Here are a few facts to know about Keaton Beach, where Hurricane Idalia made landfall in Florida.
WHERE IS KEATON BEACH LOCATED?
Taylor County, which is located directly where Florida’s Gulf Coast turns from being east-west to north-south, is home to Keaton Beach. Keaton Beach is located approximately 75 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee and 95 miles west-northwest of Gainesville.
HOW MANY PEOPLE LIVE THERE?
Keaton Beach is home to 13,032 people, 18.13 of whom have at least a college diploma, and 6.2% of whom have at least a bachelor’s degree, per the 2021 American Community Survey of the U.S. Census Bureau as cited by Point2Homes.com. 41.6 years old is the median age.
WHAT IS THE FINANCIAL AND RENTAL CONDITION IN KEATON BEACH?
According to the same survey, the median annual income is $44,735 and the median monthly housing expense is $618. 2,567 (47.3%) of the 5,362 housing units in Keaton Beach were constructed after 1990.
HOW DOES KEATON BEACH FEEL?
It is very outdoorsy, with fishing, beachgoing, and using watercraft the primary pastimes, like many Florida beach communities outside of big urban centers.
KEATON, WHO WAS HE?
It would seem that the correct inquiry is, “Who were the Keatons?”
Local historians attribute the beach’s name to the brothers and original proprietors Abb and Sam Keaton, according to a history from KeatonBeach.net and reiterated by the Taylor Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development via Wikipedia.
“It is believed that their family originally owned cotton farms in the area, however, their primary source of income gradually shifted as mullet fishing became one of the thriving industries in Taylor County,” KeatonBeach.net says.
Taylor’s Chamber says: “The real commercialization of the beach came when Captain W. Alston “Cap’n” Brown, who owned the turpentine works at Blue Springs Creek, became involved with the area in the early 1920s. The Keaton Brothers were said to have worked with Brown, and he named the Beach in honor of them.”
