Much of the area was originally covered with pine flatwoods and cypress swamps, as was Columbia County to the west. Parts of both counties are included inOsceola National Forest. Alumber industry developed here, withsawmills constructed along rivers and waterways, where lumber was brought out by water.Turpentine was also produced. These industries employed manyAfrican American laborers.
According to theU.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 589 square miles (1,530 km2), of which 585 square miles (1,520 km2) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2) (0.6%) is water.[5] The extreme northern part of the county lies within theOkefenokee Swamp and itsfederally protected areas.
The St. Mary's River passes through Baker and numerous other counties. The St. Marys River is a remoteblackwater river, rising in southeastern Georgia and flowing into northeastern Florida, where it forms the easternmost border between the two states.[6][7]
I-10 is the main west-to-east interstate highway in the county, and serves as the unofficial dividing line between northern and southern Baker County. It enters the county fromOsceola National Forest and contains five interchanges within the county; the first being US 90 in Olustee (Exits 324), followed by Baker CR 229 (Exit 327) south of Sanderson and Baker CR 125 (Exit 333) south of Glen St Mary. The last two interchanges are in Macclenny; SR 121 (Exits 335), and SR 228 (Exit 336). Beyond this point I-10 runs through Nassau and Duval Counties into Downtown Jacksonville.
US 90 was the primary west-to-east route through Baker County until it was succeeded by Interstate 10.
SR 2 runs west to east through the northwest portion of the county, beginning at the northeast corner of Columbia County, then passing throughJohn M. Bethea State Forest and becomingGeorgia State Route 94 after crossing the bridge over the Saint Mary's River.
SR 121 is a south to north road that runs southwest to northeast from Raiford in Union County to just before the interchange with Interstate 10, and then straight south to north through downtown Macclenny and later towards rural Baker County, until it crosses a series of bridges over the Saint Mary's River where it takes a long journey throughGeorgia andSouth Carolina as a tri-state de facto auxiliary route fromU.S. Route 21 inRock Hill, South Carolina.
SR 228 /CR 228 is a short northwest-to-southeast state highway in Macclenny that has two county extensions. The first is a south-to-north extension beginning at US 90 leading to SR 121 north of the town limits. The second is a bi-county extension running southeast of Interstate 10 to US 301 in Duval County near the resumption of a state road which passes throughWestside Jacksonville, Downtown Jacksonville and all the way to the Hogan section ofSouthside Jacksonville.
Additionally, theJacksonville and Southwestern Railroad was a formerAtlantic Coast Line Railroad line running through the southeast portion of the county that was abandoned by CSX in 1992. The line has been converted to a rail trail betweenBaldwin and Jacksonville in Duval County, and in Raiford in Union County, but no known plans exist to connect the two segments.
U.S. Decennial Census[9] 1790–1960[10] 1900–1990[11] 1990–2000[12] 2010–2020[1]
Baker County, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition Note: the US Census treats Hispanic/Latino as an ethnic category. This table excludes Latinos from the racial categories and assigns them to a separate category. Hispanics/Latinos may be of any race.
2023 Racial Demographics in Baker County, Florida by Census tracts.
Legend
Non-Hispanic White
60–70%
70–80%
>90%
As of the2020 United States census, there were 28,259 people, 8,828 households, and 6,448 families residing in the county.
As of thecensus[16] of 2000, there were 22,259 people, 7,043 households, and 5,599 families residing in the county. The population density was 38 inhabitants per square mile (15/km2). There were 7,592 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 84.04%White, 13.92%Black orAfrican American, 0.38%Native American, 0.40%Asian, 0.03%Pacific Islander, 0.25% fromother races, and 0.98% from two or more races. 1.88% of the population wereHispanic orLatino of any race. 34.5% were ofAmerican, 9.9%Irish, 8.6%English and 6.6%German ancestry according toCensus 2000. Those claiming "American" ancestry are of predominantly English ancestry but most people in Baker County who are Anglo-European tend to identify simply asAmerican.[17][18][19][20] 97.2% spokeEnglish and 2.5%Spanish as their first language.
There were 7,043 households, out of which 41.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.70% weremarried couples living together, 13.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 20.50% were non-families. 17.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.86 and the average family size was 3.20.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 27.50% under the age of 18, 9.90% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 22.70% from 45 to 64, and 9.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 34 years. For every 100 females there were 119.79 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 112.40 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,035, and the median income for a family was $43,503. Males had a median income of $30,240 versus $21,279 for females. Theper capita income for the county was $15,164. About 11.40% of families and 14.70% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 22.20% of those under age 18 and 8.60% of those age 65 or over.
The main library serving Baker County is the Emily Taber Public Library. The building used to be theOld Baker County Courthouse, built in 1908. The library director is April Teel.[21]
^Reynolds Farley, 'The New Census Question about Ancestry: What Did It Tell Us?',Demography, Vol. 28, No. 3 (August 1991), pp. 414, 421.
^Stanley Lieberson and Lawrence Santi, 'The Use of Nativity Data to Estimate Ethnic Characteristics and Patterns',Social Science Research, Vol. 14, No. 1 (1985), pp. 44-6.
^Stanley Lieberson and Mary C. Waters, 'Ethnic Groups in Flux: The Changing Ethnic Responses of American Whites',Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Science, Vol. 487, No. 79 (September 1986), pp. 82-86.
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