Vernon, Florida
Encyclopedia
Vernon is a city in Washington County
Washington County, Florida
Washington County is a county located in the state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 20,973. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 22,299. Its county seat is Chipley, Florida...

, 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 743 at the 2000 census; according to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 757.

The town gained infamy in the late 1950s
1950s
The 1950s or The Fifties was the decade that began on January 1, 1950 and ended on December 31, 1959. The decade was the sixth decade of the 20th century...

 and early 1960s
1960s
The 1960s was the decade that started on January 1, 1960, and ended on December 31, 1969. It was the seventh decade of the 20th century.The 1960s term also refers to an era more often called The Sixties, denoting the complex of inter-related cultural and political trends across the globe...

 due to the improbably high percentage of residents who put out insurance
Insurance
In law and economics, insurance is a form of risk management primarily used to hedge against the risk of a contingent, uncertain loss. Insurance is defined as the equitable transfer of the risk of a loss, from one entity to another, in exchange for payment. An insurer is a company selling the...

 claims on lost limbs
Limb (anatomy)
A limb is a jointed, or prehensile , appendage of the human or other animal body....

, to the point that many speculated that residents of the town were intentionally dismembering
Dismemberment
Dismemberment is the act of cutting, tearing, pulling, wrenching or otherwise removing, the limbs of a living thing. It may be practiced upon human beings as a form of capital punishment, as a result of a traumatic accident, or in connection with murder, suicide, or cannibalism...

 themselves for the insurance money
Insurance fraud
Insurance fraud is any act committed with the intent to fraudulently obtain payment from an insurer.Insurance fraud has existed ever since the beginning of insurance as a commercial enterprise. Fraudulent claims account for a significant portion of all claims received by insurers, and cost billions...

. Although there is no real evidence to support these speculations, and many people believe the story was greatly exaggerated as a publicity stunt for Errol Morris' movie, these insurance claims from Vernon, with a population of 500–800, accounted for as many as 2/3 of claims nationally. As such, the town gained the nickname "Nub City".

The geographical center of Washington County, Florida, Vernon is named for George Washington's Virginia home, Mt. Vernon. The quaint, pioneer town was also the site of a major Indian settlement. Vernon held the county seat until 1927 when the seat was moved to Chipley. The move was approved by a margin of one vote.

The city is also known for the Errol Morris
Errol Morris
Errol Mark Morris is an American director. In 2003, The Guardian put him seventh in its list of the world's 40 best directors. Also in 2003, his film The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara won the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature.-Early life and...

 documentary film
Documentary film
Documentary films constitute a broad category of nonfictional motion pictures intended to document some aspect of reality, primarily for the purposes of instruction or maintaining a historical record...

 Vernon, Florida
Vernon, Florida (film)
Vernon, Florida is a 1981 documentary film produced and directed by Errol Morris profiling various eccentric residents living within the town of Vernon, Florida. Originally titled Nub City, this follow-up to Gates of Heaven was initially focused on residents of the Southern town who cut off their...

 (produced in 1981) highlighting the eccentricities of the people who lived there. The movie angered many residents of the city and surrounding areas who felt the documentary portrayed Vernon in a negative light. Morris had originally intended to document on the "Nub City" aspect of the town, but re-focused his subject after claiming to receive death threats from residents.

History

The city sits on the Holmes Creek where during the 1880s the creek was used as a shipping route to Bonifay and other nearby towns. The creek was also used to ship gopher turtles due to the high value their shell carried at that time.

Geography

Vernon is located at 30°37′18"N 85°42′42"W (30.621699, -85.711628).

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 4.7 square miles (12.2 km²), all land.

Demographics

As of the census
Census
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 743 people, 296 households, and 206 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 157.3 inhabitants per square mile (60.8/km²). There were 372 housing units at an average density of 78.8 per square mile (30.4/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 77.25% White, 15.75% African American, 2.42% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.13% 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 3.77% from two or more races. Hispanic of any race were 1.48% of the population.

There were 296 households out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.3% 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, 16.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.4% were non-families. 27.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 16.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.80.

In the city the population was spread out with 27.6% under the age of 18, 7.9% from 18 to 24, 24.2% from 25 to 44, 23.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 83.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $21,176, and the median income for a family was $24,196. Males had a median income of $20,000 versus $15,938 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 $11,869. About 21.7% of families and 28.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 48.8% of those under age 18 and 28.1% of those age 65 or over.

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