Editing Middleburg, Florida

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
<!-- Basic info  ---------------->
|official_name            = Middleburg, Florida
|other_name               = 
|native_name              = <!-- for cities whose native name is not in English -->
|nickname                 = 
|settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place]]
|motto                    = 
<!-- images and maps  ----------->
|image_skyline            = MiddleburgFLMontage.png
|imagesize                = 
|image_caption            = Top, left to right: [[Black Creek (Florida)|Black Creek]], [[Middleburg United Methodist Church]], [[Middleburg High School]], [[Jennings State Forest]]
|image_flag               = 
|flag_size                = 
|image_seal               = 
|seal_size                = 
|image_shield             = 
|shield_size              = 
|image_blank_emblem       = 
|blank_emblem_type        = 
|blank_emblem_size        = 
|image_map                = Clay_County_Florida_Incorporated_and_Unincorporated_areas_Middleburg_Highlighted.svg
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location in [[Clay County, Florida|Clay County]] and the state of [[Florida]]
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
|image_dot_map            = 
|dot_mapsize              = 
|dot_map_caption          = 
|dot_x                    = 
|dot_y                    = 
|pushpin_map              = <!-- the name of a location map as per http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:Location_map -->
|pushpin_label_position   = <!-- the position of the pushpin label: left, right, top, bottom, none -->
|pushpin_map_caption      = 
|pushpin_mapsize          = 
<!-- Location ------------------>
|subdivision_type         = [[List of sovereign states|Country]]
|subdivision_name         = {{flag|United States}}
|subdivision_type1        = [[U.S. state|State]]
|subdivision_name1        = {{flag|Florida}}
|subdivision_type2        = [[List of counties in Florida|County]]
|subdivision_name2        = {{noflag|[[Clay County, Florida|Clay]]}}
|subdivision_type3        = 
|subdivision_name3        = 
|subdivision_type4        = 
|subdivision_name4        = 
<!-- Politics ----------------->
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = <!-- for places with, say, both a mayor and a city manager -->
|leader_name1             = 
|leader_title2            = 
|leader_name2             = 
|leader_title3            = 
|leader_name3             = 
|leader_title4            = 
|leader_name4             = 
|established_title        = <!-- Settled -->
|established_date         = 
|established_title2       = <!-- Incorporated (town) -->
|established_date2        = 
|established_title3       = <!-- Incorporated (city) -->
|established_date3        = 
<!-- Area    --------------------->
|area_magnitude           = 
|unit_pref                = Imperial
|area_footnotes           = <ref name="CenPopGazetteer2020">{{cite web|title=2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files|url=https://www2.census.gov/geo/docs/maps-data/data/gazetteer/2020_Gazetteer/2020_gaz_place_12.txt|publisher=United States Census Bureau|accessdate=October 31, 2021}}</ref>
|area_total_km2           = 50.81
|area_land_km2            = 50.81
|area_water_km2           = 0.00
|area_total_sq_mi         = 19.62
|area_land_sq_mi          = 19.62
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.00
|area_water_percent       = 
|area_urban_km2           = 
|area_urban_sq_mi         = 
|area_metro_km2           = 
|area_metro_sq_mi         = 
|area_blank1_title        = 
|area_blank1_km2          = 
|area_blank1_sq_mi        = 
<!-- Population   ----------------------->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_note          = 
|population_total         = 12881
|population_density_km2   = 253.53
|population_density_sq_mi = 656.66
|population_metro         = 
|population_density_metro_km2     = 
|population_density_metro_sq_mi   = 
|population_urban                 = 
|population_density_urban_km2     = 
|population_density_urban_sq_mi   = 
|population_blank1_title          = 
|population_blank1                = 
|population_density_blank1_km2    = 
|population_density_blank1_sq_mi  = 
<!-- General information  --------------->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = −5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = −4
|coordinates              = {{coord|30|3|3|N|81|54|7|W|region:US-FL_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|elevation_footnotes      = <!--for references: use <ref> </ref> tags-->
|elevation_m              = 10
|elevation_ft             = 33
<!-- Area/postal codes & others -------->
|postal_code_type         = [[ZIP Code]]s
|postal_code              = 32050, 32068
|area_code                = [[Area code 904|904]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 12-45350<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2008-01-31|title=U.S. Census website}}</ref>
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 0286819<ref name="GR3">{{cite web|url=http://geonames.usgs.gov|access-date=2008-01-31|title=US Board on Geographic Names|publisher=[[United States Geological Survey]]|date=2007-10-25}}</ref>
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}

