Jay is a town in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. Located in the Florida Panhandle in North Florida, it is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 524 at the 2020 census, down from 533 at the 2010 census.
History
19th century
In 1821, Spain formally yielded possession of Spanish Florida to the United States and it became the Florida Territory in 1822. Santa Rosa County was created in 1842, three years before Florida became a state in 1845. The Town of Jay was known in the early 1800s as "Cobb Old Field", but was later known as "Pine Level". It is located about 38 miles north of Pensacola and 27 miles north of Milton, Florida, and about 3 miles from the Escambia County, Alabama, state line. In a 1974 Tampa Bay Times article, the then-mayor of Jay, J.D. Bray said: "The sun doesn't set on a colored man in Jay, ... Come 4 o'clock, they're gone. They were run out of here back in the days of the turpentine still. And they know better than to come in here."
Demographics
2010 and 2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Jay racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|504
|454
|94.56%
|86.64%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|4
|4
|0.75%
|0.76%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|5
|12
|0.94%
|2.29%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|5
|10
|0.94%
|1.91%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|2
|0.00%
|0.38%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|0
|1
|0.00%
|0.19%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|4
|34
|0.75%
|6.49%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|11
|7
|2.06%
|1.34%
|-
|Total
|533
|524
|100.00%
|100.00%
|-
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 524 people, 217 households, and 142 families residing in the town.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 533 people, 289 households, and 203 families residing in the town.
2000 census
As of the census
Oil was discovered in Jay in 1970. The Jay oilfield has approximately 67 oil wells - eleven within the town limits. Royalties from the oil have exceeded $400 million that funded a new city hall, fire department and recreation complex. Jay is also the site of the Jay oil field, which has produced over 330 million barrels since its discovery in 1970, but is now toward the end of its producing life. A small refinery is located off State Road 4. The refinery has had several owners since the 1970s—ExxonMobil sold the refinery to Quantum Resources Management LLC Quantum Energy Partners : Quantum Resources, LP March 2004. In January 2009, Quantum announced that they were ceasing production at the facility due to poor economics, and has terminated roughly half of the plant employees. Quantum resumed production shortly thereafter when oil prices increased.
Services
Jay has a combined elementary and middle school (grades K–6), and a combined middle-high school (grades 7–12). There are several banks and credit unions. There is one grocery store and one traffic light. The nearest Walmart stores are in Brewton, Alabama or Pace, Florida. There are several private airstrips, and the nearest commercial-service passenger airport is the Pensacola International Airport (approximately 40 miles SSW).
Jay Hospital is a 55-bed general hospital located in northern Santa Rosa County serving the residents of Jay and the surrounding areas of Century, Flomaton, and other communities in the northwest Florida-south Alabama region.
The Santa Rosa County Library System operates a branch in Jay.
Infrastructure
Jay is served by two main state highways: State Road 4, running east and west, and State Road 89, running north and south. The town and immediate surrounding communities are about two hundred seventy-five feet above sea level.
There is no railroad or bus service available in Jay, Florida.
Notable people
- Brian Girard James, professional wrestler also known as "The Road Dogg" Jesse James
- Jackie Moore, Major League Baseball Manager, coach and player. Managed the Oakland Athletics 1984–1986
- Thomas Brent "Boo" Weekley, golfer
- John Robert "Bob" Zellner, American civil rights activist, subject of the 2020 biographical drama Son of the South.
See also
- List of sundown towns in the United States
References
External links
- Official website for the Town of Jay