Yeehaw Junction, Florida

Yeehaw Junction, Florida
Census-designated place

Desert Inn

Location of Yeehaw Junction, Florida
Coordinates: 27°42′00″N 80°54′16″W / 27.70000°N 80.90444°W / 27.70000; -80.90444Coordinates: 27°42′00″N 80°54′16″W / 27.70000°N 80.90444°W / 27.70000; -80.90444
Country  United States
State  Florida
County Osceola
Population (2010)
 • Total 240
Time zone Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) EDT (UTC-4)
GNIS feature ID 2403047[1]

Yeehaw Junction is a census-designated place (CDP) in Osceola County, Florida, United States.[2] As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 240.[3] The area was confused with Buenaventura Lakes CDP in the 2000 census, and the correct data for the area was not recorded.[4]

Yeehaw Junction is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee Metropolitan Statistical Area. The Destiny, Florida development is planned nearby.

Geography

Yeehaw Junction is located at 27°42′00″N 80°54′16″W / 27.70000°N 80.90444°W / 27.70000; -80.90444 (27.7, -80.90444), at the intersection of US 441/SR 15, SR 60 and Florida's Turnpike (SR 91), approximately 30 miles (50 km) west of Vero Beach and 30 miles north of Lake Okeechobee. The location was named after the Yeehaw station on the Florida East Coast Railway, several miles to the east on SR 60 in Indian River County.

History

Some say the community's name comes from the fact locals would yell "Yeehaw!", while others believe the name is derived from the Seminole language word meaning "wolf".[5] According to town historians and several original newspaper articles that are displayed at the Desert Inn and Restaurant, the town was originally named "Jackass Junction" or "Jackass Crossing". This name was given to the four-corner site back in the early 1930s, when local ranchers rode on burros to visit the Desert Inn (then the local brothel). As the 1950s approached, the Florida legislature felt that a name change was due in light of the construction of Florida's Turnpike through the center of the community in 1957, resulting in renaming the town to its present-day name.[6][7]

Demographics

In 2010 Yeehaw Junction had a population of 240. The racial and ethnic composition of the population was 89.2% non-Hispanic white, 1.3% Native American, 0.4% Asian (one person), 2.9% reporting two or more races and 6.3% Hispanic or Latino.[8]

Present day

The Yeehaw Junction exit on the Florida Turnpike still exists but there is no longer a place to buy tickets (it is boarded up and roped off). It was known as a major stopping point for tourists to purchase conditional discount tickets for various tourist attractions in the Orlando area. The Turnpike exit links with State Road 60, an important traffic route going from Vero Beach on the Atlantic to Tampa and St. Petersburg on the Gulf Coast. The Turnpike exit is the southern end of the longest stretch of limited-access highway without an exit in the United States (the next interchange to the north being 48.9 miles away at Kissimmee/St. Cloud) and the northern end of the second-longest such stretch (the next exit to the south being 40.5 miles away at Fort Pierce).[9]

Since the population is not large enough to support its own schools, children in the community could choose to attend Osceola County School District which may be over an hour's bus ride for students (the nearest public school is located in St. Cloud), or be bused to closer schools in Indian River County or Okeechobee County.

Stuckey's/BP in Yeehaw Junction, Florida
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References

  1. ↑ "US Board on Geographic Names". United States Geological Survey. 2007-10-25. Retrieved 2008-01-31.
  2. ↑ U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Yeehaw Junction, Florida
  3. ↑ "Race, Hispanic or Latino, Age, and Housing Occupancy: 2010 Census Redistricting Data (Public Law 94-171) Summary File (QT-PL), Yeehaw Junction CDP, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau, American FactFinder 2. Retrieved August 5, 2011.
  4. ↑ ERRATA FOR THE CENSUS 2000 TIGER/LINE(R) FILES, United States Census Bureau, October 2001. Accessed 2008-02-11.
  5. ↑ Morgan, Philip (May 12, 1996). "Take a ride on weird side of Florida". Ocala Star-Banner. pp. 4B. Retrieved 7 June 2015.
  6. ↑ http://www.floridarambler.com/florida-getaways/desert-inn-yeehaw-junction/
  7. ↑ http://articles.orlandosentinel.com/1985-06-04/news/0300310230_1_yeehaw-junction-spiders-jackalope
  8. ↑ 2010 census report for Yeehaw Junction
  9. ↑ http://content.usatoday.com/communities/driveon/post/2011/08/longest-distances-between-exits-on-US-freeways-415029/1#.UDl9OKPy2So Top 16 longest gaps between Interstate exits
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