147-508: Jackson County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida , on its northwestern border with Alabama . As of the 2020 census , the population was 47,319. Its county seat is Marianna . Jackson County was created by the Florida Territorial Council in 1822 out of Escambia County , at the same time that Duval County was organized from land of St. Johns County , making them the third and fourth counties in
294-1054: A city , town , or village . A few counties directly provide public transportation themselves, usually in the form of a simple bus system. However, in most counties, public transportation is provided by one of the following: a special district that is coterminous with the county (but exists separately from the county government), a multi-county regional transit authority, or a state agency. In western and southern states, more populated counties provide many facilities, such as airports, convention centers , museums, recreation centers , beaches, harbors, zoos, clinics, law libraries , and public housing . They provide services such as child and family services, elder services, mental health services, welfare services, veterans assistance services, animal control , probation supervision, historic preservation, food safety regulation, and environmental health services. They have many additional officials like public defenders , arts commissioners, human rights commissioners, and planning commissioners. There may be
441-446: A consolidated city-county or independent city exists, a city council usually governs city/county or city affairs. In some counties, day-to-day operations are overseen by an elected county executive or by a chief administrative officer or county administrator who reports to the board, the mayor, or both. In many states, the board in charge of a county holds powers that transcend all three traditional branches of government. It has
588-516: A basic structure to build acceptable practices of upstanding lives. At many of these institutions, Christian principles and practices were also part of the daily regime. Despite the untimely dissolution of the Freedmen's Bureau, its legacy influenced the important historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs), which were the chief institutions of higher learning for blacks in the South through
735-424: A county fire department and a county police department – as distinguished from fire and police departments operated by individual cities, special districts, or the state government. For example, Gwinnett County, Georgia , and its county seat, the city of Lawrenceville , each have their own police departments. (A separate county sheriff's department is responsible for security of the county courts and administration of
882-480: A female householder with no husband present, and 30.20% were non-families. 27.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.95. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.30% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 29.60% from 25 to 44, 23.80% from 45 to 64, and 14.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age
1029-465: A few counties bear names of Native American , French, or Spanish origin. Counties are most often named for people, often political figures or early settlers, with over 2,100 of the 3,144 total so named. The most common county name, with 31, is Washington County , for America's first president, George Washington . Up until 1871, there was a Washington County within the District of Columbia , but it
1176-409: A geographic area with specific boundaries and usually some level of governmental authority. The term " county " is used in 48 states, while Louisiana and Alaska have functionally equivalent subdivisions called parishes and boroughs , respectively. Counties and other local governments exist as a matter of U.S. state law , so the specific governmental powers of counties may vary widely between
1323-663: A humanitarian motivation. As a group, the black cohort showed the greatest commitment to racial equality; and they were the ones most likely to remain teachers. The school curriculum resembled that of schools in the north. The building and opening by the AMA and other missionary societies of schools of higher learning for African Americans coincided with the shift in focus for the Freedmen's Aid Societies from supporting an elementary education for all African Americans to enabling African-American leaders to gain high school and college educations. Some white officials working with African Americans in
1470-400: A land area of 20,057 square miles (51,947 km ). The least extensive county is Kalawao County, Hawaii , with a land area of 11.991 square miles (31.058 km ). The least extensive county equivalent in the 50 states is the independent city of Falls Church, Virginia , with a land area of 1.999 square miles (5.177 km ). If U.S. territories are included,
1617-453: A large number of counties, and many Western states were sparsely populated when counties were created by their respective state legislatures. The five counties of Rhode Island and eight of the 14 counties of Massachusetts no longer have functional county governments, but continue to exist as legal and census entities. Connecticut abolished county governments in 1960, leaving its eight counties as mere legal and census entities. In 2022,
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#17327916965611764-686: A major source of documentation on the operations of the Bureau, political and social conditions in the Reconstruction Era, and the genealogies of freedpeople. The Freedmen's Bureau Project (announced on June 19, 2015) was created as a set of partnerships between FamilySearch International and the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian 's National Museum of African American History and Culture ,
1911-517: A new system of healthcare for the freedmen. Although a majority of the agency's relief rations went to freedpeople, a large number of whites also benefited. In Georgia, poor whites received almost one-fifth of the Bureau's rations. In North Carolina, the bureau employed: 9 contract surgeons, at $ 100 per month; 26 hospital attendants, at average pay each per month $ 11.25; 18 civilian employees, clerks, agents, etc., at an average pay per month of $ 17.20; 4 laborers, at an average pay per month of $ 11.90, for
2058-415: A population over 100,000; 137 counties have a population over 500,000; 45 counties have a population over 1,000,000; and 14 counties have a population over 2,000,000. At the other extreme, 35 counties have a population under 1,000; 307 counties have a population under 5,000; 709 counties have a population under 10,000; and 1,492 counties have a population between 10,000 and 50,000. At the 2000 U.S. Census ,
2205-463: A station at Webbville, the town declined further and became defunct. After the Civil War , the county was convulsed by violence as Confederate veterans and their allies attacked and intimidated freedmen and their sympathizers. The county faced the worst economic conditions in the state, as it had been most extensively developed for cotton plantations before the war, and was adversely affected by
2352-477: A system of universal, state-supported public education; in addition, most had prohibited both enslaved and free blacks from gaining an education. This meant learning to read and write, and do simple arithmetic. Former slaves wanted public education while the wealthier whites opposed the idea. Freedmen had a strong desire to learn to read and write; some had already started schools at refugee camps; others worked hard to establish schools in their communities even prior to
2499-408: A total annual salaries of $ 18,596.40, which is approximately $ 595,000 in 2024 dollars; enlisted men are detailed as orderlies, guards, etc., by commanding officers of the different military posts where officers of the Bureau were serving. Some misconduct was reported to the bureau main office that bureau agents were using their posts for personal gains. Colonel E. Whittlesey was questioned but said he
2646-572: A white riot in Marianna, in which whites attacked the black section of town and blacks on the street, injuring 200, including two police officers, and causing much property damage. Howard Kester , a prominent Southern evangelical minister who tried to improve conditions, assessed the economic and class issues related to the racial violence. In 1943 the last lynching in the county was conducted. Cellos Harrison, an African-American man, had been twice convicted by an all-white jury and sentenced to death. He
