SOIL SURVEY OF BRADFORD COUNTY, FLORIDA. 
257 
loving vegetation. With but few exceptions, the stream channels 
are not well defined, and frequently a stream course has two or more 
channels, while during seasons of protracted rainfall the water covers 
the entire valley floor. The streams generally head in “bays” or 
swamps and in their upper reaches are merely drainage ways or wet- 
weather streams. 
Bradford County was formed from Alachua and Columbia 
Counties in 1858'. It was originally known as New River County, 
the name being changed to- Bradford County in 1861. The county 
seat was moved from Lake Butler to Starke in 1887. 
The population of Bradford County in 1890 was 7,516, in 1900, 
10,295, and in 1910, 14,090. Starke, with a population of 1,135, is 
the largest town in the county. It is situated on the Seaboard Air 
Line Railway in the eastern part of the county, and about 45 miles 
from Jacksonville. It is one of the most important points of straw¬ 
berry shipment in the State. Lake Butler, the former county seat, 
is situated near the center of the county. Its population is given in 
the 1910 census as 685. It is also an important shipping point, ow¬ 
ing to its location on both the Atlantic Coast Line and Georgia 
Southern & Florida Railroads. Lawtey, with a population of about 
500, is on the Seaboard Air Line Railway in the northeastern part 
of the county. Considerable shipments of strawberries take place 
at this town. Hampton, on the Seaboard Air Line and Georgia 
Southern & Florida Railroads; Raiford and Worthington, on the 
Atlantic Coast Line; and Brooker, on the Wannee Branch of the 
Seaboard, are towns of less importance. 
Bradford County is well supplied with means of transportation. 
The main line of the Seaboard Air Line runs north and south 
through the eastern part of the county. The Atlantic Coast Line 
traverses the county from the north-central to the southwestern part. 
The Georgia Southern & Florida runs diagonally across the county 
from northwest to southeast, and the Wannee Branch of the Sea¬ 
board Air Line extends southwest from Starke, terminating in the 
adjoining county. The Tampa & Jacksonville Railway runs south 
from Sampson. 
Wagon roads are numerous and extend into all parts of the 
county, but are generally unimproved. 
