Citizens Improvement League

WIKIPEDIA - Wimauma History

History

Wimauma was founded by Captain C.H. Davis in 1902. That year, Davis helped build the Seaboard Air Line Railroad connecting Turkey Creek and Bradenton. Davis decided to found a town at the half-way point, opening a post office there in on October 24, 1902. Davis named the town by taking the first letters of the names of his three daughters, Willie, Maude, and Mary. The town had the railroad tracks as the western boundary and was centered around Lake Tiger, now called Lake Wimauma. The town was officially incorporated in 1925 as the county's fourth municipality, but the city government ceased to function some time in the 1930s. In 1993 this fact was rediscovered, but it was concluded that the incorporation was no longer valid after about 60 years without a city government.

Geography

Wimauma is located at 27°42'35" North, 82°19'4" West (27.709658, -82.317854)1.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 22.8 km² (8.8 mi²). 21.8 km² (8.4 mi²) of it is land and 1.0 km² (0.4 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 4.43% water.

Demographics

As of the census2 of 2000, there are 4,246 people, 951 households, and 820 families residing in the community. The population density is 194.7/km² (504.1/mi²). There are 1,097 housing units at an average density of 50.3/km² (130.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the community is 51.13% White, 7.42% African American, 0.80% Native American, 0.21% Asian, 0.28% Pacific Islander, 37.21% from other races, and 2.94% from two or more races. 72.89% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There are 951 households out of which 53.5% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.2% are married couples living together, 17.8% have a female householder with no husband present, and 13.7% are non-families. 8.8% of all households are made up of individuals and 4.1% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 4.31 and the average family size is 4.36.

In the community the population is spread out with 38.6% under the age of 18, 14.2% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 13.6% from 45 to 64, and 5.7% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 24 years. For every 100 females there are 116.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 124.5 males.

The median income for a household in the community is $35,114, and the median income for a family is $34,671. Males have a median income of $20,484 versus $19,604 for females. The per capita income for the community is $8,597. 31.7% of the population and 26.5% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total population, 44.5% of those under the age of 18 and 11.1% of those 65 and older are living below the poverty line.