Editing Yeehaw Junction, Florida

{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2023}}
{{Infobox settlement
|official_name            = Yeehaw Junction, Florida
|settlement_type          = [[Census-designated place]]
|nickname         = 
|motto                    = 
<!-- Images -->
|image_skyline            = Desertinnyeehawjunction4.jpg
|imagesize                = 250x200px
|image_caption            = Desert Inn
|image_flag               = 
|image_seal               = 
<!-- Maps -->
|image_map                = FLMap-doton-YeehawJunction.PNG
|mapsize                  = 250px
|map_caption              = Location of Yeehaw Junction, Florida
|image_map1               = 
|mapsize1                 = 
|map_caption1             = 
<!-- 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        = {{flagicon image|Flag of Osceola County, Florida.png}} [[Osceola County, Florida|Osceola]]
|government_footnotes     = 
|government_type          = 
|leader_title             = 
|leader_name              = 
|leader_title1            = 
|leader_name1             = 
|established_title        = 
|established_date         = 
<!-- Area -->
|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=December 2, 2021}}</ref>
|area_magnitude           = 
|area_total_km2           = 4.87
|area_land_km2            = 4.84
|area_water_km2           = 0.03
|area_total_sq_mi         = 1.88
|area_land_sq_mi          = 1.87
|area_water_sq_mi         = 0.01
<!-- Population -->
|population_as_of         = [[2020 United States census|2020]]
|population_footnotes     = 
|population_total         = 240
|population_density_km2   = 48.52
|population_density_sq_mi = 125.67

<!-- General information -->
|timezone                 = [[North American Eastern Time Zone|Eastern (EST)]]
|utc_offset               = −5
|timezone_DST             = EDT
|utc_offset_DST           = −4
|elevation_footnotes      = <ref name=gnis/>
|elevation_ft             = 49
|coordinates              = {{Coord|27|41|58|N|80|53|13|W|region:US-FL_type:city|display=inline,title}}
|postal_code_type                = [[ZIP Code]]
|postal_code              = 34972<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.zipdatamaps.com/34972 |title=Yeehaw Junction FL ZIP Code |publisher=zipdatamaps.com |year=2023 |access-date=February 17, 2023}}</ref>
|area_code                       =[[Area code 321|321]]
|blank_name               = [[Federal Information Processing Standard|FIPS code]]
|blank_info               = 12-78975
|blank1_name              = [[Geographic Names Information System|GNIS]] feature ID
|blank1_info              = 2403047<ref name=gnis>{{GNIS|2403047}}</ref>
|website                  = 
|footnotes                = 
|pop_est_as_of = 
|pop_est_footnotes = 
|population_est = 
}}

'''Yeehaw Junction''' is a [[census-designated place]] (CDP) in [[Osceola County, Florida]], United States.<ref>{{gnis|2403047}}</ref> As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]], it had a population of 240.<ref name="Census 2010">{{cite web| url=https://www.census.gov| title=Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Yeehaw Junction CDP, Florida| publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]| access-date=August 5, 2011}}</ref> The area was confused with [[Buenaventura Lakes, Florida|Buenaventura Lakes]] CDP in the 2000 census, and the correct data for the area was not recorded.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20120716180457/https://www.census.gov/geo/www/tiger/tiger2k/error2k.txt ERRATA FOR THE CENSUS 2000 TIGER/LINE(R) FILES], United States Census Bureau, October 2001.  Accessed 2018-01-31.</ref>

Yeehaw Junction is part of the [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]]&ndash;[[Kissimmee, Florida|Kissimmee]] [[Greater Orlando|Metropolitan Statistical Area]]. The [[Destiny, Florida|Destiny]] development was planned nearby.

== Geography ==
Yeehaw Junction is located at the intersection of [[U.S. Highway 441 in Florida|US 441]]/[[Florida State Road 15|SR 15]], [[Florida State Road 60|SR 60]] and [[Florida's Turnpike]] (SR 91), approximately {{convert|30|mi|-1}} west of [[Vero Beach, Florida|Vero Beach]] and 30 miles north of [[Lake Okeechobee]]. The location was named after the '''Yeehaw''' [[railroad station|station]] on the [[Florida East Coast Railway]]'s Kissimmee Valley Line, which passed through Yeehaw Junction from 1915 to 1947.<ref name="KV Line map">[http://www.tommymarkham.com/OPG/FECrrMap.JPG FEC Kissimmee Valley Extension Map Kissimmee Valley Line Map]</ref>

