Palatka, Florida, United States

🇺🇸 Palatka is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. It is the county seat of Putnam County. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area. The city is also home to St. Johns River State College, St. Johns River Water Management District Headquarters, and Ravine Gardens State Park. The area is well known for its local festivals, most notably the Florida Azalea Festival and the Blue Crab Festival.

Economy The composition of the Palatka area economy is unreflective of Florida as a whole. Unlike many cities in the state, Palatka has a large manufacturing sector, employing 17.2% of the city's total civilian workforce. Comparatively, Florida's statistics indicate 5.9% of the state's entire workforce is employed by the manufacturing sector. Georgia Pacific is the single largest private employer in the city. The Koch owned firm employs 1,470 people at its pulp, paper, and plywood operations. PDM Bridge is another large manufacturing company operating in Palatka. Their facility is located in Barge Port on the St. Johns River. The Eau Claire, Wisconsin-based bridge builder utilizes the river for the transportation of its finished products. PDM Bridge is notable for the fabrication of the Woodrow Wilson Bridge structure.

The Palatka area was of early significance in accessing the interior of the state. This significance was due to its location at the end of an expansive portion of waterway at the divide between the upper and lower St. Johns River. First established as a trading outpost, tourism would eventually boom and fuel growth for decades. The decline of waterborne travel in Northeast Florida, and the United States in general, ultimately reduced the importance of tourism in the city. Nowadays, large international airports and bypassing interstate highways carry vacationers to destinations further south. Tourism remains a vital part of Florida's modern economy. Of the state's total employed, 15.5% worked in tourist related industries. Again, the Palatka labor market is unlike that of the state. Only 7.1% work in arts, entertainment, recreation, accommodation and food services. The tourism industry may not hold the glory it once did, but it continues to be of importance to the Palatka economy as a whole.

In recent years, the Putnam County government has adopted policies focused on facilitating Ecotourism in the region. Nature trails are being expanded and kayaking waterways have been improved and mapped. Portions of the Florida Trail runs through the area and connect local hiking trails to other trail systems in parks throughout the region. Ocala National Forest is the second largest National Forest in the state. Other large parks include Welaka State Forest, Etoniah Creek State Forest and Dunns Creek State Park. Other conservation areas exist under the management of the Putnam Land Conservancy and St. Johns River Water Management District. Both entities operate regionally and identify and protect ecologically sensitive areas. If progress continues, and ecotourism creates a vibrant local economy, economic incentives could drive further preservation of the natural habitats, benefitting the environment as a whole.

Of residents aged 16 years and over, 53.3% were in the labor force; 45.6% were employed and 7.6% unemployed. Compared to Florida's average, Palatka has a higher percentage of unemployed. Of the same survey, the State's unemployment was 4.6% of the available labor force. The current Florida unemployment rate, published by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, stands at 7.0%. The Palatka area is bordered on all sides by four separate metropolitan statistical areas. Of those, the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Gainesville, and Jacksonville metropolitan statistical areas all had better performing unemployment statistics than Palatka in 2011, when the unemployment rate in the Palatka Micropolitan Statistical Area was 13.8%. Gainesville showed the most favorable conditions with an unemployment rate of 8.7%. Statistics for Palm Coast and Ocala both indicated unemployment rates higher than that of Palatka. Regionally, The employment numbers of Palm Coast have been hit hardest, the bedroom community has an unemployment rate currently at 16.6%.

Sites of interest The following entries are listed on the National Register of Historic Places: • Old Atlantic Coast Line Union Depot, home of the Palatka Railroad Preservation Society • Bronson-Mulholland House (1854), home of the Putnam County Historical Society & Museum • Central Academy, Florida's first accredited African-American high school • Larimer Memorial Library • Palatka North Historic District • Palatka South Historic District • Ravine Gardens State Park • St. Mark's Episcopal Church.