Blountstown is named for John Blount, a Creek Indian chief who served as a guide for General Andrew Jackson during his invasion of Spanish Florida in 1818. This invasion caused the United States to purchase Florida from Spain and the territory became a part of the U.S. in 1821.
History
Blountstown was originally named for a Creek Indian Chief, who had been awarded land in the vicinity by Andrew Jackson for aiding Jackson in his battles against the Native Americans. Today, the city is primarily known as the home of the Calhoun Correctional Institution. On October 10, 2018, Blountstown was nearly annihilated when Category 5 Hurricane Michael struck the town. The city was without power for almost three weeks and over 80% of homes and businesses were heavily damaged or destroyed. Blountstown High School suffered heavy damage, but Blountstown Elementary School was completely destroyed. As of November 2018, BES students are being housed at the Blountstown High and Blountstown Middle School campuses until the local school board can rebuild the elementary school. In addition, the local timber and farming industries, which are Calhoun County's largest industries, were completely destroyed, costing millions of dollars in economic loss.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,444 people, 913 households, and 595 families residing in the city. The population density was 767.2 people per square mile. There were 1,046 housing units at an average density of 328.4 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 65.18% White, 31.79% African American, 1.27% Native American, 0.33% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 0.29% from other races, and 1.06% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.70% of the population. There were 913 households, out of which 27.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.6% were married couplesliving together, 21.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 34.8% were non-families. 31.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.9% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.39 and the average family size was 2.99. In the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 8.1% from 18 to 24, 22.1% from 25 to 44, 21.3% from 45 to 64, and 25.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females, there were 75.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 71.8 males. The median income for a household in the city was $23,271, and the median income for a family was $30,880. Males had a median income of $23,313 versus $20,000 for females. The per capita income for the city was $11,498. About 18.5% of families and 24.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 33.6% of those under age 18 and 17.7% of those age 65 or over.
Education
operates public schools. Blountstown has three schools: Blountstown Elementary School, servicing kindergarten through fifth grades; Blountstown Middle School for sixth through eighth; and Blountstown High School for ninth through twelfth.
Notable people
Patricia Dane - Hollywood actress of 1940s and early 1950s; starred in films Grand Central Murder, Johnny Eager and Life Begins for Andy Hardy; wife of bandleader Tommy Dorsey; died in Blountstown in 1995
Corn Griffin - Heavyweight boxer born in Blountstown, whose memorable 1934 TKO loss to James J. Braddock was recreated for the 2005 film Cinderella Man