==History==

Some say the community's name comes from the fact locals would yell "Yeehaw!", while others believe the name is derived from the [[Creek language]] word meaning "wolf".<ref>{{cite news | url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=KNFPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=hQcEAAAAIBAJ&pg=6893%2C6384249 | title=Take a ride on weird side of Florida | work=Ocala Star-Banner | date=May 12, 1996 | access-date=7 June 2015 | author=Morgan, Philip | pages=4B}}</ref> According to town historians and several original newspaper articles that are displayed at the [[Desert Inn and Restaurant]], the town was originally named "Jackass Junction" or "Jackass Crossing".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-08-17/news/8602180764_1_jackass-junction-yeehaw-truck-yeehaw-junction|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150927051218/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1986-08-17/news/8602180764_1_jackass-junction-yeehaw-truck-yeehaw-junction|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 27, 2015|title=Legends Are Many On How Yeehaw Junction Got Its Name}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-FjVEdrH0WUC&dq=Jackass+Junction&pg=PT45|title=Easygoing Guide to Natural Florida: South Florida|first=Douglas|last=Waitley|date=18 March 2018|publisher=Pineapple Press Inc|isbn=9781561643714|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=7R3dhfq2diwC&dq=Jackass+Junction&pg=PA51|title=Famous Florida!: Underground Gourmet Restaurants, Recipes & Reflections|first=Barbie|last=Baldwin|date=18 March 1982|publisher=Seaside Publishing|isbn=9780942084016|via=Google Books}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://courier-herald.com/bookmark/4895301-Remember-Tales-from-Yeehaw-Junction-Fla-Editorial|title=The Courier Herald - Remember Tales from Yeehaw Junction Fla Editorial}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1985/06/04/yeehaw-junction-exit-here-for-thrills-fun-food/|title=Yeehaw Junction: Exit Here For Thrills, Fun, Food}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=QJTv_CyqonAC&dq=Jackass+Junction&pg=PA132|title=Florida History from the Highways|first=Douglas|last=Waitley|date=18 March 2018|publisher=Pineapple Press Inc|isbn=9781561643158|via=Google Books}}</ref> This name was given to the four-corner site back in the early 1930s, when local ranchers rode on burros to visit the Desert Inn (then the local brothel). As the 1950s approached, the Florida legislature felt that a name change was due in light of the construction of [[Florida's Turnpike]] through the center of the community in 1957, resulting in renaming the town to its present-day name.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.floridarambler.com/florida-getaways/desert-inn-yeehaw-junction/|title=Yeehaw Junction: Historic Desert Inn worth a visit - Florida Rambler|website=Florida Rambler|access-date=27 February 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.orlandosentinel.com/1985/06/04/yeehaw-junction-exit-here-for-thrills-fun-food/|url-access=subscription|title=Yeehaw Junction: Exit Here For Thrills, Fun, Food|last=Pinnock|first=Tom|date=1985-06-04|work=[[Orlando Sentinel]]|access-date=2018-02-27|url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719110127/http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/0300310230_1_yeehaw-junction-spiders-jackalope|archive-date=2018-07-19}}</ref>

===Biological warfare experiment===
In late 1968 the [[Deseret Test Center]] conducted a [[biological warfare]] experiment at Yeehaw Junction. The experiment was part of [[Project 112]] and was labelled DTC Test 69–75. [[Stem rust]], referred to as "Agent TX", was tested to determine its effectiveness against a wheat crop in time of war. The tests were conducted over a period of one month from October 31 to December 1, 1968. Live agent was sprayed by a [[U.S. Air Force]] [[McDonnell Douglas]] [[F-4 Phantom]] [[fighter jet]] on seven occasions and dead agent, consisting of spores that were killed by a gaseous mixture of [[ethylene oxide]], was sprayed on four occasions.<ref name=69-75 />
The stated objective of Deseret Test Center (DTC) Test 69-75 was to investigate the effectiveness of the [[F-4 Phantom|F-4/A/B]] and [[45Y-2/TX]] [[weapon systems]] to reduce [[Soviet]] wheat crop yields in selected geographic areas. The objective was subdivided into other tasks: determine the downwind travel of Agent TX released from the A/B 45Y-2 spray tank, estimate the yield reduction and loss of wheat crops attacked by the weapon system, study the effectiveness of killed TX as a [[wikt:simulant|simulant]] for Agent TX, and evaluate the adequacy to predict downwind dosages of Agent TX.<ref name=69-75>[http://www.health.mil/Reference-Center/Fact-Sheets/2002/10/09/DTC-Test-6975 69-75 Fact Sheet] Oct - Dec 1968 Yeehaw Junction, FL; Released October 9, 2002</ref>
The tests were unknown to local residents and officials until October 2002 when U.S. senator [[Bill Nelson]] demanded details of the tests from the [[U.S. Department of Defense]] after knowledge of the test was eventually revealed during a larger congressional inquiry of potential effects on participating veterans of chemical and biological testing. [[Eglin Air Force Base]], [[Avon Park Executive Airport|Avon Park Air Force Range]], [[Panama City, Florida|Panama City]], [[Belle Glade, Florida|Belle Glade]], and [[Fort Pierce]], were additional sites in Florida of biological agent production and testing.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20161207055503/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2002-10-10/news/0210100104_1_wheat-rust-dead-spores-tests Secret Testing May Have Hit Civilian Sites] Gwyneth K. Shaw, Jennifer Peltz; ''The Sun-Sentinel'', October 10, 2002; retrieved October 2, 2016</ref>