2793-428: Is Lake . Words from Native American languages, as well as the names of Native American leaders and tribes, lend their names to many counties. Quite a few counties bear names of French or Spanish origin, such as Marquette County being named after French missionary Father Jacques Marquette . The county's equivalent in the state of Louisiana, the parish (Fr. paroisse civile and Sp. parroquia ) took its name during
2940-578: Is Marianna Municipal Airport , originally known as the Graham Air Base . Local and private airports also exist throughout the county. Jackson County has two railroad lines. The primary one is the CSX P&;A Subdivision , a line formerly owned by the Louisville and Nashville Railroad that served Amtrak 's Sunset Limited . This service formerly went to New Orleans , but in 2005 service
3087-492: Is $ 821,600 in 2024 dollars. General Saxton was head of the bureau operations in South Carolina; he was reported by Steedman and Fullerton to have made so many "mistakes and blunders" that he made matters worse for the freedmen. He was replaced by Brigadier General R. K. Scott. Steedman and Fullerton described Scott as energetic and a competent officer. It appeared that he took great pains to turn things around and correct
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#17327916965613234-572: Is 343 sq mi (890 km ), whereas in Utah it is 2,427 sq mi (6,290 km ). The most extensive county or county equivalent is the Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , with a land area of 145,505 square miles (376,856 km ). All nine of the most extensive county equivalents are in Alaska. The most extensive county is San Bernardino County, California , with
3381-972: Is also home to Baptist College of Florida , an institution of higher education in Graceville affiliated with the Florida Baptist Convention , and Chipola College , a state college in Marianna. The Jackson County Public Library System has three branches. Jackson County is also a part of the Panhandle Public Library Cooperative System . The PPLCS also includes Holmes , and Calhoun counties. The Florida Department of Corrections operates Region I - Correctional Facility Office in an unincorporated area in Jackson County. The Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Dozier School for Boys , closed in 2011 after extensive investigations of abuse,
3528-431: Is an unusual case because it encompasses multiple entire counties in one city. Each of those counties is coextensive with one of the five boroughs of the city: Manhattan (New York County), The Bronx (Bronx County), Queens (Queens County), Brooklyn (Kings County), and Staten Island (Richmond County). Freedmen%27s Bureau The Bureau of Refugees, Freedmen, and Abandoned Lands , usually referred to as simply
3675-500: Is either done at the state level or at the municipal level. In Connecticut and parts of Massachusetts, regional councils have been established to partially fill the void left behind by the abolished county governments. The regional councils' authority is limited compared with a county government—they have authority only over infrastructure and land use planning, distribution of state and federal funds for infrastructure projects, emergency preparedness, and limited law enforcement duties. In
3822-399: Is greater than the populations of 41 U.S. states, and is only slightly smaller than the combined population of the 10 least populous states and Washington, D.C. It also makes the population of Los Angeles County 17.4 times greater than that of the least populous state, Wyoming. The second most populous county is Cook County, Illinois , with a population of 5,275,541. Cook County's population
3969-546: Is in the Central Standard Time Zone . Its eastern border with Gadsden County forms the boundary in this area between the Central Standard and Eastern Standard Time Zones . Three water bodies form the eastern border of Jackson county. The Chattahoochee River forms the northeast boundary between Jackson County and Seminole County, Georgia. It flows into Lake Seminole . The Lake was formed by
4116-455: Is larger than that of 28 individual U.S. states and the combined populations of the six smallest states. The least populous county is Loving County, Texas , with 64 residents in 2020. Eight county equivalents in the U.S. territories have no human population: Rose Atoll , Northern Islands Municipality , Baker Island , Howland Island , Jarvis Island , Johnston Atoll , Kingman Reef , and Navassa Island . The remaining three islands in
4263-841: Is no formal level of government (municipality, public education, or otherwise) existing below that of the county in the state. In most Midwestern and Northeastern states, counties are further subdivided into townships or towns , which sometimes exercise local powers or administration. Throughout the United States, counties may contain other independent, self-governing municipalities . In New England, counties function at most as judicial court districts and sheriff's departments (presently, in Connecticut only as judicial court districts—and in Rhode Island , they have lost both those functions and most others but they are still used by
4410-587: Is now known as Hampton University. The Freedmen's Bureau published their own freedmen's textbook. They emphasized the bootstrap philosophy, encouraging freedmen to believe that each person had the ability to work hard and to do better in life. These readers included traditional literacy lessons, as well as selections on the life and works of Abraham Lincoln , excerpts from the Bible focused on forgiveness, biographies of famous African Americans with emphasis on their piety, humbleness, and industry; and essays on humility,
4557-410: Is rarely a county responsibility, execution of capital punishment is never a county responsibility, and the state's responses to prisoners' appeals are the responsibility of the state attorney general , who has to defend before the state appellate courts the prosecutions conducted by locally elected district attorneys in the name of the state. Furthermore, county-level trial court judges are officers of
Jackson County, Florida - Misplaced Pages Continue
4704-562: Is simultaneously a city, which is a municipality (municipal corporation), and a county, which is an administrative division of a state, having the powers and responsibilities of both types of entities. The city limit or jurisdiction is synonymous with the county line, as the two administrative entities become a non-dichotomous single entity. For this reason, a consolidated city-county is officially remarked as name of city – name of county (i.e., Augusta–Richmond County in Georgia). The same
4851-506: Is true of the boroughs of New York City , each of which is coextensive with a county of New York State. For those entities in which the city uses the same name as the county, city and county of name may be used (i.e., City and County of Denver in Colorado). Similarly, some of Alaska 's boroughs have merged with their principal cities, creating unified city-boroughs. Some such consolidations and mergers have created cities that rank among
4998-423: The 2020 United States census , there were 47,319 people, 17,149 households, and 11,152 families residing in the county. As of the census of 2000, there were 46,755 people, 16,620 households, and 11,600 families residing in the county. The population density was 51 people per square mile (20 people/km). There were 19,490 housing units at an average density of 21 per square mile (8.1/km). The racial makeup of
5145-596: The Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society (AAHGS), and the California African American Museum . With the help of more than 25,000 volunteers, the project was completed on June 20, 2016. Information about millions of African Americans is now accessible, allowing families to build their family trees and connect with their ancestors. In October 2006, Virginia governor Tim Kaine announced that Virginia would be
5292-652: The Alaska Constitutional Convention wanted to avoid the traditional county system and adopted their own unique model with different types of boroughs varying in powers and duties. In some states, these powers are partly or mostly devolved to the counties' smaller divisions usually called townships , though in New York, New England and Wisconsin they are called "towns". The county may or may not be able to override its townships on certain matters, depending on state law. The newest county in
5439-693: The American Freedmen's Inquiry Commission was established. Two years later, as a result of the inquiry the Freedmen's Bureau Bill was passed, which established the Freedmen's Bureau as initiated by U.S. President Abraham Lincoln . It was intended to last for one year after the end of the Civil War. The Bureau became a part of the United States Department of War , as Congress provided no funding for it. The War Department
