Chattahoochee is a city in Gadsden County, Florida, United States. Its history dates to the Spanish era. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,955 as of the 2020 census, down from 3,652 at the 2010 census.
Chattahoochee sits on the banks of the Apalachicola River. It is connected by the Apalachicola and Victory bridges to neighboring Sneads, Florida, which is in Jackson County.
Chattahoochee has its own police force with more than ten sworn officers and a police chief. Chattahoochee is a name derived from the Creek language, meaning "marked rocks".
History
The area was inhabited by indigenous peoples who built earthwork mounds in the area (Chattahoochee Landing Mounds). It was later occupied by the Creek people, who were pushed out by European encroachment.
After European-American settlement in this area in the early 19th century, residents first named the community Mount Vernon in the 1820s. This was in honor of former President George Washington's Virginia plantation.
The British had built a fort, Nicolls' Outpost, when they controlled the srea. was built in the area. The Scott Massacre of 1817 took place here. A ferry was established to give travelers and tradesmen access to other settlements across the river.
Geography
Chattahoochee is located in the northwest corner of Gadsden County at (30.703, –84.847). It is bordered to the west by the Apalachicola River, formed by the juncture of the Chattahoochee and Flint rivers within Lake Seminole just north of the city. The northern border of Chattahoochee follows the Florida–Georgia state line, and the Apalachicola River forms the Gadsden–Jackson county line.
U.S. Route 90 passes through the middle of Chattahoochee as Washington Street; it leads southeast to Quincy, the Gadsden County seat, and west to Sneads and to Marianna. Tallahassee, the state capital, is to the southeast. Main Street (Little Sycamore Road outside the city limits) leads south via Flat Creek Road to Interstate 10 at Exit 166.
thumb|left|The sign for Chattahoochee on [[U.S. Route 90]]
The southern part of the city includes the community of River Junction at 30°41′N 84°50′W (30.686, –84.841). In the mid-1880s, River Junction was established as a railroad connection point between the Florida Central & Western, later the Seaboard Air Line, and the Pensacola & Atlantic. The connecting track survives.
According to the United States Census Bureau, Chattahoochee has a total area of , of which is land and , or 3.30%, is water.
Climate
The climate for the City of Chattahoochee is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the Köppen Climate Classification system, Chattahoochee has a humid subtropical climate zone, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition
{| class="wikitable sortable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Chattahoochee city, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |Pop 2020
!% 2000
!% 2010
!style="background-color: #ffffb3;" |% 2020
|-
|White alone (NH)
|1,613
|1,557
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,208
|49.07%
|42.63%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |40.88%
|-
|Black or African American alone (NH)
|1,525
|1,873
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,491
|46.39%
|51.29%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |50.46%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native alone (NH)
|4
|8
|style='background: #ffffe6; |5
|0.12%
|0.22%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.17%
|-
|Asian alone (NH)
|31
|38
|style='background: #ffffe6; |22
|0.94%
|1.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.74%
|-
|Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander alone (NH)
|1
|0
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2
|0.03%
|0.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.07%
|-
|Other race alone (NH)
|4
|3
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4
|0.12%
|0.08%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.14%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|25
|38
|style='background: #ffffe6; |80
|0.76%
|1.04%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2.71%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|84
|135
|style='background: #ffffe6; |143
|2.56%
|3.70%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.84%
|-
|Total
|3,287
|3,652
|style='background: #ffffe6; |2,955
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Chattahoochee had a population of 2,955. The median age was 44.1 years. 15.3% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.4% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 124.4 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 125.0 males age 18 and over.
There were 845 households in Chattahoochee, of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 32.0% were married-couple households, 21.8% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 42.0% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 31.9% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
Historic places
On January 6, 1861, 4 days before Florida delegates formally seceded from the Union as part of the American Civil War, state troops seized the federal Arsenal located in the town. The former arsenal and current Administration Building of Florida State Hospital is listed on the National Register of Historic Places (Building - #73000578). Florida State Hospital, the hospital involved in the famous United States Supreme Court decision O'Connor v. Donaldson, is located within the City. The hospital was featured in a 1989 movie, Chattahoochee, starring Gary Oldman and Dennis Hopper, in which a war hero, Chris Calhoun, is involuntarily committed to Florida State Hospital where he sees doctors at the hospital humiliating patients and experiences filth and abuse.
Government and infrastructure
The U.S. Postal Service operates the Chattahoochee Post Office.
The Chattahoochee Volunteer Fire Department operates one fire station.
The Gadsden Connector, a bus route operated by Big Bend Transit, has a stop in Chattahoochee.
Education
Gadsden County School District operates public schools.
The community is served by Chattahoochee Elementary School. In Fall 2018 it will become a Pre-K to Kindergarten early learning center. Students in grades 1–3 will move to Greensboro Primary School and students in grades 4–5 will move to West Gadsden Middle School. The sole public high school of the county is Gadsden County High School (formerly East Gadsden High School).
Until 2004 Chattahoochee High School served as the community middle and high school. That year it consolidated into West Gadsden High School. As of 2017 East Gadsden became the only remaining zoned high school in the county due to the consolidation of West Gadsden High's high school section into East Gadsden High School.
Notable people
- Roger Bailey, former MLB baseball pitcher for the Colorado Rockies
- Sandy D'Alemberte, former president of the American Bar Association and former president of Florida State University (FSU)
- Shantley Jackson, horse jockey
In film
The 1989 film "Chattahoochee" is based on the Florida State Hospital and allegations of abuse on residents. The movie, which starred Gary Oldman and Dennis Hopper, was not shot in Chattahoochee, however.