==Demographics==
{{US Census population
|2010= 240
|2020= 235
|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>
}}
In 2010, Yeehaw Junction had a population of 240.  The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 89.2% non-Hispanic white, 1.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian (one person), 2.9% reporting two or more races and 6.3% Hispanic or Latino.<ref>2010 census report for Yeehaw Junction</ref>

==Present day==
[[Image:YeehawStuckeysBP.jpg|250px|thumb|Stuckey's/BP in Yeehaw Junction, Florida]]
The Yeehaw Junction exit on [[Florida's Turnpike]] is still active. It was once known as a major stopping point for tourists to purchase conditional discount tickets for various tourist attractions in the Orlando area, but Yeehaw Junction's ticket booth has since closed down. The Turnpike exit links with [[Florida State Road 60|State Road 60]], an important traffic route going from [[Vero Beach, Florida|Vero Beach]] on the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]] to [[Tampa, Florida|Tampa]] and [[Clearwater Beach]] on the [[Gulf Coast]]. The Turnpike exit at Yeehaw Junction is notable for being the only exit on a nearly 90-mile stretch of the Turnpike. It is located at the southern end of the longest stretch of limited-access highway without an exit in the United States (the next interchange to the north being 48.9 miles away at Kissimmee/St. Cloud) and the northern end of the second-longest such stretch (the next exit to the south being 40.5 miles away at Fort Pierce).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/longest-distances-between-exits-on-US-freeways-415029/1#.UDl9OKPy2So|title=Top 16 longest gaps between Interstate exits|access-date=27 February 2018}}</ref>

Since the population is not large enough to support its own schools, children in the community can choose to attend [[School District of Osceola County, Florida|Osceola County School District]], which may be over an hour's bus ride for students (the nearest public school is located in [[St. Cloud, Florida|St. Cloud]]), or be bused to closer schools in [[Indian River County, Florida|Indian River County]] or [[Okeechobee County, Florida|Okeechobee County]].

The Desert Inn closed temporarily in June 2018.<ref>https://www.flamingomag.com/2019/02/23/my-florida-yeehaw-junction/ "My Florida: Yeehaw Junction"</ref> There are plans to reopen it as a museum, restaurant and motel after restorations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.flamingomag.com/2019/06/25/the-slice-summer-2019/|title=The Slice: Summer 2019|date=2019-06-25|website=Flamingo Magazine|language=en-US|access-date=2019-10-04}}</ref> 
The Desert Inn was largely destroyed on December 22, 2019, when an 18-wheeler lost control on a nearby road and crashed into the building at highway speeds.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/florida/os-ne-semi-crash-desert-inn-yeehaw-junction-20191222-xdntk5zbunfztfn6bnpycxzlta-story.html | title=Semi truck crashes into Yeehaw Junction's historic Desert Inn | publisher=SunSentinel | access-date=3 January 2020}}</ref> The Osceola County Historical Society was court-ordered to sell the property on April 19, 2024 to V6 Holdings LLC, who demolished the property on September 5, 2024.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.floridarambler.com/historic-florida-getaways/desert-inn-yeehaw-junction/|title=Iconic Yeehaw Junction landmark demolished|date=2024-09-09|website=Florida Rambler|language=en-US|access-date=2024-10-18}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.pressreader.com/usa/herald-tribune/20241006/282110642036544|title=Historic Desert Inn in Yeehaw Junction is demolished|date=2024-10-06|newspaper=Herald-Tribune|access-date=2024-10-18|page=10C|via=PressReader.com}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

; Attribution
{{USGovernment|url=http://www.health.mil/Military-Health-Topics/Health-Readiness/Environmental-Exposures/Project-112-SHAD/Fact-Sheets|title=Project 112 Fact Sheets}}

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline}}

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{{Osceola County, Florida}}
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[[Category:Census-designated places in Florida]]
[[Category:Census-designated places in Osceola County, Florida]]
[[Category:Greater Orlando]]