Hurricane Idalia slammed into Keaton Beach, Florida. What to know about the place

Here are a few things to know about Keaton Beach, the part of Florida where Hurricane Idalia came ashore.

Where is Keaton Beach?

Keaton Beach is in Taylor County, which sits right where Florida’s Gulf Coast curves from being east-west to north-south. Keaton Beach is about 95 miles west-northwest of Gainesville and about 75 miles south-southeast of Tallahassee.

How many people live there?

According to the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2021 American Community Survey as quoted by Point2Homes.com, Keaton Beach is home to 13,032 people, 18.13 have at least a college certificate and 6.2% have at least a bachelor’s degree. The median age is 41.6 years old.

What’s the money and housing situation in Keaton Beach?

The same survey says the median income is $44,735 per year, and the median housing costs are $618. Of the 5,362 housing units in Keaton Beach, 2,567 (47.9%) have been built since 1990.

What’s Keaton Beach like?

It’s the same as many Florida beach communities outside major urban areas — very outdoor-oriented with fishing, beachgoing and using watercraft the preferred activities.

Who was Keaton?

Apparently, the question should be “Who were the Keatons?”

A history from KeatonBeach.net and repeated by the Taylor Chamber of Commerce and Tourism Development via Wikipedia, says local historians identify the beach’s name source as brothers and original owners Abb and Sam Keaton.

“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.”