Hampton, Florida

Hampton, Florida
City
Seal
Location in Bradford County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 29°51′51″N82°8′12″W / 29.86417°N 82.13667°W / 29.86417; -82.13667
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Bradford
Incorporated	1925
Area [1]
• Total	1.05 sq mi (2.73 km2)
• Land	1.05 sq mi (2.73 km2)
• Water	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km2)
Elevation	151 ft (46 m)
Population  (2020)
• Total	432
• Density	409.87/sq mi (158.32/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern (EST))
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
ZIP Code	32044
Area code	352
FIPS code	12-28575 [2]
GNIS feature ID	0283671 [3]
Website	hamptonfl.com

Hampton is a city in Bradford County, Florida, United States. The population was 500 at the 2010 census. ^[4]

History

Map of Hampton, showing narrow neck of land in the west, annexed in the 1990s, which connects to the former speed trap

Early history

Hampton was incorporated in 1925. At the time, it was at the junction of the Georgia Southern and Florida Railway and the Seaboard Air Line Railroad with stations for both. ^[5]

In the mid 1990s, Hampton annexed a short stretch of U.S. Highway 301 west of the city in order to obtain revenue from traffic tickets issued to motorists driving on that highway. At the peak of this time before the dismantling of the police department, it had 1 officer per 25 residents. ^[6]

2013–2014 controversies

In November 2013, the city's mayor Barry Layne Moore was arrested for selling Oxycodone. ^[6]

On February 10, 2014, auditors from the Florida Joint Legislative Auditing Committee presented 31 violations of state law, city charter and federal tax requirements to state legislators. ^[7] The city made $211,328 ticketing people driving its 1,260 feet (380 m) of U.S. Highway 301 during 2012, ^[8] giving the city an unenviable reputation as a "speed trap". ^[9] The committee asked State Attorney Bill Cervone to investigate any potential criminal activity and a number of state representatives and senators pursued the dissolution of Hampton. ^[10] In the wake of the controversy, many city officials resigned. ^[11] State legislators visited Hampton on March 28, 2014 to see if the issues had been solved. ^[12] They agreed to let Hampton stay incorporated, because the city retracted the annexation of U.S. Highway 301 and decommissioned its police force. Hampton also accounted for budget shortfalls, and reformed its city council proceedings. ^[13] The justification for the speed trap was deemed invalid from its inception by Reason magazine, which reported in May 2022 that, "Many speed-trap towns defend their aggressive traffic enforcement on ostensible public safety grounds. But Hampton could not even make that sort of claim, since the highway was a mile away." ^[14]

Geography

Hampton is located in southern Bradford County at 29°51′51″N82°8′12″W / 29.86417°N 82.13667°W / 29.86417; -82.13667 (29.864261, –82.136761). ^[15] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 1.12 square miles (2.9 km²), all land.

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1900	198		—
1910	265		33.8%
1920	286		7.9%
1930	311		8.7%
1940	478		53.7%
1950	386		−19.2%
1960	340		−11.9%
1970	386		13.5%
1980	466		20.7%
1990	296		−36.5%
2000	431		45.6%
2010	500		16.0%
2020	432		−13.6%
U.S. Decennial Census [16]

As of the census ^[2] of 2000, there were 431 people, 160 households, and 110 families residing in the city. The population density was 417.0 inhabitants per square mile (161.0/km²). There were 190 housing units at an average density of 183.8 per square mile (71.0/km²). The racial makeup of the city was 87.01% White, 11.14% African American, 0.23% Native American, and 1.62% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 1.16% of the population.

There were 160 households, out of which 37.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.8% were married couples living together, 15.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.3% were non-families. 27.5% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.07.

In the city, the population was spread out, with 26.9% under the age of 18, 10.9% from 18 to 24, 26.0% from 25 to 44, 19.7% from 45 to 64, and 16.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.3 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,091, and the median income for a family was $29,375. Males had a median income of $23,250 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $14,620. About 20.4% of families and 26.6% of the population were below the poverty line, including 32.8% of those under age 18 and 38.3% of those age 65 or over.

See also

• New Rome, Ohio – a village that was dissolved in 2004 for speed traps and corruption
• Ludowici, Georgia – another Deep South municipality that was notorious for speed traps and merchant fraud in the 1950s and 1960s
• Waldo, Florida – another Florida "speed trap" town, that disbanded its police force in 2014

References

1. "2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved October 31, 2021.
2. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
3. "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. October 25, 2007. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
4. "Geographic Identifiers: 2010 Demographic Profile Data (G001): Hampton city, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau, American Factfinder. Archived from the original on February 12, 2020. Retrieved October 18, 2013.
5. Official Guide of the Railways, June 1921, p. 1308
6. Berman, Mike (March 11, 2014). "Welcome to Hampton, the small Florida town that could get erased". Washington Post . Retrieved March 13, 2014.
7. Deslatte, Aaron (February 10, 2014). "Lawmakers want tiny town of Hampton abolished over 'cash register justice'". Orlando Sentinel . Retrieved March 9, 2014.
8. Alvarez, Lizette (March 10, 2014). "A Dot on the Map, After Scandal, Could Be Wiped Off". New York Times . Retrieved March 13, 2014.
9. O'Neill, Ann (March 9, 2014). "Speed trap city accused of corruption, threatened with extinction". CNN.com . Retrieved March 9, 2014.
10. Dixon, Matt (February 10, 2014). "Gestapo in Hampton". Florida Times-Union . Retrieved March 9, 2014.
11. O'Neil, Ann (March 11, 2014). "Barry Layne Moore, mayor of corrupt Hampton, Florida, resigns -- from jail". CNN.com. Retrieved March 14, 2014.
12. O'Neil, Ann (March 28, 2014). "Has Hampton been scared straight?". CNN.com. Retrieved March 28, 2014.
13. O'Neil, Ann (March 29, 2014). "City too corrupt for Florida is spared". CNN.com. Retrieved March 29, 2014.
14. CIARAMELLA, C.J. "11 Insanely Corrupt Speed-Trap Towns". reason.com. Reason. Retrieved May 10, 2022.
15. "US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990". United States Census Bureau. February 12, 2011. Retrieved April 23, 2011.
16. "Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov. Retrieved June 4, 2015.