Raiford is a town in Union County, Florida, United States. There are three correctional institutions around the town. The first Florida State Prison was established in the Raiford area. Union Correctional Institution holds the state death row for men.
The town has a Masonic lodge, Raiford Lodge #82, under the jurisdiction of The Grand Lodge of Florida. The non-prisoner population was 224 at the 2020 census.
History
Around 1895, the first non-indigenous person to settle the area was a man named Hunter Warren Raiford, who was involved in the naval stores business. The municipality was officially incorporated as the Town of Raiford in August of 1971.
2010 and 2020 census
{| class="wikitable"
|+Raiford racial composition<br> (Hispanics excluded from racial categories)<br> (NH = Non-Hispanic)<br>
!Race
!Pop 2010
!Pop 2020
!% 2010
!% 2020
|-
|White (NH)
|204
|177
|80.00%
|79.02%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|35
|26
|13.73%
|11.61%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|3
|0
|1.18%
|0.00%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|4
|1
|1.57%
|0.45%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|0
|0
|0.00%
|0.00%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|0
|2
|0.00%
|0.89%
|-
|Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)
|2
|10
|0.78%
|4.46%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|7
|8
|2.75%
|3.57%
|-
|Total
|255
|224
|
|
|-
|}
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 224 people, 85 households, and 72 families residing in the town.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 255 people, 40 households, and 27 families residing in the town.
2000 census
As of the census as well as Florida State Prison (FSP), right across the Bradford County line, the two institutions having originally been one. UCI was the state's first prison, and was originally called "Florida State Prison". The name went with the newer institution when the two were split. Both institutions house inmates in death row facilities. FSP conducts all executions, while most death row inmates are housed at UCI.
UCI has the most diverse population of any correctional institution in the state. It houses 'close management inmates' and 'psych inmates' as well as 'open population' inmates. Most of the latter are age fifty and over.
FSP houses the violent and criminally insane in solitary confinement. The men on death row are also in solitary.
The penitentiary compound encompasses over and includes a farm where much food is grown that feeds inmates.
Nearby are the state's training facilities for Correctional Officers (COs), some housing for COs, and the warden's house.
Convicted serial killer Ted Bundy was held at Raiford for years and executed there in 1989.
Education
The school district is the Union County School District, which covers all of Union County.
References
External links
- Community of Raiford