I08 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY I3TH ANNUAL REPORT 



in proportion of negroes it is unquestionably above the average for 

 central Florida. In the whole county in 1*910 there were 38^0 

 native whites, 1.3% foreign whites, and 60.7% negroes. The pre- 

 dominance of negroes is characteristic of many other fertile region:* 

 in the South, but in all such places the whites tend to congregate 

 in the towns and cities, making the number of the two races more 

 nearly equal there. In Ocala there were in 1910 and 191 5 almost 

 exactly as many whites as blacks, and in some of the smaller towns 

 the whites are decidedly in the majority. 



The incorporated cities and towns in 191 5 were Ocala, with 

 5,370 inhabitants, Citra, with 400; Mcintosh, 206; Reddick, 191; 

 and Belleview, 182. The 1920 census showed a slight decrease in 

 Ocala, probably due mainly to the migration of negroes from all 

 over the South to northern manufacturing cities during the recent 

 world war. 



In 1880 (the latest year for which we have such data), when tlie 

 population of Marion County was still more concentrated in the 

 hammock belt than it is now, about 61% of the inhabitants of trie 

 county were natives of Florida, 20% of South Carolina, and 7% of 

 Georgia, with Alabama, North Carolina and Virginia ranking next. 

 Less than 0.7% were foreign-born, the countries most largely 

 represented being England, Germany, Ireland. Canada and Sweden. 

 Thirty years later the proportions had changed but little, the leading 

 nationalities being English. German, Canadian. Scotch, Russian 

 (mostly Jews?), Italian, Swedish, and French. 



In 1 9 10 the percentage of illiteracy in Alarion County was for 

 native whites over ro years old 1.5, for foreign whites 1.7, and for 

 negroes 19.6. In the city of Ocala at the same time the census 

 enumerators found only one native white person over 10 who could 

 not read and write, while 6.3% of the foreigners and 5% of the 

 negroes were illiterate. 



The leading religious denominations in the county in 1916 were, 

 among the whites, Baptist, southern Methodist, northern !Metho- 

 dist(?)* southern Presbyterian, Episcopalian. Church of Christ, 

 Disciples of Christ, and Roman Catholics. Among the negroes. 

 Baptist. African Methodist, northern :\Iethodist (?) A. M. E. 

 Zion, and colored Methodist. 



*See explanation of statistical difficulties in the general chapter on re- 

 ligious denominations. 