5586-458: The City and County of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ; City and County of San Francisco, California ; and Lynchburg-Moore County, Tennessee A consolidated city-county may still contain independent municipalities maintaining some governmental powers that did not merge with the rest of the county. For example, the government of Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida , still provides county-level services to
5733-510: The Freedmen's Bureau , was a U.S. government agency of early post American Civil War Reconstruction , assisting freedmen (i.e., former slaves) in the South. It was established on March 3, 1865, and operated briefly as a federal agency after the War, from 1865 to 1872, to direct provisions, clothing, and fuel for the immediate and temporary shelter and supply of destitute and suffering refugees and freedmen and their wives and children. In 1863,
5880-544: The Hampton Institute and Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute (from 1881). They said that black students should be able to leave home and "live in an atmosphere conducive not only to scholarship but to culture and refinement". Most of these colleges, universities and normal schools combined what they believed were the best fundamentals of a college with that of the home, giving students
6027-544: The Jim Woodruff Dam which was completed in 1952. The outflow at the dam becomes the Apalachicola River which is the eastern boundary of Jackson county with Gadsden county. The Chipola River is formed in north central Jackson county from the confluences of Black Creek and Cowarts Creek. It continues south through the county and becomes a part of the border between Jackson county and the west side of
Jackson County, Florida - Misplaced Pages Continue
6174-603: The Mid-Atlantic and Midwest , counties typically provide, at a minimum, courts, public utilities , libraries, hospitals, public health services, parks, roads, law enforcement, and jails. There is usually a county registrar, recorder, or clerk (the exact title varies) who collects vital statistics , holds elections (sometimes in coordination with a separate elections office or commission), and prepares or processes certificates of births, deaths, marriages, and dissolutions (divorce decrees). The county recorder normally maintains
6321-566: The New York City Borough of Manhattan), with 72,033 persons per square mile (27,812 persons/km ) in 2015. The Yukon–Koyukuk Census Area, Alaska , is both the most extensive and the least densely populated county or county equivalent with 0.0380 persons per square mile (0.0147 persons/km ) in 2015. In the 50 states (plus the District of Columbia), a total of 981 counties have a population over 50,000; 592 counties have
6468-576: The Province of Maine founded York County . Massachusetts followed in 1643. Pennsylvania and New York delegated significant power and responsibility from the colony government to county governments and thereby established a pattern for most of the United States, although counties remained relatively weak in New England . When independence came, the framers of the Constitution left
6615-437: The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands ( Midway Atoll , Palmyra Atoll and Wake Island ) have small non-permanent human populations. The county equivalent with the smallest non-zero population counted in the census is Swains Island, American Samoa (17 people), although since 2008 this population has not been permanent either. The most densely populated county or county equivalent is New York County, New York (coextensive with
6762-582: The USGS counts Guam's election districts (villages) as county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts the 3 main islands in the U.S. Virgin Islands as county equivalents, while the USGS counts the districts of the U.S. Virgin Islands (of which there are 2) as county equivalents. Common sources of county names are names of people, geographic features, places in other states or countries, and animals. Quite
6909-689: The United States Census Bureau and some other federal agencies for some federal functions), and most of the governmental authority below the state level is in the hands of towns and cities . In several of Maine's sparsely populated counties, small towns rely on the county for law enforcement, and in New Hampshire several social programs are administered at the state level. In Connecticut, Rhode Island, and parts of Massachusetts, counties are now only geographic designations, and they do not have any governmental powers. All government
7056-471: The county seat ("parish seat" in Louisiana, "borough seat" in Alaska, or " shire town " in several New England counties). The county seat usually resides in a municipality. However, some counties may have multiple seats or no seat. In some counties with no incorporated municipalities, a large settlement may serve as the county seat. The power of county governments varies widely from state to state, as does
7203-487: The de facto county seat of the county justice and civil authority, although it was never officially proclaimed as such. Marianna began to grow and prosper when the county government moved into the new courthouse in 1829. It became the market and court town for the rural county. Webbville's prominent citizens moved to Marianna to follow the courts, as did numerous businesses. When the L&;N Railroad decided to bypass putting
7350-478: The median land area of U.S. counties was 622 sq mi (1,610 km ), which is two-thirds of the median land area of a ceremonial county of England , and a little more than a quarter of the median land area of a French département . Counties in the western United States typically have a much larger land area than those in the eastern United States. For example, the median land area of counties in Georgia
7497-500: The poverty line , including 23.70% of those under age 18 and 21.00% of those age 65 or over. Jackson County is governed by a five-member board of county commissioners. Politically, the county is predominantly Republican. The last time a Democrat won the county in the presidential election was 1980, when Jimmy Carter, the former governor of neighboring Georgia, was on the ballot. The county is part of Florida's 2nd congressional district , represented by Neal Dunn (R- Panama City ). At
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#17327916965617644-451: The 50 states and District of Columbia. There are an additional 100 county equivalents in the territories of the United States . The average number of counties per state is 62, with a range from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . Southern and Midwestern states generally tend to have more counties than Western or Northeastern states, as many Northeastern states are not large enough in area to warrant
7791-461: The 50 states and the District of Columbia. If the 100 county equivalents in the U.S. territories are counted, then the total is 3,244 counties and county-equivalents in the United States. The idea of counties originated with the counties of England . English (after 1707, British ) colonists brought to their colonies in North America a political subdivision that they already used in
7938-997: The British metropole : the counties. Counties were among the earliest units of local government established in the Thirteen Colonies that would become the United States. Virginia created the first counties in order to ease the administrative workload in Jamestown . The House of Burgesses divided the colony first into four "incorporations" in 1617 and finally into eight shires (or counties) in 1634: James City , Henrico , Charles City , Charles River , Warrosquyoake , Accomac , Elizabeth City , and Warwick River . America's oldest intact county court records can be found at Eastville, Virginia , in Northampton (originally Accomac) County , dating to 1632. Maryland established its first county, St. Mary's in 1637. In 1639,
8085-536: The Bureau of most of its funding, and as a result it had to cut much of its staff. By 1870 the Bureau had been weakened further due to the rise of Ku Klux Klan (KKK) violence across the South; members of the KKK and other terrorist organizations, attacked both blacks and sympathetic white Republicans , including teachers. Northern Democrats also opposed the Bureau's work, painting it as a program that would make African Americans "lazy". In 1872 Congress abruptly abandoned
