Formed August 12, 1822 (3rd county)
Duval County (995,560), Jacksonville (949,616)
A new Modern style masonry courthouse opened in 2012 at West Adams and North Pearl streets. A Modern style 1962 office building made of concrete serves Duval County as the Administrative Center. It is located on Bay, Market, Courthouse, and Liberty streets. The old 1957 courthouse is located two blocks east of United States Highway 1. It is designed by KBJ Architects. There were 1886 and 1902 courthouses in Jacksonville, the only county seat. The county was named for Governor William P. Duval. Jacksonville was named for President Andrew Jackson. Duval County was the birthplace of 4 Florida Governors, Ossian B. Hart, Francis P. Fleming, Napoleon B. Broward, and Ronald D. DeSantis. The county was cut from St. Johns County on August 12, 1822 as the 3rd county.
Duval County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive). It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.) Thirty-four Circuit Court Judges serve Duval, Clay, and Nassau counties and Eighteen County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Alachua County (judicial.) The county is situated in northeast Florida on the Atlantic Ocean. The center of the county is in Jacksonville 5 miles Northeast of the city center. The county is surrounded clockwise by Nassau County and the Atlantic Ocean and St. Johns, Clay, and Baker counties.
The area of the county is 774 square miles. It is 26 out of 67 counties in the state. It ranks 6 out of 67 in population in the state. It has a density of 1286.3 persons per square mile making it 7 out of 67 in the state. Duval County has 100.0% of its population in its incorporated areas. Interstate Highway 10 originates in the county and heads west into Baker County. Interstate Highway 95 crosses north to south from Nassau County to St. Johns County. United States Highway 1 parallels Interstate Highway 95 from Nassau County to St. Johns County. United States Highway 17 crosses north to south from Nassau County to Clay County. United States Highway 23 enters from Nassau County and terminates. United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 beginning in Duval County and heading west into Nassau County. United States Highway 301 crosses the western tip from Nassau County to Clay County. The St. Johns River flows north in the county. The county is shaped like a horse head. Jacksonville occupies 95% of the county. Jacksonville is the county seat and the largest city. It is 95.4% of the county population. The county is pronounced DOO-VAL. This county is in the Jacksonville Metropolitan Statistical Area.
