234 FLORIDA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY I3TH ANNUAL REPORT 



POPULATION 



DENSITY 



When the first census of Florida was taken, in 1830. the pen- 

 insular portion of the State was practically uninhabited, except for 

 a few small settlements along the east coast. Not until about the 

 middle of the century were there enough people or enough coun- 

 ties in the area under consideration to make it possible to estimate 

 the density of population. In 1850 there was about one inhab- 

 itant to three square miles; and as at present, there were about 

 twice as many whites as negroes. The changes in density of pop- 

 ulation since then, for the whole area and as many of the regions 

 as we can get satisfactory data for from the census returns, are 

 shown graphically in figure 42, which is based on both Federal 

 and State censuses, the latter taken midway between the former, 

 beginning in 1885. 



The number of inhabitants more than doubled between 1880 

 and 1890, the decade when phosphate was discovered and com- 



i INHABITANTS ^'^r SQUARE MILE 



fOTAL 



RURAL 



(SSO 



iseo 



1870 



1880 



I890 



1900 



1910 



Fig. 42. Historical graph showing density of total and rural popul 

 central Florida, some of its subdivisions, and the whole State, from 

 1920, or as far as can be ascertained from the census returns. 



1920 



ation in 

 1850 to 