8232-514: The Bureau to deal with Indian affairs in the west. Upon returning from his assignment in November 1872, General Howard discovered that the Bureau and all of its activities had been officially terminated by Congress, effective as of June. While General Howard was dealing with Indian affairs in the west, the Freedmen's Bureau was steadily losing its support in Congress. President Johnson had opposed
8379-488: The Bureau, with the support of the military, had the primary authority. In certain areas, such as the Sea Islands , many freedmen were destitute. Many had tried to cultivate the land and began businesses with little to no success in the social disruption of the period. Suffering much less damage in the war than some other Deep South states, Texas became a destination for some 200,000 refugee blacks from other parts of
8526-402: The Civil War the enslaved could not marry legally, and most marriages had been informal, although planters often presided over "marriage" ceremonies for their enslaved. After the war, the Freedmen's Bureau performed numerous marriages for freed couples who asked for it. As many husbands, wives, and children had been forcibly separated under slavery , the Bureau agents helped families reunite after
8673-515: The Education Act of 1965, Congress officially defined an HBCU as "an institution whose principal missions were and are the education of Black Americans". HBCUs graduate over 50% of African-American professionals, 50% of African-American public school teachers, and 70% of African-American dentists. In addition, 50% of African Americans who graduate from HBCUs pursue graduate or professional degrees. One in three degrees held by African Americans in
8820-589: The Freedmen's Bureau and his attitude encouraged many people, especially white Southerners, to challenge the Bureau. But insurgents showed that the war had not ended, as armed whites attacked black Republicans and their sympathizers, including teachers and officeholders. Congress dismantled the Bureau in 1872 due to pressure from white Southerners. The Bureau was unable to change much of the social dynamic as whites continued to seek supremacy over blacks, frequently with violence. In his autobiography, General Howard expressed great frustration about Congress having closed down
8967-415: The Freedmen's Bureau could institute martial law in his district. All but three judges accepted their unwanted commissions, and the governor urged compliance. Perhaps the most difficult region reported by the Freedmen's Bureau was Louisiana 's Caddo and Bossier parishes in the northwest part of the state. It had not suffered wartime devastation or Union occupation, but white hostility was high against
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#17327916965619114-490: The Freedmen's Bureau to provide education for former slaves. The American Missionary Association (AMA) was particularly active, establishing eleven "colleges" in Southern states for the education of freedmen. The primary focus of these groups was to raise funds to pay teachers and manage schools, while the secondary focus was the day-to-day operation of individual schools. After 1866, Congress appropriated some funds to operate
9261-526: The Klan at every level as to render the county and state governments completely powerless to stop them. Planters were defaulting on tax payments due to the poor economic conditions, and Republican county officials began to sell thousands of acres in tax sales. In addition the two representatives of the Freedmen's Bureau , Charles Memorial Hamilton and William J. Purman , worked to break the cycle of black labor exploitation. Planters would throw sharecroppers off
9408-641: The National Archivist to preserve the extensive records of the Bureau on microfilm, and work with educational institutions to index the records. In addition to those records of the Bureau headquarters, assistant commissioners, and superintendents of education, the National Archives now has records of the field offices, marriage records, and records of the Freedmen's Branch of the Adjutant General on microfilm. They are being digitized and made available through online databases. These constitute
9555-499: The North, motivated by religion and abolitionism to teach in the South. In the early 21st century, new research has found that half the teachers were southern whites; one-third were blacks (mostly southern), and one-sixth were northern whites. Few were abolitionists; few came from New England. Men outnumbered women. The salary was the strongest motivation except for the northerners, who were typically funded by northern organizations and had
9702-514: The Republican Party in the county, assassinating more than 150 Republican Party leaders and other prominent African Americans as part of a successful campaign to retain white Democratic power in the county. Another source says that in Jackson County, 200 "leading Republicans" were assassinated in 1869 and 1870 alone; no one was arrested or brought to trial for these crimes. The sheriff...Thomas M. West complained that public sentiment
9849-417: The South passed new state constitutions disenfranchising most blacks by creating barriers to voter registration. They then passed Jim Crow laws establishing legal segregation of public places. Segregated schools and other services for blacks were consistently underfunded by the Southern legislatures. By 1871, Northerners' interest in reconstructing the South had waned. Northerners were beginning to tire of
9996-778: The South to help the freedmen and plant new congregations. By this time the independent black denominations were increasingly well organized and prepared to evangelize to the freedmen. Within a decade, the AME and AME Zion churches had gained hundreds of thousands of new members and were rapidly organizing new congregations. Even before the war, blacks had established independent Baptist congregations in some cities and towns, such as Silver Bluff and Charleston, South Carolina; and Petersburg and Richmond, Virginia. In many places, especially in more rural areas, they shared public services with whites. Often enslaved blacks met secretly to conduct their own services away from white supervision or oversight. After
10143-591: The South were concerned about what they considered the lack of a moral or financial foundation seen in the African-American community and traced that lack of foundation back to slavery. Generally, they believed that Blacks needed help to enter a free labor market and rebuild a stable family life. Heads of local American Missionary Associations sponsored various educational and religious efforts for African Americans. Later efforts for higher education were supported by such leaders as Samuel Chapman Armstrong of
10290-648: The South, in addition to 200,000 already in Texas. Slavery had been prevalent only in East Texas , and some freedmen hoped for the chance of new types of opportunity in the lightly populated but booming state. The Bureau's political role was central, as was close attention to the need for schools. The Freedmen's Bureau had 58 clerks and superintendents of farms, paid average monthly wages $ 78.50; 12 assistant superintendents, paid average monthly wages 87.00; and 163 laborers, paid average monthly wages 11.75; as personnel in
10437-677: The Territory. The county was named for Andrew Jackson , a General of the War of 1812, who had served as Florida's first military governor for six months in 1821. Jackson County originally extended from the Choctawhatchee River on the west to the Suwannee River on the east. By 1840 the county had been reduced close to its present boundaries through the creation of new counties from its original territory, following an increase of population in these areas. Minor adjustments to
10584-655: The U.S. Census Bureau began to also count Connecticut's Councils of Governments , which took over some of the regional powers from the state's former county governments, as county equivalents. Territories of the United States do not have counties; instead, the United States Census Bureau also divides them into county equivalents. The U.S. Census Bureau counts American Samoa 's districts and atolls as county equivalents. American Samoa locally has places called "counties", but these entities are considered to be " minor civil divisions " (not true counties) by
10731-473: The U.S. Census Bureau recognized the state's nine Councils of Governments as replacement for the state's eight legacy counties for all statistical purposes; full implementation was completed in 2024. The average U.S. county population was 104,435 in 2019, while the median county, which is Nicholas County, West Virginia , had a population of 25,965 in 2019. The most populous county is Los Angeles County, California , with 10,014,009 residents in 2020. This number
