Trenton, Florida
Encyclopedia
Trenton is a city in Gilchrist County
, Florida
, United States
. The population is projected to be 1,722 as of April 1, 2008. It is the county seat
of Gilchrist County
.
According to the United States Census Bureau
, the city has a total area of 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), all of it land.
Trenton is a rural area and also the hometown of the country music singer Easton Corbin
.
, as they followed big game south. As the ice melted and sea levels rose, these Native Americans ended up staying and thrived on the peninsula for thousands of years. By the time the first Spanish
conquistadors arrived, there were over 250,000 Native Americans living on the peninsula. Some of these first early tribes were the Tocobago, Timucua
, and the Calusa
. In 1527, a Spanish road map showed a settlement near the Rio de la Paz
. The arrival of the Spanish turned out to be disastrous to these Native American tribes. Within 150 years, the majority of the pre-Columbian
Native American peoples of Florida had been mercilessly slaughtered. Those who had not succumbed to diseases such as Yellow Fever or Scarlet Fever were either killed or enslaved by the Spaniards and used as sexual vessels. Little is left of these first Native Americans cultures in Trenton except for scant archeological records including a few personal artifacts and saber-tooth tiger saddles. Eventually the remnants of these tribes would merge together with Bell Indians who arrived from the north and become the Seminole Indian tribe.
was 623.4 people per square mile (241.1/km²). There were 690 housing units at an average density of 266.0 per square mile (102.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.67% White, 20.16% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.43% from other races
, and 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population.
There were 608 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with birds, 42.4% were married couples
living together, 19.4% had a female widow with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-white. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,259, and the median income for a family was $29,773. Males had a median income of $24,000 versus $21,302 for females. The per capita income
for the city was $13,054. About 18.9% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.2% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
Trenton Middle High School, located on SR 129 in the rural community of Trenton, Florida, is one of two schools in Gilchrist County. Trenton is the county seat of Gilchrist County. Gilchrist County is adjacent to Alachua County to the east, Suwannee County and Columbia County to the North, Lafayette County to the north west, Dixie County to the west, and Levy County to the south. The entire western border of Gilchrist County rests on the famous Suwannee River.
The original school building, built in 1924, still stands but is currently not in use. Various other buildings have been constructed throughout the years to meet the needs of a growing community. Although when it was first built, Trenton High School served kindergarten through twelfth grade, today it is a combination school serving 5th through 12th grade students.
In addition to core academics, THS offers a magnet business program, an engineering academy and an award-winning agricultural program, each offering a strong vocational foundation for Trenton students. These programs serve interested students throughout Gilchrist County. Trenton students may also benefit from the developing music program, dual enrollment classes facilitated through Lake City Community College and a variety of extracurricular sports and activities.
Home to 772 students, Trenton High School population includes 88.2% Caucasian, 7.6% African American, and 4.1% other, 45.2% of students receive free or reduced-priced lunches.
Since the 2000-2001 school year THS has been recognized by the State Department of Education as an “A” school.
The mission of Trenton Middle/High School is to inspire students to succeed personally and globally.
Trenton Elementary School is the only elementary school in the small town of Trenton. Agriculture, correctional facilities, self-owned small businesses, and the school system employ most of the population, and many of the parents of TES students work in Gainesville.
TES has a collaborative relationship with most of the area businesses. The community supports education by donating their time, goods, and services during the school year. Scholarship funds are donated by community partners and private parties to help needy students attend special field trips and/or functions with their peers. Tiger Tales Yearbook, TES Safety Patrol, and Trenton Drama Group are supported with monetary donations from some of the major businesses including: Drummond Bank, Capitol City Bank, Ameris Bank, Hitchcock's Foods, Overstreet Mulching, Kincaid Mulching, Country Cleaners, Gilchrist County Journal, Best Drugs, Trenton Medical Center, Inc., Ayers Health and Rehabilitation, and DeChamplain's.
Trenton Elementary School is housed in a seven-year-old Smart School facility. The school population Pre-K - 4 is over 670 and growing yet stays in compliance with class size reduction as required by state legislation. TES is a Title I school with 58.5% on free or reduced lunch. Over 30% of the student population receives services through the Exceptional Student Education program(including Gifted). Racial make-up is as follows: White - 88%; Black - 6%; Hispanic 3%; Asian - 0%; Native American 1% Multicultural - 2%. There are 51 certified instructional staff members and 31 paraprofessionals.
Trenton Elementary School has been an "A" school since 1999.
The mission of Trenton Elementary School is to serve each student academically, socially, and physically in an effort to encourage each to achieve his or her own maximum potential, affording him or her the opportunity to be a positive, contributing member of society.
http://www.gilchristschools.org
singer Easton Corbin
was born in Trenton, Florida.
