S..


2. Climate:


Temperature averages
Rainfall averages


68.7
59.24


January ril "IX


S55.8 67.5
3.72 2.48


Growing season: Usual date of last killing frost in Spring, February 25;
usual date of first killing frost in Fall, November 26; average length of
growing season, 275 days.

3. Local Raw Materialp:

Timber: Pine is available about 15 miles from town. Magnolia and gum are
available about 20 miles from town, Weaver-Loughridge Lumber Company, Lee
Tidewater Cypress Company, Brooks-Scanlon Corporation, Granger Brothers
Lumber Company and Perry Lumber Company are the principal lumber producers.
Lee Tidewater Cypress is hauling cypress lags from the Everglades to supply-_'"-.
the mill in Perry.

Minerals: Sand and limerock are available about 18 miles from town. Lionel
McGill is operating sand pits and W. M. McGill is opQrating limerock pits.

Agricultural products: Hogs (15,000 head); cattle (20,000 head); tobacco
(230,286 pounds, sold for $92,018,24, in 1946) corn (30,000 acres).

Other: During 1946, 2,000,000 pounds of fish were shipped from Perry.

part B--General Eqonomv


Est, 1947


County total
City total
Negroes in county.
Negroes in city


12,000
4,000
3,500
1,500


10,738
3,599
3,317
1,516


11,565
2,668
3,648
.----


/
11,142
2,400
3,740
982


123L

13,136
2,744
4,995
----


Predominant nationalities: Native-born white; Negro.

2. Labor:

Unions: No-national unions have been established in local industries.

Female employment: About 18% of the total employment is female. Approxi-
mately 365 women are employed in manufacturing industries.

Approximate hourly wages: Unskilled white male, 550; unskilled Negro male,
55#; unskilled white female, 450; unskilled Negro female, 450; skilled
white male, "l; skilled Negro male, 850; skilled white female, 900;. skilled
Negro female, 75;i

General: Over 400 women, 18 to 35 years old, are available for industrial
employment. About 75% are white. They are unskilled, but easily trained.

3. Retail Market:


General:
counties.


Perry is the retail trade center for Taylor, Lafayette and Dixie


1946 Effective Buying
1946 Estimated retail
1946 Estimated retail
1946 Estimated retail


Income per family in county, $2,166.*
food store sales in county, $1,363,000.*
general merchandise store sales in county, $292,000.*
drugstores sales in county withheld to avoid disclose%


*Copyright 1947, SALES MANAGEMENT Survey of Buying Power. Further repro-
duction not licensed.
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S PERRY FLORIDA: -- '
part $---Natual Repources / / <\-'
Geographv:. .. ,

Chief topographical features: Flat; small stream through city. Elevatio
47 feet.


1.


81.0
9.73


70.4
3.14


~Lcsl----


nj


-~----.-- --


1. PopulationI






PERRY, FLORIDA

4. Manufacturing Industries:

Principal manufacturing plants: Weaver-Loughridge Lumber Company, pine
lumber; Lee Tidewater Cypress Company, cypress lumber; Brooks-Scanlon
Corporation, 'pine lumber; Granger Brothers Mill, pine lumber; Perry Lumber
Company, pine lumber; Fleming and Green Box'Factory, boxes nd crates; Tay-
lor County Novelty Industries, novelties.

5. New J;duqtres:

One new industry, employing approximately 20 persons, was est blished
during 1946, '

6.' Genpral Remars pn Economy:

Perry is the county seat and only incorporated town in Taylor County. 'The
local economy is primarily dependent upon timber resources.
Pprt C---Government

1. Administrqath9n: j

Type: Mayor-Council.

Officials: Mayor, J. H. Kansinger; City Attorney, Bryon Butler.

Special departments: The pity has an active plumbing inspector, city engi.
neer and street department. The city usually employs an.electrical.inspecta
but the office is temporarily vacant.. -A committee of the City-Council
serves as .a park and recreation board.

Zoning: City does not have 'a %oning ordinance.

2, Finance p

Current city tax rate: Operations, 15 mills; debt service, 20 mills.

Average city tax rate for last five years: Operations, 15 mills; debt
service, 20 mills.

City basis of assessment: 75% of actual value.

Total_assessed yalue .of-,eal. property.in city: .1,300,000.

-City license tax on manufacturing plant: $15, $25.

City utility tax: None.

Other major city taxes, Wholesale and retail licenses, according to sliding
scale.

Current county tax rate: Operations, 16 mills; debt service, 0.

Average county tax rate for last five years: Operations, 14 mills; debt
service, 0.

Special district taxes: The special district tax rate on property in the
city is five mills.

Bonded debt: City, $373,000; county, 0.

Other long-term obligations., ,City, 0; county, 0,

Part D---Cpinupity Fasglities

1. Available %Dta:

Maps: City street, trunk water main and power distribution system maps
are available.






PERRY, FLORIDA


1. Availab q Data: (Cont.)

Reports: "General and Basic Information on Perry and Taylor County Viewed
for Possibilities of Industrial Expansion", by W. M. Bostwick, Florida
Power and Light Company, available for reference at the Taylor County Cham-
ber of Commerce, Perry.

2. Transportation Facilities:

Railroad: Perry is served by an Atlantic Coast Line main line, with four
passenger trains andtwo freight trains daily; a Live Oak, Perry and Gulf
main line with two passenger and two freight trains daily and a South
Georgia main line with two passenger and two freight trains daily. Free
pick-up and delivery of less than carload frieght is available.

Express: Railway Express Agency, Inc., provides rail express service.
Direct air express service is not available. Free pick-up and delivery
of express is available.