'''Middleburg''' is an unincorporated area and [[census-designated place]] (CDP) within [[Clay County, Florida|Clay County]] in the U.S. state of [[Florida]], located {{convert|26|mi}} southwest of downtown [[Jacksonville, Florida|Jacksonville]] and {{convert|16|mi}} northwest of [[Green Cove Springs, Florida|Green Cove Springs]], the county seat of Clay County. As of the [[2020 United States census|2020 census]], the population of Middleburg was 12,881, down from 13,008 at the [[2010 United States census|2010 census]]. It is part of the [[Jacksonville metropolitan area|Jacksonville, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area]].

It is home to [[Middleburg High School]] and to the [[Middleburg Historic District (Florida)|Middleburg Historic District]].

==Geography==
Middleburg is located northwest of the center of Clay County at {{coord|30|3|3|N|81|54|7|W|type:city}} (30.050783, -81.902013).<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geographies/reference-files/time-series/geo/gazetteer-files.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|access-date=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> [[Florida State Highway System|Florida State Road]] Blanding Boulevard leads northeast {{convert|13|mi}} to the [[Orange Park, Florida|Orange Park]] area and southwest {{convert|23|mi}} to [[Keystone Heights, Florida|Keystone Heights]].

According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the Middleburg CDP has a total area of {{convert|50.7|sqkm|disp=flip}}, all land.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1245350| archive-url=https://archive.today/20200212183113/http://factfinder.census.gov/bkmk/table/1.0/en/DEC/10_DP/G001/1600000US1245350| url-status=dead| archive-date=February 12, 2020| title=Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Middleburg CDP, Florida| publisher=U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder| access-date=June 27, 2014}}</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
| 1990 = 6223
| 2000 = 10338
| 2010 = 13008
| 2020 = 12881
| footnote = U.S. Decennial Census<ref name="DecennialCensus">{{cite web|url=http://www.census.gov/prod/www/decennial.html|title=Census of Population and Housing|publisher=Census.gov|accessdate=June 4, 2016}}</ref>
}}
As of the census<ref name="GR2" /> of 2010, there were 13,008 people living in 4,891 housing units within the CDP. Between the 2000 and 2010 census, Middleburg realized a population increase of 2,670 individuals. The racial makeup of the CDP was 92.9% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 3.1% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.6% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.7% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.0% [[Pacific Islander (U.S. Census)|Pacific Islander]], 0.9% from other races, and 1.8% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] people of any race were 4.1% of the population.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 24.87% under the age of 18, 75.13% age of 18 or over, and 10.36% age of 65 or over. The population was 49.7% female and 50.3% male.

==History==
===Early Settlement===
Initially inhabited by [[Seminole]] [[Native Americans in the United States|Native Americans]], the [[United States Congress]] passed a bill in 1824 providing the Florida territory national funding to construct a military route spanning from [[Colerain, Georgia|Colerain]], [[Georgia (U.S.state)|Georgia]] southwest to [[Tampa Bay]], with long-term goals of expelling and relocating the indigenous Seminole population, encouraging settlement and development by American settlers. Completed by 1827, the "federal road" provided a route through the area between the north and south forks of Black Creek.

Asa Clark operated a ferry service on the north fork of Black Creek in the 1820s, leading the vicinity of his ferry travels to be cololoquially referred to as ''Clark's Ferry''. In February 1828, Isaac Boring founded the Black Creek Methodist Church,<ref>{{cite web|title=Middleburg, Florida, USA|url=http://h2g2.com/edited_entry/A8298110|website=h2g2.com|date=March 7, 2006 |access-date=July 5, 2014}}</ref><ref>{{cite book |last1=Blakey |first1=Arch Frederic |title=Parade of Memories:A History of Clay County, Florida |date=1976 |publisher=The Drummond Press}}</ref> and later that year Clark's business was acquired by John Hanson, who traversed the same area through 1833, after which he sold to Samuel and Charlotte Garey, for whom the village was officially named ''Garey's Ferry'', listed as such on state maps from as early as 1836.