10878-479: The U.S. Census Bureau treats American Samoa's three districts and two atolls as county equivalents). American Samoa's counties are treated as minor civil divisions. Most territories are directly divided into municipalities or similar units, which are treated as equivalent of counties for statistical purposes: The U.S. Census Bureau counts all of Guam as one county equivalent (with the FIPS code 66010), while
11025-690: The U.S. Census Bureau. The number of counties per state ranges from the three counties of Delaware to the 254 counties of Texas . County populations also vary widely: in 2017, according to the Census Bureau, more than half the U.S. population was concentrated in just 143 of the more than 3,000 counties, or just 4.6% of all counties; the five most populous counties, ordered from most to least, are Los Angeles County, California ; Cook County, Illinois ; Harris County, Texas ; Maricopa County, Arizona ; and San Diego County, California . As of 2022 , there are 3,144 counties and county-equivalents in
11172-489: The United States is the city and county of Broomfield, Colorado , established in 2001 as a consolidated city-county , previously part of four counties. The newest county equivalents are the Alaskan census areas of Chugach and Copper River , both established in 2019, and the Alaskan boroughs of Petersburg established in 2013, Wrangell established in 2008, and Skagway established in 2007. A consolidated city-county
11319-438: The advent of the Freedmen's Bureau. The Freedmen's Bureau schools were also open to poor whites, however, almost no whites attended because "Despite the absence of statewide systems in most Southern states, most parents preferred to consign their children to illiteracy rather than to see them educated alongside black children." Oliver Otis Howard was appointed as the first Freedmen's Bureau Commissioner. Through his leadership,
11466-692: The agency to leave. In their review, Steedman and Fullerton repeated their conclusion from Virginia, which was to withdraw the Bureau and turn daily operations over to the military. In South Carolina, the bureau employed nine clerks, at average pay each per month $ 108.33, one rental agent, at monthly pay of $ 75.00, one clerk, at monthly pay of $ 50.00, one storekeeper, at monthly pay of $ 85.00, one counselor, at monthly pay of $ 125.00, one superintendent of education, at monthly pay of $ 150.00, one printer, at monthly pay of $ 100.00, one contract surgeon, at monthly pay of $ 100.00, and twenty-five laborers, at average pay per month $ 19.20. Total annual salaries of $ 25,679.64 which
11613-405: The assistant commissioners, realizing that African Americans would not receive fair trials in the civil courts, tried to handle black cases in their own Bureau courts. Southern whites objected that this was unconstitutional. In Alabama , the Bureau commissioned state and county judges as Bureau agents. They were to try cases involving blacks with no distinctions on racial grounds. If a judge refused,
11760-445: The bill, arguing that the Bureau encroached on states' rights , relied inappropriately on the military in peacetime, gave blacks help that poor whites had never had, and would ultimately prevent freed slaves from becoming self-sufficient by rendering them dependent on public assistance. Though the 39th United States Congress —controlled by Radical Republicans —overrode Johnson's veto, by 1869 Southern Democrats in Congress had deprived
11907-435: The black majority population. Well-meaning Bureau agents were understaffed and weakly supported by federal troops, and found their investigations blocked and authority undermined at every turn by recalcitrant plantation owners. Murders of freedmen were common, and white suspects in these cases were not prosecuted. Bureau agents did negotiate labor contracts, build schools and hospitals, and aid freedmen, but they struggled against
12054-402: The board. These positions may include county clerk , county treasurer , county surrogate, sheriff , and others. District attorneys or state attorneys are usually state-level as opposed to county-level officials, but in many states, counties and state judicial districts have coterminous boundaries. The site of a county's administration, and often the county courthouse , is generally called
12201-579: The bureau set up four divisions: Government-Controlled Lands, Records, Financial Affairs, and Medical Affairs. Education was considered part of the Records division. Howard turned over confiscated property including planters' mansions, government buildings, books, and furniture to superintendents to be used in the education of freedmen. He provided transportation and room and board for teachers. Many Northerners came south to educate freedmen. By 1866, Northern missionary and aid societies worked in conjunction with
12348-565: The bureau. He said, "the legislative action, however, was just what I desired, except that I would have preferred to close out my own Bureau and not have another do it for me in an unfriendly manner in my absence." All documents and matters pertaining to the Freedmen's Bureau were transferred from the office of General Howard to the War Department of the United States Congress. The Bureau began distributing rations in
12495-410: The city and the county at least nominally exist, they are properly classified as counties in their own right. Likewise, the boroughs of New York City are coextensive with counties and are therefore by definition also not county equivalents. There are technically no counties in U.S. territories. American Samoa has its own counties , but the U.S. Census Bureau does not treat them as counties (instead,
12642-660: The conditions of slavery. Also, the Freedmen's Bureau only controlled a limited amount of arable land. The Bureau's powers were expanded to help African Americans find family members from whom they had become separated during the war. It arranged to teach them to read and write—skills considered critical by the freedmen themselves as well as by the government. Bureau agents also served as legal advocates for African Americans in both state and federal courts, mostly in cases dealing with family issues. The Bureau encouraged former major planters to rebuild their plantations and pay wages to their previously enslaved workers. It kept an eye on
12789-445: The contracts between the newly free laborers and planters, given that few freedmen had yet gained adequate reading skills, and pushed whites and blacks to work together in a free-labor market as employers and employees rather than as masters and slaves. In 1866 Congress renewed the charter for the Bureau. President Andrew Johnson , a Southern Democrat who had succeeded to the office following Lincoln's assassination in 1865, vetoed
12936-421: The county (which merely implements state law). A typical criminal defendant will be arraigned and subsequently indicted or held over for trial before a trial court in and for a particular county where the crime occurred, kept in the county jail (if he is not granted bail or cannot make bail), prosecuted by the county's district attorney, and tried before a jury selected from that county. But long-term incarceration
13083-592: The county boundaries continued through most of the 19th century, however. There were no towns in Jackson County when it was formed. The first county court met at what was called "Robinson's Big Spring" (later called Blue Springs) in 1822 and then at the "Big Spring of the Choctawhatchee" in 1823. The following year the county court met at "Chipola Settlement", which is also known as Waddell's Mill Pond. The free labor of enslaved African Americans allowed European Americans to develop this area of Florida as part of
13230-463: The county jail.) In several southern states, public school systems are organized and administered at the county level. As of 2024 , there were 2,999 counties, 64 Louisiana parishes , 19 organized boroughs and 11 census areas in Alaska, 9 Councils of Government in Connecticut, 41 independent cities , and the District of Columbia for a total of 3,144 counties and county equivalents in
13377-420: The county was 72.18% White , 24.56% Black or African American , 0.77% Native American , 0.46% Asian , 0.03% Pacific Islander , 0.61% from other races , and 1.40% from two or more races. 2.91% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 16,620 households, out of which 30.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.50% were married couples living together, 14.40% had
