Our Area

Bradford County was established as New River County in 1858 from portions of Columbia and Alachua counties. It was renamed in 1861 in honor of Captain Richard Bradford, the first Florida officer killed in the Civil War.

In 1993 nearly three-quarters of Bradford County’s population was in unincorporated areas. The largest city is Starke with a 2012 population of 5,405. Lawtey, Hampton, and Brooker all had populations less than 1,000 in 2012.

The Bradford County area is also home to the most premier recreational lake in the world … Kingsley Lake.

Though far out of the top-5 in terms of quantity, Kingsley Lake in North Central Florida easily claims the quality title. This disc-shaped lake six miles east of Starke has yielded the most Hall-of-fame catches with 14 out of the 30 reported in four TrophyCatch seasons. Of that total, the 2,000-acre Kingsley has produced the two heaviest TrophyCatch entries: Seth Chapman’s 15-pound, 11-ouncer and Len Andrews’ 15-9 – both caught in March 2015. Overall, Kingsley claims 169 TrophyCatches (also including 75 Lunker Clubs and 80 Trophy Clubs).

Generally considered Florida’s oldest and highest lake, Kingsley perches on the eastern slope of Trail Ridge, the first part of Florida’s peninsula to emerge above sea level in the Pleistocene era. Thought to have formed as a giant sink hole, Kingsley reaches 90 feet deep and its circular shape has earned the nickname “Silver Dollar lake.”

For more detailed information about Bradford County, please visit City-Data.com.