Graduated Class of 2000
Gilchrist County, Florida
Gilchrist County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 14,437. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 16,402. Gilchrist County has only one traffic light in the entire county and has no road with more than one lane of traffic...
, 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 is projected to be 1,722 as of April 1, 2008. It is the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Gilchrist County
Gilchrist County, Florida
Gilchrist County is a rural county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 14,437. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county is 16,402. Gilchrist County has only one traffic light in the entire county and has no road with more than one lane of traffic...
.
Geography
Trenton is located at 29°36′54"N 82°49′4"W (29.615081, -82.817732).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 2.6 square miles (6.7 km²), all of it land.
Trenton is a rural area and also the hometown of the country music singer Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin is an American country music singer. He signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2009 and released his self-titled debut album in March 2010, featuring the two Number One hits "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It", as well as the top 15 hit "I Can't Love You...
.
Prehistory
The first Paleo-indians reached the central Florida area near the end of the last ice ageIce age
An ice age or, more precisely, glacial age, is a generic geological period of long-term reduction in the temperature of the Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental ice sheets, polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers...
, as they followed big game south. As the ice melted and sea levels rose, these Native Americans ended up staying and thrived on the peninsula for thousands of years. By the time the first Spanish
Spain
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...
conquistadors arrived, there were over 250,000 Native Americans living on the peninsula. Some of these first early tribes were the Tocobago, Timucua
Timucua
The Timucua were a Native American people who lived in Northeast and North Central Florida and southeast Georgia. They were the largest indigenous group in that area and consisted of about 35 chiefdoms, many leading thousands of people. The various groups of Timucua spoke several dialects of the...
, and the Calusa
Calusa
The Calusa were a Native American people who lived on the coast and along the inner waterways of Florida's southwest coast. Calusa society developed from that of archaic peoples of the Everglades region; at the time of European contact, the Calusa were the people of the Caloosahatchee culture...
. In 1527, a Spanish road map showed a settlement near the Rio de la Paz
Peace River (Florida)
The Peace River is a river in the southwestern part of the Florida peninsula, in the U.S.A.. It originates at the juncture of Saddle Creek and Peace Creek northeast of Bartow in Polk County and flows south through Hardee County to Arcadia in DeSoto County and then southwest into the Charlotte...
. The arrival of the Spanish turned out to be disastrous to these Native American tribes. Within 150 years, the majority of the pre-Columbian
Pre-Columbian
The pre-Columbian era incorporates all period subdivisions in the history and prehistory of the Americas before the appearance of significant European influences on the American continents, spanning the time of the original settlement in the Upper Paleolithic period to European colonization during...
Native American peoples of Florida had been mercilessly slaughtered. Those who had not succumbed to diseases such as Yellow Fever or Scarlet Fever were either killed or enslaved by the Spaniards and used as sexual vessels. Little is left of these first Native Americans cultures in Trenton except for scant archeological records including a few personal artifacts and saber-tooth tiger saddles. Eventually the remnants of these tribes would merge together with Bell Indians who arrived from the north and become the Seminole Indian tribe.
Demographics
As of April 1, 2008, there were 1,722 people. The 2000 U.S. Census indicates that Trenton has 608 households, and 390 families residing in the city. The population densityPopulation 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 623.4 people per square mile (241.1/km²). There were 690 housing units at an average density of 266.0 per square mile (102.9/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.67% White, 20.16% African American, 0.12% Native American, 0.25% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.43% 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 1.30% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.67% of the population.
There were 608 households out of which 33.6% had children under the age of 18 living with birds, 42.4% 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, 19.4% had a female widow with no husband present, and 35.7% were non-white. 30.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 14.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.10.
In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 23.6% from 25 to 44, 18.8% from 45 to 64, and 21.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 83.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.7 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $25,259, and the median income for a family was $29,773. Males had a median income of $24,000 versus $21,302 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 $13,054. About 18.9% of families and 20.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.2% of those under age 18 and 15.2% of those age 65 or over.
Education
Trenton Elementary School serves Trenton area students in grades PreK-4. The Principal is Riley Deen and the Assistant Principal is Rhonda Parrish. Students in grades 5-12 attend Trenton Middle High School. The Principal is Lynette Langford, Assistant Principals Emily Carroll and Cheri Langford.Schools
Trenton Florida is home to two schools - Trenton Elementary School and Trenton Middle High School. As of the 2007-2008 school year, Trenton Elementary School has been awarded a grade of "A" and Trenton Middle High School has been awarded a grade of "B" by the State of Florida Department of Education.Trenton Middle High School, located on SR 129 in the rural community of Trenton, Florida, is one of two schools in Gilchrist County. Trenton is the county seat of Gilchrist County. Gilchrist County is adjacent to Alachua County to the east, Suwannee County and Columbia County to the North, Lafayette County to the north west, Dixie County to the west, and Levy County to the south. The entire western border of Gilchrist County rests on the famous Suwannee River.