Highway: U. S. Highway 19 and Florida Highways 20 and 55 pass through Pery.

Local bus service: None.

Intercity bus. service: Florida Greyhound Lines, Tamiami Trailways and
Georgia-Florida Cca;h have a total of 34 buses daily through Perry.

Intercity trucking facilities: Great Southern Trucking Company provides
service to all sections of the southeast. Tampa, Tallahasse and Jack-
sonville are among the principal cities that can be reached by an over-
night truck haul.

Air: Perry Airport, a county-c ned field, is 2* miles from town. The
field has three hangars and three 5,000 feet runways. The field is open
to private planes. Charter cross-country flights are available. Com-
mercial air transportation is not available at present but Florida Air-
ways, Inc., has application pending for authority to stop at Perry on a
Lake City-Tallahassee flight.

3. Power:

Florida Power and Light Company owns and operates the generating and
distributing facilities'.. Copies of rate schedules may be obtained at the
company's office.

4. Fuel:

Coal: Delivered cost per ton is $15 for domestic lump. Industrial stoker
is not used in this section.

Gas: Neither natural nor artificial gas is available.

Bottled gas: R. S. Westberry distributes bottled gas.

5. I"Se' e-anda-Vasdt Disposal:

Sewage: Storm and sanitary sewers are installed. Untreated sewage is
discharged in a flowing stream. A sewage disposal plant is planned.

Industrial waste disposal: No local industry has large amounts of liquid
waste. Waste from lumber mills is burned.

Garbage: Garbage is collected daily in the business section and twice
weekly in residential sections.

6. Water Supolv:

Source: Wells. Present source is adequate for limited expansion.

Treatment: Filtered and chlorinated.

Consumption: 500,000 gallons per day.

Pumping capacity: 1,000,000 gallons per day.


-4-






PERRY, FLORIDA


6. Water SuDply.

Rate:

Per 1,Q00 Gallons
First 5,000 gallons, $1.25 minimum
Next 20,000 gallons 150
All over 25,000 gallons 10# /
7. Communications, Facilijg~:

Telephone service: Gulf Telephone Company operates a manual exchange
serving 600 company-owned stations and three toll circuits.

Telegraph service: Western Union has office hours of 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. on
week days and 9 to 11 a,m. and 4 to 6 p.nk on Sundays and holidays,

8. Educational Facilitipp:

V/ Elementary Hig
White:

Number of schools 1 1
Present enrollment 776 285
Present capacity i 800 300
S 'Negro:

Number of schools 2 1
Present enrollment 420 87
Present capacity 420 87

*Junior and Senior High Schools are combined.

Vocational training for white students: Commercial subjects and home
Economics.

Vocational training for.Negro students: None.

Libraries: Woman's.Club.

9. Health Facilitis'
rpa health department: None,

County health department: Staff of one doctor and one nurse. Does not
operate clinics.

Hospitals: NGhe.
_jO'' iecre~tion4 Faciftties:

Public parks: None.

Athletic fields: Football field and baseball field.

Other: Indoor swimming pool, tennis courts and gymnasium.

11. Police protect:

City: Force consists of two policemen. City has one patrol car, without
radio equipment. Regular beats are maintained at night. City jail is
approved for quartering Federal prisoners,

County: Protection out ide the city is provided by the Sheriff, a deputy
and a constable.'

12. Fire Protection:

City: Force consists of one full-time and 10 volunteer firemen, City has
two engines and one station.

-5-







PERRY, FLORIDA
12. Fire Prqtection:. (Cont.)

Insurance rating: SEAU, Class 2; NBFU, Class 7.

County: Protection is provided within five miles of city.

13. City Street;:

Mileage: Paved, 7 miles.

General: Concrete is the major type of pavement used. About 50% of the
streets are curbed and about 25% have sidewalks. Approximately 60% of
the streets should be rebuilt or extensively repaired during the next five
years.

14. Banking Facllities,:

Perry Banking Company has resources of over $2,000,000.

15. Construction and Service Fpcilities:

Type and number: General contractors, 3; architects, 0; land surveyors, 2;
general machine shops, 0; machine repair facilities, 3; foundries, 0; auto-
motive repair families, 2;eq consulting-engineers, 1 (civil).

16. Retail Facilities: ,

Type and number: Dry goods stores, 7; department stores, 5; grocery stores,
21; drug stores, 3.

Parking: City has no parking meters and no parking lots.

Vacant stores: There was one vacant store in the business district at the
time of this survey.

Deficiencies: A stationery and office supply store is needed.

17. Wh9lepalp Facilities:

General: Perry is considered a wholesale distribution center. Special
markets for the wholesale distribution of local agricultural products are
not available. Commercial cold storage, commercial freezing and public
warehousing facilities ar available and adequate.

18. Houping Conditions:

General: New construction is gradually easing the housing situation.

19. Hqtels a~d Restaurants:

Hotels: Number, 2; r6oms, 80.

Restaurants: Number, 4; seating capacity, 140.

20. Newspapers:

Weekly: Taylor County News, circulation, 1,800.

21. Laundries and Dry Cleangrs:

Commercial laundries: Number, 1.

Commercial dry cleaners: Number, 3,;

22. Civic Organizations:

Name and namA of president: Kiwanis, C. P. Wilson; Rotary, Alferd Hardman;
Woman's Club, 1;rs. J. P. Puckett; Garden Club, Mrs. W. T. Pace; Taylor
County Chamber of Commerce, Joe.H. Scales,

23. Churches:

Denomination: Baptist, Methodist, Episcopal, Presbyterian, Catholic,
Assembly of God.
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O 0 ;&