13524-591: The county, clerk of the circuit court John Dickenson, was assassinated in 1871. (The previous clerk, Dr. John Finlayson, was killed in 1869.) In testimony to Congressional hearings about the KKK, state senator Charles H. Pearce , minister of the African Methodist Episcopal Church , said, "Satan has his seat; he reigns in Jackson County." Violence by whites against blacks in the county continued after Reconstruction. Nine African Americans were lynched here after Reconstruction, most around
13671-890: The decades of segregation into the mid-20th century. Under the direction and sponsorship of the Bureau, together with the American Missionary Association in many cases, from approximately 1866 until its termination in 1872, an estimated 25 institutions of higher learning for black youth were established. The leaders among them continue to operate as highly ranked institutions in the 21st century and have seen increasing enrollment. (Examples of HBCUs include Howard University , St. Augustine's College , Fisk University , Johnson C. Smith University , Clark Atlanta University , Dillard University , Shaw University , Virginia Union University , and Tougaloo College ). As of 2009 , there exist approximately 105 HBCUs that range in scope, size, organization, and orientation. Under
13818-454: The depots for the supplies. The ration was larger in winter and spring, and reduced in seasons when locally grown food was available. In 1866, the depot at Huntsville provided five thousand rations a day. The food was distributed without regard to race. Corruption and abuse was so great that in October 1866, President Johnson ended in-kind aid in that state. One hundred twenty thousand dollars
13965-597: The effort that Reconstruction required, were discouraged by the high rate of continuing violence around elections, and were ready for the South to take care of itself. All of the Southern states had created new constitutions that established universal, publicly funded education. Groups based in the North began to redirect their money toward universities and colleges founded to educate African-American leaders. Written accounts by northern women and missionary societies resulted in historians' overestimating their influence, writing that most Bureau teachers were well-educated women from
14112-399: The four independent municipalities within its borders: Atlantic Beach , Baldwin , Jacksonville Beach , and Neptune Beach . The term county equivalents is used by the United States Census Bureau to describe divisions that are comparable to counties but called by different names: Consolidated city-counties are not designated county equivalents for administrative purposes; since both
14259-423: The freedmen's schools. The main source of educational revenue for these schools came through a Congressional Act that gave the Freedmen's Bureau the power to seize Confederate property for educational use. George Ruby , an African American, served as a teacher and school administrator and as a traveling inspector for the Bureau, observing local conditions, aiding in the establishment of black schools, and evaluating
14406-461: The general law of the state or by a charter specific to that county. States may allow only general-law counties, only charter counties, or both. Generally, general-law local governments have less autonomy than chartered local governments. Counties are usually governed by an elected body, variously called the county commission , board of supervisors , commissioners' court , county council , county court , or county legislature . In cases in which
14553-626: The geographically largest cities in the world, though often with population densities far below those of most urban areas. There are 40 consolidated city-counties in the U.S., including Augusta–Richmond County; the City and County of Denver, Colorado; the City and County of Honolulu, Hawaii ; Indianapolis–Marion County, Indiana ; Jacksonville–Duval County, Florida ; Louisville–Jefferson County, Kentucky ; Lexington–Fayette County, Kentucky ; Kansas City–Wyandotte County, Kansas ; Nashville–Davidson County, Tennessee ; New Orleans–Orleans Parish, Louisiana ;
14700-631: The international decline in the market. White planters resisted dealing with freedmen as free workers. Insurgent Confederate veterans formed a Ku Klux Klan chapter and carried out masked violence to exert power, intimidate freedmen and white sympathizers, suppress their voting, and restore white supremacy . Throughout the Reconstruction , Jackson County was the main site [in Florida] of political and class struggle between planters and black laborers.... Jackson County [was] so thoroughly dominated by
14847-405: The judicial branch of the state government rather than county governments. In many states, the county controls all unincorporated lands within its boundaries. In states with a township tier, unincorporated land is controlled by the townships. Residents of unincorporated land who are dissatisfied with county-level or township-level resource allocation decisions can attempt to vote to incorporate as
14994-496: The land at the end of the season with no payment, claiming infractions that the Bureau deemed minor. The Bureau agents worked to enforce labor contracts. Tensions broke out into violence and in 1869 Jackson County became the center of a guerrilla war extending through 1871; it became known as the Jackson County War . The local Ku Klux Klan, insurgent Confederate Army veterans, directed their violence at eradicating
15141-553: The leadership of both parties in the state. He was warmly praised by observers on all sides. In an annual report dated October 1, 1866, it was reported that the Bureau had appointed twenty-four civilian special agents to assist the eighteen military officers who were already serving as Sub-assistant Commissioners. The Bureau played a major role in Georgia politics. It was especially active in setting up, monitoring, and enforcing labor contracts for both men and women. It also set up
15288-560: The least extensive county equivalent is Kingman Reef , with a land area of 0.01 square miles (0.03 km ). In some states, a municipality may be in only one county and may not annex territory in adjacent counties, but in the majority of states, the state constitution or state law allows municipalities to extend across county boundaries. At least 32 states include municipalities in multiple counties . Dallas , for example, contains portions of five counties, while numerous other cities comprise portions of four counties. New York City
15435-416: The legislative power to enact laws for the county; it has the executive power to oversee the executive operations of county government; and it has quasi-judicial power with regard to certain limited matters (such as hearing appeals from the planning commission if one exists). In many states, several important officials are elected separately from the board of commissioners or supervisors and cannot be fired by
15582-686: The matter to the states. Subsequently, state constitutions conceptualized county governments as arms of the state. Louisiana instead adopted the local divisions called parishes that dated back to both the Spanish colonial and French colonial periods when the land was dominated by the Catholic Church . In the twentieth century, the role of local governments strengthened and counties began providing more services, acquiring home rule and county commissions to pass local ordinances pertaining to their unincorporated areas . In 1955, delegates to
15729-491: The mid to late 20th century. Passenger traffic declined after affordable automobiles became widely available. 30°48′N 85°13′W / 30.80°N 85.21°W / 30.80; -85.21 County (United States) In the United States , a county or county equivalent is an administrative or political subdivision of a U.S. state or other territories of the United States which consists of
15876-437: The mistakes made by his predecessors. The investigators learned of reported murders of freedmen by a band of outlaws. These outlaws were thought to be people from other states, such as Texas, Kentucky and Tennessee, who had been part of the rebel army ( Ku Klux Klan chapters were similarly started by veterans in the first years after the war.) When citizens were asked why the perpetrators had not been arrested, many answered that
16023-461: The natural sciences, and half the degrees held by African Americans in mathematics, were earned at HBCUs. Perhaps the best known of these institutions is Howard University , founded in Washington, D.C., in 1867, with the aid of the Freedmen's Bureau. It was named for the commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau, General Oliver Otis Howard . After the Civil War, control over existing churches