By this time, commerce and travel to the area was increasing, and multiple ferry services travelled to and from Garey's Ferry and Whitesville. George Branning and Ozias Budington each operated their own ferry operations in competition with the Gareys; Budington largely focused on the south fork and facilitated the building and expansion of Whitesville, which ultimately grew large enough to warrant its own [[United States Post Office]] and a jailhouse (Blakey, 1976).

===Forts Heileman and Sanderson===
The community expanded rapidly during the [[Second Seminole War]]. Fort Heileman, a wooden stockade fortification located between the North and South prongs of Black Creek, was hastily built in 1836 and protected settlers at Garey's Ferry where it was the "principal depot for the east coast of Florida."<ref>{{cite web|title=Middleburg|url=http://www.ccpl.lib.fl.us/historical/middleburg.html|website=ccpl.lib.fl.us|access-date=July 5, 2014}}</ref>

During the Seminole Wars, Fort Heileman was used as a quartermaster workshop and storage depot until its armaments<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.legendsofamerica.com/fort-heileman-florida/|title = Fort Heileman, Florida – Legends of America}}</ref> were moved to [[Fort Shannon]] in [[Palatka, Florida|Palatka]] and the fort was largely abandoned after June 18, 1841. The fort was permanently abandoned in 1842 and destroyed by a flood later that year. The only potential remnant of Fort Heileman is the [[Clark-Chalker House]], which was built in 1835 and may have served as Fort Heileman's army hospital.

Fort Sanderson was constructed in July 1840 to be used for storage; both forts were abandoned the following year,<ref>Blakey, 1976</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.fphsonline.com/docs/book1999/Rfphs1.100.pdf |title=Florida stampless postal history 1763 - 1861|website=fphsonline.com|access-date=30 March 2023|year=1999}}</ref> and destroyed in a hurricane in 1842.

===Consolidation of Middleburgh and Creation of Clay County===
Garey's Ferry expanded following the Seminole Wars, growing quickly and trading in timber, citrus fruits, cotton, and farm crops. In 1851, Garey's Ferry and Whitesville were consolidated into the town of Middleburgh, and the post office moved from Whitesville to its current location on Palmetto Street. Clay County (named for [[Henry Clay]]) was created from Duval County in December 1858, and Middleburgh became and remained the county seat until 1874.<ref>{{cite web|title=Clay County Public Library Historical Resources Page|url=http://www.ccpl.lib.fl.us/historical/|website=ccpl.lib.fl.us|access-date=July 5, 2014}}</ref>

Throughout the 1850s, as national tensions leading to the [[American Civil War]] were increasing, Middleburgh and Clay County remained a stronghold of [[Whig Party (United States)|Whig]] voters and pro-Union sentiment; in 1859, Whitesville residents renamed their community "Webster" in honor of Whig politician [[Daniel Webster]].

===American Civil War===
Having seceded in 1861, Florida was a state within the [[Confederate States of America]]. On October 23, 1864, during the [[American Civil War]], the [[4th Massachusetts Volunteer Cavalry]] engaged local Confederates in a skirmish from their base at the [[Green Cove Springs|Magnolia Springs]] hotel. Moving into Middleburg the next day, October 24, 1864, the 4th Massachusetts raided and set fire to downtown Middleburg on Main Street and Thompson (now Wharf) Street, destroying Samuel B. Thompson's cotton warehouses and docks, as well as a hotel. The 2nd Florida Cavalry, under command of Captain [[J.J. Dickison]], retaliated by firing on the Massachusetts regiment, leading the latter to retreat across Black Creek and burn the ferry bridge behind them. As the Massachusetts regiment rushed back to Magnolia Springs, Dickison's regiment detoured four miles through Whitesville<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.claytodayonline.com/stories/union-soldiers-battle-career-lasted-only-10-months-in-clay-county,19890|title=Union soldier's battle career lasted only 10 months in Clay County|newspaper=Clay Today }}</ref> and caught the Massachusetts regiment at Jeremiah Halsey's Plantation, engaging in a skirmish that resulted in twelve Union deaths and Confederate victory. This skirmish is known officially as the Battle of Halsey's Plantation,<ref>{{cite web|title=Calendar of Civil War Activity|url=http://archives.clayclerk.com/visitor.html|website=archives.clayclerk.com|access-date=July 5, 2014}}</ref> but has also been referred to as the Battle of Big Gum Creek.<ref>http://ufdcimages.uflib.ufl.edu/UF/00/02/84/16/00383/02-02-2012.pdf Includes reference to "Battle of Big Gum Creek."</ref> The exact location of Halsey's Plantation is not known, but it was near the site that is currently Shadowlawn Elementary School on County Road 218.

