1850
As of 1850 there were only 320 people living in Monticello; by 1860 there were a thousand, after the railroad arrived.
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FILE 10 / 22 March 2017 / 63 MIN / full
This week we are in Montecello, Florida ... It's in Jefferson County, which is on the border of Georgia. about 0:02:59
As of 1850 there were only 320 people living in Monticello; by 1860 there were a thousand, after the railroad arrived.
about 0:05:04Jefferson County was formed in 1827 and is named after Thomas Jefferson.
about 0:06:42Monticello is named after Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, though Floridians pronounce it Montecello.
about 0:06:52In the 1850s and 1860s the railroad let the town ship cotton, and the land was cleared for cotton fields.
about 0:07:59As of 1850 there were only 320 people living in Monticello; by 1860 there were a thousand, after the railroad arrived.
about 0:05:04Jefferson County was formed in 1827 and is named after Thomas Jefferson.
about 0:06:42Monticello is named after Thomas Jefferson's home, Monticello, though Floridians pronounce it Montecello.
about 0:06:52In the 1850s and 1860s the railroad let the town ship cotton, and the land was cleared for cotton fields.
about 0:07:59In 1882 William Ceradew brought the first shipment of watermelon seeds to the region.
about 0:08:38By the 1920s Jefferson County produced 80% of the world's watermelons.
about 0:08:47The courthouse was built in 1908 with one-foot-thick concrete interior walls and is still in use.
about 0:09:36The courthouse was modernised for heating and cooling in 1968, but the judge's bench and jury box are original.
about 0:09:50Monticello is called the most haunted small town in America, especially the Jefferson County correctional facility.
about 0:10:01The Monticello Historic District has 42 nineteenth-century buildings within 27 blocks.
about 0:20:16The annual Monticello Watermelon Festival is held outside the Monticello Opera House on June 27th.
about 0:20:3462%
Biggest faith: Methodist, 25%
about 0:13:59White 45.74% · Black 49.39% · Asian 0.0% · Hispanic almost 5%
Ethnicity can overlap race.Property crime
right about the U.S. average
Violent crime
▲ more than twice the average rate
Killing of a tourist in Florida in the past year
the ninth
Florida tourism industry
$30 billion a year
Florida tourism
20% decline between 1993 and 1995
Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,216 square foot house
about 0:17:36Three-bedroom, two-bath, 1,350 square foot house
about 0:17:39Five-bedroom, five-bath, 4,400 square foot house
about 0:18:01"right about the U.S. average"
Comparison: "U.S. average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:21:34
"more than twice the average rate"
Comparison: "U.S. average". Direction: above.
As told in 2017 about 0:21:39
"the ninth"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:27:12
"$30 billion a year"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:27:26
"20% decline between 1993 and 1995"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:50:32
"2,411"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:11:55
"down 6.3% since 2000"
Direction: below.
As told in 2017 about 0:12:01
"44.2"
Comparison: "about 37.5 national average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:12:08
"almost twice the average"
Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.
As told in 2017 about 0:12:59
"20%"
Comparison: "10% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:09
"twice the amount"
Comparison: "national average". Direction: above.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:12
"45.74%"
Comparison: "62% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:22
"49.39%"
Comparison: "12.24% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:28
"0.0%"
Comparison: "5% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:35
"almost 5%"
Comparison: "16.9% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:35
"51%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:54
"48%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:54
"62%"
Comparison: "49% average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:13:59
"2%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:10
"7%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:10
"25%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:15
"23%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:15
"0.0%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:48
"0.0%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:14:48
"exactly at the national average"
Comparison: "national average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:15:10
"$40,000"
Comparison: "about $53,000 average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:15:10
"35%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:15:27
"2%"
Comparison: "10% usual average". No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:15:34
"84 out of 100"
Comparison: "100 is the average". Direction: below.
As told in 2017 about 0:16:31
"48 out of 100"
Comparison: "100 is the average". Direction: below.
As told in 2017 about 0:16:40
"50%"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:16:45
"$90,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:16:49
"$185,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:16:52
"$680 average"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:17:10
"$75,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:17:36
"$149,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:17:39
"$425,000"
No direction stated.
As told in 2017 about 0:18:01
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In September 1993, Gary Collie, a 34-year-old truck driver from Wilson, Bradford, in West Yorkshire, was on holiday in Florida with his girlfriend, Margaret Jagger. After midnight on 14 September they stopped at a rest stop on Interstate 10, a few miles south of Monticello, to sleep rather than drive on tired. Two men knocked on the car windows, intending to rob them. Both men outside opened fire. A fatal shot hit Collie in the neck and went into his chest cavity, killing him. Jagger was hit but survived, dragging herself across the parking lot to a pay phone, leaving bloody fingerprints on it, and calling for help.
It was the ninth tourist killing in Florida that year. Tourism was the state's main industry, worth $30 billion a year, and the case caused panic. Armed guards were placed at rest stops along I-10 for two years.
Investigators found four teenagers.
Assistant state attorney Mike Schneider said they might seek the death penalty.
Rest stop worker Donald Spyvey identified him as a shooter, Thad testified, neighbours said they heard him bragging, and Jagger came from England to testify. There was no physical evidence: no guns, no fingerprints, nothing tying him to the shooting.
On 19 December 1999 two men robbed a Winn-Dixie in Panama City at four in the morning, hit an elderly employee on the head with a gun and took about $150 in postage stamps.
The judge gave him 40 years, and the episode says he will most likely be out in 2024. The trials also drained the town, which cut its library budget by 20 per cent.
September 14, 1993 / an I-10 rest stop a few miles south of Monticello, Florida
As told in the episode, on 22 March 2017.
Accused
Accused
Accused
Accused
Public places are marked on the map.
crime scene
about 0:24:19road
about 0:03:51landmark
about 0:20:29landmark
about 0:20:34school
about 0:18:32business
about 0:55:12other
about 0:34:22