16170-521: The next most common source of county names are geographic features and locations, with some counties even being named after counties in other states, or for places in other countries, such as the United Kingdom (the latter is most common in the area of the original Thirteen Colonies in the case of the United Kingdom, or in places which had a large number of immigrants from a particular area for other countries). The most common geographic county name
16317-420: The northern section of Calhoun county. Holmes Creek forms the northern portion of the western border of Jackson county with Holmes County. Blue Springs is a Jackson county recreation area east of Marianna located near the site of former Florida Governor John Milton 's Sylvania plantation. Two other notable water bodies in the county are Compass Lake in the southwest and Ocheesee Pond in the southeast. As of
16464-424: The official record of all real estate transactions. Other key county officials include the coroner / medical examiner , treasurer , assessor , auditor , comptroller , and district attorney . In most states, the county sheriff is the chief law enforcement officer in the county. However, except in major emergencies where clear chains of command are essential, the county sheriff normally does not directly control
16611-527: The performance of Bureau field officers. Blacks supported him, but planters and other whites opposed him. Overall, the Bureau spent $ 5 million to set up schools for blacks. By the end of 1865, more than 90,000 former slaves were enrolled as students in such public schools. Attendance rates at the new schools for freedmen were about 80%. Brigadier General Samuel Chapman Armstrong created and led Hampton Normal and Agricultural Institute in Virginia in 1868. It
16758-594: The plantation belt in the antebellum years. Cotton was cultivated as a commodity crop by large workgangs, and so Florida became a slave society. Gradually towns were developed. In January 1821, Webbville had been established as the first town in Jackson County. It was the first designated as the county seat. Marianna was founded in September 1821 by Robert Beveridge, a native of Scotland. It developed about 9 miles (14 km) southeast of Webbville. About 1828, Beveridge and other Marianna settlers went to Tallahassee to lobby
16905-448: The police departments of city governments, but merely cooperates with them (e.g., under mutual aid pacts). Thus, the most common interaction between county and city law enforcement personnel is when city police officers deliver suspects to sheriff's deputies for detention or incarceration in the county jail. In most states, the state courts and local law enforcement are organized and implemented along county boundaries, but nearly all of
17052-465: The program, refusing to approve renewal legislation. It did not inform Howard, whom U.S. President Ulysses S. Grant had transferred to Arizona to settle hostilities between the Apache and settlers. Grant's Secretary of War William W. Belknap was hostile to Howard's leadership and authority at the Bureau. Belknap aroused controversy among Republicans by his reassignment of Howard. The Bureau mission
17199-582: The relationship between counties and incorporated cities. The powers of counties arise from state law and vary widely. In Connecticut and Rhode Island , counties are geographic entities, but not governmental jurisdictions. At the other extreme, Maryland counties and the county equivalent City of Baltimore handle almost all services, including public education , although the state retains an active oversight authority with many of these services. Counties in Hawaii also handle almost all services since there
17346-425: The river corridors, which broke out across the South and caused many fatalities, especially among the poor. Freedmen's Bureau agents initially complained that freedwomen were refusing to contract their labor . One of the first actions black families took for independence was to withdraw women's labor from fieldwork. The Bureau attempted to force freedwomen to work by insisting that their husbands sign contracts making
17493-545: The same Desperadoes. Blacks were reported to have killed the two white men in the altercation. The whites' Arkansas friends and local whites went on a rampage against blacks in the area, resulting in more than 150 blacks being killed. In March 1872, at the request of President Ulysses S. Grant and the Secretary of the Interior, Columbus Delano , General Howard was asked to temporarily leave his duties as Commissioner of
17640-553: The state legislature to move the county seat to Marianna. They enticed the Florida Legislature with offers of free land, locally paying for construction of a county courthouse and development of a related public square, and donating an additional $ 500 to purchase a quarter section of land to be sold at public auction as a way to finance the new government, if the county seat was moved to Marianna. Beveridge and his supporters succeeded in their civic bribe. Marianna became
17787-473: The state level, Jackson County is part of Florida State Senate district 2. This district is represented by Jay Trumbull (R- Panama City ). In the State House of Representatives, the county forms part of House district 5. This district is represented by Shane Abbott (R- DeFuniak Springs ). The Jackson County School Board , the sole school district of the county, operates public schools. Jackson County
17934-497: The state of Virginia. Other personnel included orderlies and guards. During the war, slaves had escaped to Union lines and forts in the Tidewater, where contraband camps were established. Many stayed in that area after the war, seeking protection near the federal forts. The Bureau fed 9,000 to 10,000 blacks a month over the winter, explaining: In 2000, the U.S. Congress passed the Freedmen's Bureau Preservation Act, which directed
18081-556: The state's French and Spanish colonial periods. Before the Louisiana Purchase and granting of statehood, government was often administered in towns where major church parishes were located. Of the original 19 civil parishes of Louisiana that date from statehood in 1807, nine were named after the Roman Catholic parishes from which they were governed. The structure and powers of a county government may be defined by
18228-727: The states, with many providing some level of services to civil townships , municipalities , and unincorporated areas . Certain municipalities are in multiple counties ; New York City is uniquely partitioned into five counties, referred to at the city government level as boroughs . Some municipalities have been consolidated with their county government to form consolidated city-counties , or have been legally separated from counties altogether to form independent cities . Conversely, counties in Connecticut and Rhode Island , eight of Massachusetts's 14 counties , and Alaska's Unorganized Borough have no government power, existing only as geographic distinctions. The United States Census Bureau uses
18375-421: The substantive and procedural law adjudicated in state trial courts originates from the state legislature and state appellate courts. In other words, most criminal defendants are prosecuted for violations of state law, not local ordinances, and if they, the district attorney, or police seek reforms to the criminal justice system, they will usually have to direct their efforts towards the state legislature rather than
18522-547: The summer of 1865. Drought conditions resulted in so much need that the state established its own Office of the Commissioner of the Destitute to provide additional relief. The two agencies coordinated their efforts starting in 1866. The Bureau established depots in eight major cities. Counties were allocated aid in kind each month based on the number of poor reported. The counties were required to provide transportation from
18669-399: The term "county equivalent" to describe places that are comparable to counties, but called by different names. Louisiana parishes, the organized boroughs of Alaska, independent cities, and the District of Columbia are equivalent to counties for administrative purposes. Alaska's Unorganized Borough is further divided into 11 census areas that are statistically equivalent to counties. In 2024,
18816-407: The turn of the century. But notorious lynchings of individual men also took place later. In 1934, Claude Neal , an African-American suspect in the murder of a young white woman, was tortured, shot and hanged in a spectacle lynching that was announced beforehand on the radio and in a local paper. It was covered by national newspapers, arousing condemnation. In addition, Neal's lynching was followed by