Among the repeated skirmishes between the 4th Massachusetts and 2nd Florida cavalries was a two-hour engagement in which Dickison's troops rescued cattle that had been seized by Union troops, which local history refers to as the Battle of the Tiger Head.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/88001701_text |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-10-20 |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020054254/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/88001701_text |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[Image:MiddleburgFLChurch8.jpg|thumb|left|259px|Methodist Church in the 1880s]]

===Decline and expansion===
Fewer than 100 residents remained in Middleburg following the end of the Civil War,.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64500119_text |title=Archived copy |access-date=2021-10-20 |archive-date=2021-10-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20211020052917/https://npgallery.nps.gov/NRHP/GetAsset/NRHP/64500119_text |url-status=dead }}</ref> and held steady between 700 and 800 residents in the period between 1890 and 1920. The [[Great Freeze]] of 1895 in and a reduction of the river trade further contributed to the town's decline.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.flheritage.com/preservation/markers/markers.cfm?ID=clay|title=Florida State Marks - Clay County|access-date=2007-06-24}}</ref>

In the 1890s, African American homesteaders, starting with Grant Forman (1868-1951) in 1895, settled and developed the community of Hill Top in what is Forman Circle."<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.jacksonville.com/story/news/2017/05/20/hill-top-struggles-survive-amid-clay-county-changes/15755979007/ | title=Hill Top struggles to survive amid Clay County changes }}</ref> According to "Embedded in Clay,"{{clarify|date=February 2025|reason=What is this?}} Forman fled to South Carolina after his house was burned by a white mob. Frosard Budington, a leader of Whitesville, covered the cost of Forman's land taxes until such time as it was safe for Forman to return to Hill Top.

The 1989 film ''[[Brenda Starr (1989 film)|Brenda Starr]]'' was partially filmed on Black Creek.

Since the 1990s, Middleburg's population and industry have rapidly expanded along with the surrounding communities of [[Orange Park, Florida|Orange Park]], [[Lakeside, Florida|Lakeside]], [[Asbury Lake, Florida|Lake Asbury]], [[Fleming Island, Florida|Fleming Island]], and [[Jacksonville]]. Because of this development, construction to extend the [[First Coast Expressway]] through the area is underway, including the addition of exit junctions in Middleburg, Green Cove Springs, and Asbury Lake.

==Notable people==
{{Unreferenced section|date=June 2014}}
* [[Gary Barnidge]], NFL tight end
* [[Lenny Curry]], mayor of [[Jacksonville, Florida]]
* [[Roy Geiger]], USMC World War II general
* [[Ashley Greene]], actress
* [[Richard Owens (American football)|Richard Owens]], NFL tight end
* [[Donnie Van Zant]], musician for [[38 Special (band)|38 Special]], [[Van Zant (band)|Van Zant]]
* [[Johnny Van Zant]] musician for [[Lynyrd Skynyrd]], [[Van Zant (band)|Van Zant]]
* [[Slim Whitman]], country singer and songwriter

'''Bands'''
*[[The Red Jumpsuit Apparatus]], rock band

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{Commons category-inline|Middleburg, Florida}}

{{Clay County, Florida}}
{{Jacksonville Metro}}

{{authority control}}

[[Category:Census-designated places in Clay County, Florida]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in the Jacksonville metropolitan area]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Florida]]
[[Category:Former county seats in Florida]]