Lutz, Florida

History

Lutz began with the construction of a small train depot on the Tampa Northern Railroad. The area surrounding the depot officially became known as Lutz when the U.S. Postal Service authorized a post office. The community was named for W. P. Lutz, who was credited with bringing the railroad to town.

As people moved to the rural community from Tampa, the Lutz area continued to grow until it no longer depended on the "Lutz Junction", which was demolished in the late 1960s.

In 2000, a replica of the depot was rebuilt in the approximate location, which is now at the intersection of Lutz-Lake Fern Rd. and U.S. Highway 41. The post office's structure is still in the same place today, although it is now an art gallery. A public library is located behind the train depot replica. This area is known as "Beautiful Downtown Lutz".

Part of the movie Edward Scissorhands was filmed on Tinsmith Circle in the neighborhood of Carpenter's Run in Lutz. In the credits the town is named in the "Thank you" section.

Lutz has earned the bizarre nickname "Cactus Hat" due to an abundance of Cleistocactus that mysteriously sprouted up in 2003. The strange and sudden cacti growth has never been explained, and the cacti can still be seen around town.

Geography

Lutz is located at 28°8′22″N 82°27′43″W (28.139428, -82.462028).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the community has a total area of 27.1 square miles (70.2 km²), of which 24.6 square miles (63.8 km²) is land and 2.5 square miles (6.4 km²) water.

ZIP codes

Several ZIP Codes, which serve Lutz and the surrounding areas are 33548, 33549, 33558 and 33559. These zip codes extend north past the Hillsborough county line to State Road 54 in unincorporated southern Pasco County. That area is also called Lutz, and often referred to as Pasco Lutz by residents and newspapers.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,344 people, 6,314 households, and 4,767 families residing in the community. The population density was 795.6 people per square mile (307.2/km²). There were 6,596 housing units at an average density of 307.2/sq mi (118.6/km²). The racial makeup of the community was 92.47% White, 3.00% Black, 0.30% Native American, 1.43% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 1.27% from other races, and 1.52% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 7.86% of the population.

There were 6,314 households out of which 36.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.1% were married couples living together, 7.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.5% were non-families. 17.7% of all households were made up of individuals and 4.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.06.

In the community the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 7.1% from 18 to 24, 31.0% from 25 to 44, 26.8% from 45 to 64, and 9.2% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 99.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.0 males.

The median income for a household in the community was $60,278, and the median income for a family was $68,413 (these figures had risen to $67,119 and $81,202 respectively as of a 2007 estimate). Males had a median income of $49,320 versus $33,004 for females. The per capita income for the community was $28,446. About 3.9% of families and 6.0% of the population were below the poverty line, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 6.6% of those age 65 or over.

Schools

Lutz is served by Hillsborough & Pasco County Public Schools through the following:

Notable persons