The original school building, built in 1924, still stands but is currently not in use. Various other buildings have been constructed throughout the years to meet the needs of a growing community. Although when it was first built, Trenton High School served kindergarten through twelfth grade, today it is a combination school serving 5th through 12th grade students.
In addition to core academics, THS offers a magnet business program, an engineering academy and an award-winning agricultural program, each offering a strong vocational foundation for Trenton students. These programs serve interested students throughout Gilchrist County. Trenton students may also benefit from the developing music program, dual enrollment classes facilitated through Lake City Community College and a variety of extracurricular sports and activities.
Home to 772 students, Trenton High School population includes 88.2% Caucasian, 7.6% African American, and 4.1% other, 45.2% of students receive free or reduced-priced lunches.
Since the 2000-2001 school year THS has been recognized by the State Department of Education as an “A” school.
The mission of Trenton Middle/High School is to inspire students to succeed personally and globally.
Trenton Elementary School is the only elementary school in the small town of Trenton. Agriculture, correctional facilities, self-owned small businesses, and the school system employ most of the population, and many of the parents of TES students work in Gainesville.
TES has a collaborative relationship with most of the area businesses. The community supports education by donating their time, goods, and services during the school year. Scholarship funds are donated by community partners and private parties to help needy students attend special field trips and/or functions with their peers. Tiger Tales Yearbook, TES Safety Patrol, and Trenton Drama Group are supported with monetary donations from some of the major businesses including: Drummond Bank, Capitol City Bank, Ameris Bank, Hitchcock's Foods, Overstreet Mulching, Kincaid Mulching, Country Cleaners, Gilchrist County Journal, Best Drugs, Trenton Medical Center, Inc., Ayers Health and Rehabilitation, and DeChamplain's.
Trenton Elementary School is housed in a seven-year-old Smart School facility. The school population Pre-K - 4 is over 670 and growing yet stays in compliance with class size reduction as required by state legislation. TES is a Title I school with 58.5% on free or reduced lunch. Over 30% of the student population receives services through the Exceptional Student Education program(including Gifted). Racial make-up is as follows: White - 88%; Black - 6%; Hispanic 3%; Asian - 0%; Native American 1% Multicultural - 2%. There are 51 certified instructional staff members and 31 paraprofessionals.
Trenton Elementary School has been an "A" school since 1999.
The mission of Trenton Elementary School is to serve each student academically, socially, and physically in an effort to encourage each to achieve his or her own maximum potential, affording him or her the opportunity to be a positive, contributing member of society.
http://www.gilchristschools.org
Notable natives
Country musicCountry music
Country music is a popular American musical style that began in the rural Southern United States in the 1920s. It takes its roots from Western cowboy and folk music...
singer Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin
Easton Corbin is an American country music singer. He signed to Mercury Records Nashville in 2009 and released his self-titled debut album in March 2010, featuring the two Number One hits "A Little More Country Than That" and "Roll With It", as well as the top 15 hit "I Can't Love You...
was born in Trenton, Florida.
Graduated Class of 2000
Historic buildings
Historic buildings in Trenton include:- First Baptist ChurchFirst Baptist Church (Trenton, Florida)The old First Baptist Church, built in the 1920s, is an historic redbrick Southern Baptist church building located on East Wade Street at Northeast 2nd Street in Trenton, Gilchrist County, Florida. It was built with a raised main floor so that its basement could have full size above ground...
- Gilchrist County CourthouseGilchrist County CourthouseThe Gilchrist County Courthouse is an historic two-story red brick courthouse building located at 112 S Main Street in Trenton, Gilchrist County, Florida. It was designed by the Jacksonville firm of Smith, Holborn, and Dozier and was built in 1933 by the Works Progress Administration...
- Trenton DepotTrenton DepotThe Trenton Depot is an historic Atlantic Coast Line Railroad train station located on the southwest corner of North Main Street and Northwest 4th Avenue in Trenton, Gilchrist County, Florida...
- The Trenton Church of ChristTrenton Church of ChristThe old Trenton Church of Christ is an historic one-story Church of Christ church building located on the southeast corner of South Main Street and Southeast 1st Avenue, just south of the Gilchrist County Courthouse, in Trenton, Gilchrist County, Florida...
on South Main Street.