Astor, Florida

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title: "Astor, Florida" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["astor-family", "census-designated-places-in-lake-county,-florida", "greater-orlando", "populated-places-on-the-st.-johns-river", "census-designated-places-in-florida", "1874-establishments-in-florida", "populated-places-established-in-1874", "unincorporated-communities-in-florida"] topic_path: "general/astor-family" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Astor,_Florida" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::data[format=table title="Infobox settlement"]

Field	Value
official_name	Astor, Florida
settlement_type	Census-designated place
image_skyline	Astor FL post office01.jpg
image_caption	Astor post office
image_map	File:Lake County Florida Incorporated and Unincorporated areas Astor Highlighted 1202275.svg
mapsize	250x200px
map_caption	Location in Lake County, Florida
subdivision_type	Country
subdivision_name	United States
subdivision_type1	State
subdivision_name1	Florida
subdivision_type2	County
subdivision_name2	Lake
established_title
unit_pref	Imperial
area_footnotes
area_total_km2	6.87
area_land_km2	6.05
area_water_km2	0.82
area_total_sq_mi	2.65
area_land_sq_mi	2.33
area_water_sq_mi	0.32
population_as_of	2020
population_total	1759
population_density_km2	290.89
population_density_sq_mi	753.32
timezone	Eastern (EST)
utc_offset	-5
timezone_DST	EDT
utc_offset_DST	-4
coordinates
elevation_footnotes
elevation_ft	13
postal_code_type	ZIP code
postal_code	32102
area_code	352 386
blank_name	FIPS code
blank_info	12-02275
blank1_name	GNIS feature ID
blank1_info	2402654
::

Astor is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lake County, Florida, United States, located on the west side of the St. Johns River between Lake George and Lake Dexter. The community straddles State Road 40, with the community of Volusia in Volusia County across the St. Johns to the east and Astor Park to the west. The population was 1,556 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area.

Geography

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8c/AstorBridge.jpg" caption="Volusia"] ::

Astor is located in northern Lake County. Via State Road 40, it is 31 mi west of Ormond Beach and 39 mi east of Ocala. Tavares, the county seat of Lake County, is 32 mi to the southwest via SR 40 and SR 19.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the Astor CDP has a total area of 6.9 km2, of which 6.0 sqkm are land and 0.8 sqkm, or 11.93%, are water. Astor's water area includes the west half of the St. John's River and a network of canals, extending over 4 mi in total length, providing river access for many of its residents. Astor lies entirely within the boundaries of the Ocala National Forest.

History

The Astor area and much of the land along the St. Johns River was inhabited by Timucua natives prior to settlement by Europeans. Early attempts at settlement included an English trading post in 1763, and in 1822 a plantation growing sugar cane and oranges was established by Jewish immigrant Moses Elias Levy. By 1838 the Seminole Wars had begun and the United States government established Fort Butler to defend the river as the primary route of transportation inside Florida. These earliest efforts at settlement all met with failure due to war or disease, and until the 1870s the area was largely deserted.

In 1874, William Backhouse Astor Jr. from New York City's wealthy Astor family purchased over 12000 acre of land, upon which he began to establish a town he called "Manhattan". New settlers arrived by steamboat to the town which Astor had endowed with a church, schoolhouse, botanical garden, and free cemetery. William Astor also built a hotel, saw mill, and eventually a railroad, the St. Johns and Lake Eustis Railway, which headed southwest towards the communities of Eustis and Leesburg. A few miles to the west of town, a satellite community called Astor Park grew up along the shore of Lake Schimmerhorn (named for Astor's wife, Caroline Schermerhorn Astor). Over the next twenty years Astor saw his town grow, but the Manhattan name never caught on. When William Astor died in 1892, the town was officially renamed "Astor" in his honor.

John Jacob Astor IV inherited his father William's estate and continued to promote the town and their business interests in Florida. Following his demise in the sinking of the RMS Titanic in 1912, the estate passed to his son, Vincent. William Vincent Astor was not interested in his grandfather's Florida enterprises, and so the Astor family's interests in the area were sold. This, combined with a severe decline in steamboat travel on the St. Johns due to increased availability of rail travel, signaled the end of the town's prosperity and prominence. The first Astor Bridge was built in 1926; by 1928, Astor's hotel had burned down and the railroad was abandoned, leaving Astor without telephone or telegraph service for the next few decades.

Today the community of Astor is largely reliant upon tourism, and is a popular spot for winter visitors from the north and for fishing, hunting, and boating enthusiasts.

Demographics

|2020= 1759 |footnote=U.S. Decennial Census ::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/ab/St._Johns_River_at_Astor,_Florida_001.jpg" caption="St. Johns River at Astor. Across the river is the Astor Marina."] ::

As of the census of 2000, there were 1,487 people, 641 households, and 444 families residing in the CDP. The population density was 603.3 PD/sqmi. There were 1,027 housing units at an average density of 416.6 /sqmi. The racial makeup of the CDP was 96.97% White, 0.67% African American, 0.81% Native American, 0.07% Pacific Islander, 1.21% from other races, and 0.27% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 9.15% of the population.

There were 641 households, out of which 20.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.2% were married couples living together, 7.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.7% were non-families. 24.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.32 and the average family size was 2.68.

In the CDP, the population was spread out, with 19.9% under the age of 18, 5.2% from 18 to 24, 20.4% from 25 to 44, 30.6% from 45 to 64, and 23.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 48 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.7 males.

The median income for a household in the CDP was $31,284, and the median income for a family was $31,786. Males had a median income of $22,074 versus $20,949 for females. The per capita income for the CDP was $14,467. About 9.2% of families and 12.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.3% of those under age 18 and 6.7% of those age 65 or over.

Notable people

References

"2020 U.S. Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau.
"U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].
{{GNIS. 2402654
[https://web.archive.org/web/20021123093118/http://www.astorchamber.com/ Astor Area Chamber of Commerce]
[[Florida Department of Transportation]] signs for Astor and Volusia
"Profile of General Population and Housing Characteristics: 2010 Census Summary File 1 (DP-1), Astor CDP, Florida". U.S. Census Bureau.
"U.S. Gazetteer Files: 2019: Places: Florida".
Wass de Czege, A.: ''The History of Astor on the St. Johns, Astor Park, and the Surrounding Area'', Third, Extended Edition, pages 11, 14-18. Danubian Press, 1996
[http://www.astorflorida.com/history.htm Astor Florida History]
(May 29, 1926). "Two Volusia-Lake County Bridges Scheduled to Be Free of Charge". [[Evening Independent]].
"Census of Population and Housing". Census.gov.
"U.S. Census website". [[United States Census Bureau]].

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