South Daytona, Florida
Encyclopedia : S : SO : SOU : South Daytona, Florida
South Daytona is a city in Volusia County, Florida, United States. The population was 13,177 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 13,758 [link].
History
The City of South Daytona, a progressive city on the Halifax River in Central Florida, was once a town called Blake, with some forty (40) resident families and as many more non-resident property holders. The land was peculiarly adapted to orange culture and vegetable gardening, in which many of the early settlers were profitably engaged. According to the national Archives and Records in Washington, D.C., Blake opened its first Post Office on August 19, 1878. Around 1886, the first train came as far as Daytona and, ten years later the line extended to Miami. Soon thereafter, a railroad station was built at Big Tree Crossing.By 1926, the towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach, and Seabreeze were consolidated to make the City of Daytona Beach. Daytona Beach then proceeded to annex all the adjacent territories including the town of Blake. Because of new taxes and appraisals levied, residents of Blake were forced to hire an attorney and eventually, around 1938, succeeded in breaking away from Daytona Beach to become the incorporated town of South Daytona.
Soon after World War II, the town adopted a Building Department, followed by a Planning and Zoning Board. Builders and developers soon became interested in the area and South Daytona started to develop. South Daytona was then in a position to request financial assistance from the federal government for expansion of utilities, streets, etc. South Daytona was the first town in the Halifax area, after Daytona Beach, to install a sanitary sewer system. The town continued to prosper and was incorporated as the City of South Daytona in 1951. South Daytona has operated under a City Manager/Council form of government since 1980, with the Mayor and four Council Members serving four-year, staggered terms beginning in 1990. The population has grown to approximately 13,714 and encompasses approximately 4.00 square miles. There are nearly 44.5 miles of roadway, 40 miles of sewer lines, and 55 miles of water lines throughout the city. The average elevation is 6.5 feet above sea level.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 km² (4.8 mi²). 9.2 km² (3.6 mi²) of it is land and 3.3 km² (1.3 mi²) of it (26.45%) is water.
Demographics
As of the census[Geographic references#2GR2] of 2000, there were 13,177 people, 5,851 households, and 3,604 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,429.1/km² (3,698.2/mi²). There were 6,457 housing units at an average density of 700.3/km² (1,812.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 88.67% White, 7.85% African American, 0.12% Native American, 1.21% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.53% from other races, and 1.57% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.89% of the population.There were 5,851 households out of which 25.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.4% were married couples living together, 13.0% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.4% were non-families. 29.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.24 and the average family size was 2.75.
In the city the population was spread out with 20.3% under the age of 18, 8.7% from 18 to 24, 28.6% from 25 to 44, 23.5% from 45 to 64, and 18.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.8 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $31,180, and the median income for a family was $36,417. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $21,676 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,401. About 7.9% of families and 10.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.9% of those under age 18 and 7.8% of those age 65 or over.
Infamous murder
On May 10, 1994 Kimberly Anne Guglielmo disappeared from her apartment in South Daytona. Within two weeks the lower half of her torso was found floating in the Hudson River near Tarrytown and a week after that and twenty miles away near Bedford, New York, her head and upper torso were discovered under a tree. Her murder created a senational media case which resulted in the sentencing of her husband Mark Guglielmo for killing her with a hatchet blow to the head. He is now serving 40 years for second degree murder at a prison in Florida.External links
- [City of South Daytona] official site
| Cities and communities of Volusia County, Florida | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
| |||||||||
From Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia. Original article here. Support Wikipedia by contributing or donating.
All text is available under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation License See Wikipedia Copyrights for details.