18963-467: The violence of the oppressive environment. In addition to internal parish problems, this area was reportedly invaded by insurgents from Arkansas, described as Desperadoes by the Bureau agent in 1868. In September 1868, for example, whites arrested and convicted 21 blacks accused of planning an insurrection in Bossier Parish. Henry Jones, accused of being the leader of the purported insurrection,
19110-601: The war, freedmen mostly withdrew from the white-dominated congregations of the Baptist, Methodist and Presbyterian churches in order to be free of white supervision. Within a short time, they were organizing black Baptist state associations and organized a national association in the 1890s. Northern mission societies raised funds for land, buildings, teachers' salaries, and basic necessities such as books and furniture. For years they used networks throughout their churches to raise money for freedmen's education and worship. Most of
19257-427: The war. The Bureau had an informal regional communications system that allowed agents to send inquiries and provide answers. It sometimes provided transportation to reunite families. Freedmen and freedwomen turned to the Bureau for assistance in resolving issues of abandonment and divorce. The most widely recognized accomplishments of the Freedmen's Bureau were in education. Prior to the Civil War, no Southern state had
19404-437: The whole family available as field labor in the cotton industry , and by declaring that unemployed freedwomen should be treated as vagrants just as black men were. The Bureau did allow some exceptions, such as married women with employed husbands, and some "worthy" women who had been widowed or abandoned and had large families of small children to care for. Women considered "unworthy" by the Bureau, were often penalized. Before
19551-401: The work ethic, temperance, loving one's enemies, and avoiding bitterness. J. W. Alvord, an inspector for the Bureau, wrote that the freedmen "have the natural thirst for knowledge," aspire to "power and influence … coupled with learning," and are excited by "the special study of books." Among the former slaves, both children and adults sought this new opportunity to learn. After the Bureau
19698-417: Was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 110.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 111.20 males. The median income for a household in the county was $ 29,744, and the median income for a family was $ 36,404. Males had a median income of $ 27,138 versus $ 21,180 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 13,905. About 12.80% of families and 17.20% of the population were below
19845-584: Was a contentious issue. The Methodist denomination had split into regional associations in the 1840s prior to the war, as had the Baptists, when Southern Baptists were founded. In some cities, Northern Methodists seized control of Southern Methodist buildings. Numerous northern denominations, including the independent black denominations of the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) and African Methodist Episcopal Zion , sent missionaries to
19992-490: Was abolished, some of its achievements collapsed under the weight of white violence against schools and teachers for blacks. Most Reconstruction-era legislatures had established public education but, after the 1870s, when white Democrats regained power of Southern governments, they reduced funds available to fund public education, particularly for blacks. Beginning in 1890 in Mississippi, Democratic-dominated legislatures in
20139-448: Was borrowed by planters. The Bureau's humanitarian efforts had limited success. Medical treatment of the freedmen was severely deficient, as few Southern doctors, all of whom were white, would treat them. Much infrastructure had been destroyed by the war, and people had few means of improving sanitation. Blacks had little opportunity to become medical personnel. Travelers unknowingly carried epidemics of cholera and yellow fever along
20286-440: Was dissolved by the District of Columbia Organic Act . Jefferson County , for Thomas Jefferson , is next with 26. The most recent president to have a county named for him was Warren G. Harding , reflecting the slowing rate of county creation since New Mexico and Arizona became states in 1912. The most common names for counties not named after a president are Franklin (25), Clay (18), and Montgomery (18). After people,
20433-407: Was given to the state to provide relief to the end of January 1867. Aid was ended in the state. Records show that by the end of the program, four times as many White people received aid than did Black people. The Florida Bureau was assessed to be working effectively. Thomas Ward Osborne , the assistant commissioner of the Freedmen's Bureau for Florida, was an astute politician who collaborated with
20580-465: Was located in Marianna. Sheriff Donald L. Edenfield is the current Sheriff of Jackson County and serves an area of over 955 square miles (2,470 km). In 2018, the department fired deputy Zachary Wester, who was arrested for planting drugs in the vehicles of innocent motorists. The sheriff's department has dropped charges in 119 cases. Jackson County Fire Rescue provides EMS and Fire Services with over 30 to 35 personnel. Jackson County's main airport
20727-470: Was not involved in nor knew of anyone involved in such activities. The bureau exercised what whites believed were arbitrary powers: making arrests, imposing fines, and inflicting punishments. They were considered to be disregarding the local laws and especially the statute of limitations. Their activities resulted in resentment among whites toward the federal government in general. These powers invoked negative feelings in many southerners that sparked many to want
20874-506: Was shot and left to burn by whites, but he survived, badly hurt. Other freedmen were killed or driven from their land by Arkansas Desperadoes. Whites were anxious about their power as blacks were to receive the franchise, and tensions were rising over land use. In early October, blacks arrested two whites from Arkansas "accused of being part of a mob ... that killed several Negroes." The agent reported 14 blacks had been killed in this incident, then said that another eight to ten had been killed by
21021-403: Was so strongly opposed to him as sheriff that he did not feel safe to go outside of town and serve any legal process whatsoever. His life was constantly threatened.... He was even openly assaulted in the streets of Marianna, severely beaten to the near-point of death." In 1871 he resigned, saying given the "lawlessness", he could not carry out the duties of sheriff. The last Republican official in
21168-463: Was taken from the county jail in Marianna by a white mob and hanged while his case was being appealed. According to the U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 955 square miles (2,470 km), of which 918 square miles (2,380 km) is land and 37 square miles (96 km) (3.9%) is water. Jackson County is the only county in Florida that borders both Georgia and Alabama. Jackson County
21315-447: Was the only agency with funds the Freedmen's Bureau could use and which had an existing presence in the South. Headed by Union Army General Oliver O. Howard , the Bureau started operations in 1865. From the beginning, its representatives found its tasks very difficult, in part because Southern legislatures passed Black Codes that restricted movement, conditions of labor, and other civil rights of African Americans , nearly replicating
21462-466: Was to help solve everyday problems of the newly freed slaves, such as obtaining food, medical care, communication with family members, and jobs. Between 1865 and 1869, it distributed 15 million rations of food to freed African Americans and 5 million rations to impoverished whites, and set up a system by which planters could borrow rations in order to feed freedmen they employed. Although the Bureau set aside $ 350,000 for this latter service, only $ 35,000 (10%)
21609-653: Was truncated by the extensive damage in the Gulf area due to Hurricane Katrina . Another is the Bay Line Railroad : originally the Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railway main line, this railway runs from Panama City through Campbellton. US 231 was constructed parallel to the railroad. The lines have a junction in Cottondale . Other lines within the county were abandoned after restructuring of the railroad industry in
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