Plant City, Florida
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Plant City is a city in Hillsborough County, Florida, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 29,915 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 30,906 [1].
Many people believe it was named for the flora (especially vegetables and fruits, as well as tropical houseplants) grown at plant nurseries in its tropical Gulf Coast climate. However, it was named after prominent railroad developer, Henry B. Plant (see Plant System).
Plant City is known as the winter strawberry capital of the world, and hosts the annual Florida Strawberry Festival in the late winter (usually in February or early March), which is attended by people from all over the United States as well as many people from around the world.
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[edit] History
Plant City's original name was Ichepucksassa after the indian village that once occupied the territory. So much confusion was caused, however, that the city was renamed Cork, after the postmaster's Irish hometown. It was finally given the name Plant City in commemoration of Henry B. Plant, for his railroad tycoonery which significantly boosted the commerce in this primarily agricultural community by incorporating it with the South Florida Railroad.
Originally, Plant City was a large cotton center, but after changing its primary crop to strawberries it gained recognition as the winter strawberry capital of the world.
[edit] Geography
Plant City is located at (28.014250, -82.128864)GR1.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 58.9 km² (22.8 mi²). 58.6 km² (22.6 mi²) of it is land and 0.3 km² (0.1 mi²) of it (0.53%) is water.
The city and its surrounding area are in the Southern Flatwoods section as defined by the USDA.[2] The section as a whole is noted for its sandy, infertile, poorly drained soils. In and around Plant City, however, high organic matter content and scattered phosphate nodules make many of the soils more fertile than typical for the flatwoods.[3]
[edit] Area Schools
Public Schools: Bryan Elementary (K-5) Burney Elementary (K-5) Cork Elementary (K-5) Jackson Elementary (K-5) Knights Elementary (K-5) Lincoln Elementary Magnet (K-5) Robinson Elementary (K-5) Springhead Elementary (K-5) Trapnell Elementary (K-5) Walden Lake Elementary (K-5) Wilson Elementary (K-5) Marshall Middle (6-8) Tomlin Middle (6-8) Turkey Creek Middle (6-8) East County Alternative (6-12) Simmons Career Center (6-12) Durant High (9-12) Plant City High (9-12) Simmons Exceptional Center (K-12) Teen Parent East Program (K-12)
Private Schools: Hope Lutheran (PK-6) First Presbyterian Learning Center II (PK-K) Palnez Academy (PK-6) East Hillsborough Independent (6-8)
[edit] Demographics
As of the censusGR2 of 2000, there were 29,915 people, 10,849 households, and 7,843 families residing in the city. The population density was 510.4/km² (1,321.9/mi²). There were 11,797 housing units at an average density of 201.3/km² (521.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 71.67% White, 16.16% African American, 0.37% Native American, 0.89% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 9.10% from other races, and 1.77% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 17.42% of the population.
There were 10,849 households out of which 36.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 52.7% were married couples living together, 14.8% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.7% were non-families. 22.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.73 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the city the population was spread out with 29.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.1% from 25 to 44, 20.2% from 45 to 64, and 12.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females there were 93.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.3 males.
The median income for a household in the city was $37,584, and the median income for a family was $43,328. Males had a median income of $33,417 versus $23,585 for females. The per capita income for the city was $18,815. About 11.3% of families and 14.7% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.1% of those under age 18 and 13.3% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] National historic status
There are several locations in Plant City which have been included in the National Register of Historic Places.
They are:
- Bing Rooming House
- Downtown Plant City Commercial District
- Downtown Plant City Historic Residential District
- Glover School
- Hillsboro State Bank Building
- North Plant City Residential District
- Plant City High School
- Plant City Union Depot
- Standard Oil Service Station
- Historic Turkey Creek High School
[edit] External links
- Plant City official website
- PlantCity.com, the official directory to community
- Plant City Stadium & Randy L. Larson Softball Four-Plex (Stadium converted to softball in 1999, formerly spring training home of the Cincinnati Reds Major League Baseball team from 1987-1996)
- Plant City Bike Fest (Monthly motorcycle event in downtown historic Plant City at McCall Park)
- Florida Strawberry Festival Homepage
- Strawberry Classic Car Show (Monthly car show in McCall Park)
- Downtown Plant City Merchant's & Business Association Homepage
- Mike Sansone Park
- Hillsborough Community College (With campuses in Tampa, MacDill Air Force Base, Ybor City, Brandon, and Plant City, and a virtual "eCampus" online)
- Quintilla Geer Bruton Memorial Library (Main library for Plant City) [4]
- Maps and aerial photos
- Street map from Google Maps, or Yahoo! Maps, or Windows Live Local
- Satellite image from Google Maps, Windows Live Local, WikiMapia
- Topographic map from TopoZone
- Aerial image or topographic map from TerraServer-USA
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