Valparaiso, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Valparaiso, Florida
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| City of Valparaiso | |
Valparaiso City Hall, September 2014.
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| Motto(s):
"Vale of Paradise"
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Location in Okaloosa County and the state of Florida
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| Country |  United States |
| State |  Florida |
| County | Okaloosa |
| Incorporated | 1921 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Mayor-Commission |
| Area | |
| • Total | 11.83 sq mi (30.63 km2) |
| • Land | 11.74 sq mi (30.41 km2) |
| • Water | 0.09 sq mi (0.22 km2) |
| Elevation | 46 ft (14 m) |
| Population
(2020)
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| • Total | 4,752 |
| • Density | 404.77/sq mi (156.28/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC-6 (Central (CST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-5 (CDT) |
| ZIP code |
32580
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| Area code(s) | 850 |
| FIPS code | 12-73675 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0305048 |
| Website | City of Valparaiso Florida Website |
Valparaiso is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2020 census, the city population was 4,752, down from 5,036 at the 2010 census.
Contents
History
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Valparaiso was named after Valparaiso, Indiana (which in turn, was named after Valparaiso, Chile) and is a twin city also with its neighboring city, Niceville. The name of the city is Spanish, and translates to "paradise vale" or "paradise valley".
Chicago businessman James E. Plew, who relocated to the Florida Panhandle of Northwest Florida in 1922, became "one of Northwest Florida's pioneer developers," and settled on Valparaiso "as the most likely spot for development.
In 1924, he founded the Bank of Valparaiso, constructed the Valparaiso Inn, organized the Chicago Country Club which constructed the Valparaiso Country Club golf course, and was instrumental in many other development activities in the community."
"Other interests of Mr. Plew included the founding of the Shalimar Winery, which was established to use the surplus grape crop of the county. He also founded the Valparaiso Novelty Company, helped to establish a knitting mill in the community and was interested in a number of other enterprises to which he made investments to help their development."
Plew thought that a military payroll would boost the depression-stricken economy of the region. He leased from the city of Valparaiso the Valparaiso Airport, an arrowhead-shaped parcel of 137 acres (0.55 km2) cleared in 1933 as an airdrome.
In 1934, Plew offered the U.S. government 1,460 acres (6 km2) contiguous land for a bombing and gunnery base. This leasehold became the headquarters for the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base activated on June 14, 1935, under the command of Captain Arnold H. Rich. This was the founding of Eglin Air Force Base. The field was assigned the ICAO airport code VPS for Valparaiso, which Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport retains to this day. In Niceville, there is an elementary school named in his honor.
Geography
Valparaiso is located at 30°30′N 86°30′W / 30.500°N 86.500°W (30.5070, –86.4970).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.8 square miles (33 km2), of which 11.9 square miles (31 km2) is land and 0.8 square miles (2.1 km2) (6.35%) is water.
Climate
The climate is characterized by relatively high temperatures and evenly distributed precipitation throughout the year. Temperatures are high and can lead to warm, humid nights. Summers are usually somewhat wetter than winters, with much of the rainfall coming from convectional thunderstorm activity. The Köppen Climate Classification subtype for this climate is a humid subtropical climate zone (Cfa).
Demographics
| Historical population | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1930 | 99 | — | |
| 1940 | 221 | 123.2% | |
| 1950 | 1,047 | 373.8% | |
| 1960 | 5,975 | 470.7% | |
| 1970 | 6,504 | 8.9% | |
| 1980 | 6,142 | −5.6% | |
| 1990 | 4,672 | −23.9% | |
| 2000 | 6,408 | 37.2% | |
| 2010 | 5,036 | −21.4% | |
| 2020 | 4,752 | −5.6% | |
| U.S. Decennial Census | |||
2010 and 2020 census
| Race | Pop 2010 | Pop 2020 | % 2010 | % 2020 |
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| White (NH) | 4,069 | 3,493 | 80.80% | 73.51% |
| Black or African American (NH) | 278 | 220 | 5.52% | 4.63% |
| Native American or Alaska Native (NH) | 30 | 13 | 0.60% | 0.27% |
| Asian (NH) | 173 | 161 | 3.44% | 3.39% |
| Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH) | 8 | 15 | 0.16% | 0.32% |
| Some other race (NH) | 4 | 25 | 0.08% | 0.53% |
| Two or more races/Multiracial (NH) | 195 | 422 | 3.87% | 8.88% |
| Hispanic or Latino (any race) | 279 | 403 | 5.54% | 8.48% |
| Total | 5,036 | 4,752 |
As of the 2020 United States census, there were 4,752 people, 1,876 households, and 1,335 families residing in the city.
As of the 2010 United States census, there were 5,036 people, 1,700 households, and 899 families residing in the city.
Arts and culture
Museums and other points of interest
The Heritage Museum of Northwest Florida is located in Valparaiso.
Infrastructure
Transportation
Commercial aircraft fly into nearby Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport, which also serves the cities of Destin and Fort Walton Beach. Located within Eglin Air Force Base, the airport code VPS is taken from the city of Valparaiso, which is adjacent to the base.
See also
In Spanish: Valparaiso (Florida) para niños
