Palatka | ||
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City | ||
Images top, left to right: City Hall, Confederate Memorial, Putnam County Courthouse, St. Mark's Episcopal Church, Larimer Memorial Library, Bronson-Mulholland House
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Location in Putnam County and the state of Florida |
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Coordinates: 29°38′52″N 81°39′5″W / 29.64778°N 81.65139°WCoordinates: 29°38′52″N 81°39′5″W / 29.64778°N 81.65139°W | ||
Country | United States | |
State | Florida | |
County | Putnam | |
Founded | 1821 | |
Incorporated | 1853 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Council-Manager | |
• Mayor | Terrill Hill | |
• Vice-Mayor | Mary Lawson Brown | |
• Commissioner | Justin Campbell | |
• Commissioner | Rufus Borom | |
• Commissioner | James Norwood Jr | |
Area | ||
• Total | 7.5 sq mi (19.5 km2) | |
• Land | 7.0 sq mi (18.0 km2) | |
• Water | 0.6 sq mi (1.5 km2) 7.70% | |
• Micropolitan | 827 sq mi (2,142 km2) | |
Elevation | 16 ft (5 m) | |
Population (2004) | ||
• Total | 10,796 | |
• Density | 1,542.3/sq mi (599.8/km2) | |
• Micropolitan | 72,893 | |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
ZIP codes | 32177-32178 | |
Area code(s) | 386 | |
FIPS code | 12-53875 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0288381 | |
Website | palatka-fl.gov |
Palatka (pronounced puh-lat-kuh) is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,558 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is home to 72,893 residents. The city is also home to St. Johns River State College, St. Johns River Water Management District Headquarters, and Ravine Gardens State Park. The area is well known for its local festivals, most notably the Florida Azalea Festival and the Blue Crab Festival.
The area was once the domain of the Timucuan peoples, two tribes of which existed in the Palatka region under chiefs Saturiwa and Utina. They fished bass and mullet, or hunted deer, turkeys, bear and opossum. Others farmed beans, corn, melons, squash, and tobacco. However, infectious disease that came with European contact and war devastated the tribes, and they were extinct by the mid-18th century. The last people evacuated with the Spanish to Cuba in 1763, when Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain after the Seven Years' War.