martin, Narrows, and Royston, Georgia....
system. Students attend the Franklin County K-12 School in Eastpoint, Florida that was built in 2008.