Entered Union March 3, 1845 (27th state)
Florida (21,538,216), Tallahassee (196,171), Jacksonville (949,616)
The skyscraper concrete capitol was originally completed in 1977 using the designs of Edward Durell Stone and Reynolds, Smith, and Hills. The old capitol still houses the Governor’s Office. They are both located on Monroe Street between Jefferson and Madison streets. United States Highway 27 is Monroe Street in front of the capitol. The new Capitol is designed in Neoclassical style. The major supporting structures are the Supreme Court Courthouse in Tallahassee and Court of Appeals courthouses in Tallahassee, Lakeland, Tampa, Miami, West Palm Beach, and Daytona Beach. The state was officially created as the 27th state on March 3, 1845 from Native American lands of East Florida and West Florida. Pensacola was capital of West Florida and St. Augustine was capital of East Florida. Tallahassee was chosen as the combined Florida capital in 1824. Western West Florida later was made part of Mississippi and Alabama territories. The state’s name comes from Ponce de Leon and the native vegetations, La Florida. The name of Tallahassee comes a Native American term meaning “old fields.” Jacksonville is named for the Andrew Jackson who was the governor of the Florida Territory before becoming President. Britton Hill in Walton County is the highest point and the Atlantic Ocean is the lowest point at sea level.
Florida government, in the Executive, consists of a Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Chief Financial Officer, Attorney General, and Agricultural and Consumer Services Commissioner. There are 40 Senators and 120 Representatives in the Legislative. Seven Supreme Court Justices and Fifty-eight Court of Appeals Justices serve Florida in the Judicial. Florida is located in the southeastern United States. The geographic center is in Hernando County 12 miles north northwest of Brooksville. The state is surrounded clockwise by Georgia, the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and Alabama.
The area is 65,7587 square miles. It is 22nd largest state in the country. It is the 3rd most populated state in the country. It has a density of 327.5 persons per square mile making it 8th in the country. Its major rivers are the St. Johns, the Suwannee, the Indian, the Apalachicola, and the Escambia. Tallahassee is located near the northern border of the state and Jacksonville Wilmington is on the northeast coast of the state.
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