Hamilton County, Florida: A Local Guide for Home Buyers and Homeowners

Jasper

Jasper is the county seat, and the county’s offices are at the Courthouse Annex, 1153 U.S. Hwy 41 NW. U.S. 41 and U.S. 129 run together through the center of town. I-75 Exit 451 at U.S. 129 is about 5 miles south, and Exit 460 at State Road 6 is about 7 miles west.

The town is named for Revolutionary War veteran William Jasper. It incorporated as a town in 1850 and as a city on March 2, 1858, and it grew on turpentine, tobacco, cotton and pine lumber, peaking in the 1920s. The Old Hamilton County Jail is on the National Register of Historic Places.

White Springs

White Springs sits on the Suwannee River and incorporated in 1885, though settlers called it Jackson Springs as early as 1831. Bryant Sheffield built a hotel and spring house here in 1842, and in 1903 the spring was walled in concrete and coquina under a four-story wooden bathhouse. Spring bathing went out of style in the 1930s, and the spring stopped flowing in 1990.

The White Springs Historic District, with many Victorian-era buildings, was listed on the National Register in 1997. U.S. 41 runs 17 miles northwest to Jasper and 12 miles southeast to Lake City, and SR 136 reaches I-75 in 3 miles. Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park and Big Shoals State Park are both in town.

Jennings

Jennings incorporated in 1900 and is the largest settlement in the county west of the Alapaha River. U.S. 41 runs through town as Plum Street, about 12 miles to Jasper and 8 miles to Lake Park, Georgia.

I-75 runs along the town’s southwest edge with Exit 467 at Hamilton Avenue, and Valdosta, Georgia, is about 20 miles up the interstate.

Hamilton County SHIP purchase assistance

Hamilton County’s SHIP purchase assistance pays toward down payment and closing costs for very-low, low and moderate income buyers, and on an existing home it sets aside money in escrow for minor repairs. It comes as a 0% deferred loan that’s forgiven if you keep the home for the full term in the county’s plan, and the purchase price has to fall under a cap tied to the area’s home prices.

The county posts its application packet on the SHIP page but sets funding and amounts through its housing plan, so they change. Before you sign a contract in Jasper, call 888-601-8344 and we’ll check with the SHIP office at 1153 US Hwy 41 NW, Suite 2, Jasper, (386) 792-2682, whether purchase money is available and how much it is.

Hamilton County SHIP page

Hamilton County SHIP repairs and replacement

Hamilton County SHIP rehab pays for repairs such as roofs, wiring, plumbing and septic on owner-occupied houses. Emergency repairs for leaky roofs, fire-hazard wiring and heating or cooling failures get priority, and replacement housing is available when a home is beyond repair.

Repair applications use the same packet and go to the same Jasper office. If you’d rather fix it on your own schedule, call 888-601-8344 and we’ll see what a cash-out refinance on your Hamilton County home would give you.

SHIP application packet (PDF)

Florida Hometown Heroes (statewide)

Florida Hometown Heroes pairs a Florida Housing 30-year fixed first mortgage with a 0% down payment and closing cost second that carries no monthly payment. It’s deferred, not forgiven, and comes due when you sell, refinance, pay off the first or stop living in the home. At least one buyer works full time for a Florida-based employer in health care, K-12 schools, first response, public safety, the courts or licensed child care, and it pairs with FHA, VA, USDA or Conventional firsts.

Hamilton County buyers on active duty qualify with any employer; veterans and Reserve or National Guard members qualify by working full time for a Florida-based employer. A homebuyer education course is required and you apply through a participating lender or broker. Florida Housing help is once in a lifetime, so line up the right Hamilton County home and the right lender before you use it. Call 888-601-8344 first and we’ll confirm Hometown Heroes is reserving funds and what it pays at your price.

Official program page

FL Assist and HFA Preferred / HFA Advantage (statewide)

FL Assist is a 0% deferred second mortgage with no monthly payment that comes due when you sell, refinance, transfer or move out, and it isn’t forgiven. It sits behind a Florida Housing first: FHA, VA, USDA or Conventional HFA Preferred or HFA Advantage. HFA Advantage PLUS pairs a Freddie Mac Conventional first with a second that’s forgiven over 5 years while you live in the home.

These seconds are reserved loan by loan and can run out. Text us at 954-816-8820 with the White Springs or Jennings address and we’ll tell you which one has money and what it adds.

Official program page

Schools

Public schools are run by the Hamilton County School District, 5686 Highway 129 South, Suite 1, Jasper, (386) 792-7800. The district operates Hamilton County Elementary for pre-K through 5th grade and Hamilton County High for grades 6 through 12.

Getting around

I-75 has three exits that serve the county’s towns: 451 at U.S. 129 below Jasper, 460 at State Road 6, and 467 at Hamilton Avenue in Jennings. U.S. 41 links Jennings, Jasper and White Springs and continues to Lake City, and Valdosta, Georgia, is about 20 miles up I-75 from Jennings.

If you work from home, check internet service at the exact address before you buy; rural parcels can be served very differently from homes in town.

Big Shoals State Park

Big Shoals has the largest whitewater rapids in Florida, rated Class III when the Suwannee runs between 59 and 61 feet above sea level, below limestone bluffs that rise 80 feet over the river. The park has over 28 miles of wooded trails, including the 3.4-mile paved Woodpecker Trail between the Little Shoals and Big Shoals entrances.

Stephen Foster Folk Culture Center State Park

This White Springs park covers over 800 acres on the Suwannee off U.S. 41, and its 97-bell carillon plays Stephen Foster melodies every day. Foster’s song “Old Folks at Home” made the river famous. The museum opened in 1950 and the carillon in 1957, and the park has a campground and cabins.

Florida Folk Festival

The Florida Folk Festival comes to Stephen Foster park each spring and has been held there for generations. Expect bluegrass, blues, gospel and fiddle tunes, contra and square dancing, craft demonstrations, and Florida food such as chicken pilau, barbecue and hoppin’ john.

Events at the park all year

Stephen Foster’s calendar fills out the rest of the year with a quilt show and sale, Rural Folklife Days, a dulcimer retreat, a holiday light display and an antique tractor show. Check the park’s page for dates before you drive up.

Paddling the Suwannee

White Springs is a favorite put-in for the Suwannee River Wilderness Trail, whose river camps have screened sleeping platforms for paddlers on multi-day trips.

Historic Jasper and White Springs

The Old Hamilton County Jail in Jasper and the Victorian buildings of the White Springs Historic District are both on the National Register of Historic Places.

Buying a home

Most of our Hamilton County buyers use FHA, with 3.5% down, flexible credit guidelines and room to pair it with SHIP or the statewide programs. Eligible veterans can use a VA loan with no down payment, and we also close Conventional loans, Hometown Heroes loans and FHA 100% financing here.

AAA Capital Funding has been a licensed Florida mortgage broker since 1997 and lends statewide in all 67 Florida counties, from Jennings to the Keys. We shop multiple wholesale lenders for you and tell you what you qualify for before you start touring homes in Jasper or White Springs.

Refinancing the home you have

A refinance can lower your payment, take cash out for a new roof, a well or a barn, pay off higher-interest debt, or buy someone else off the title. It turns the equity in your Hamilton County home into money you can use.

Call 888-601-8344 and we’ll show you the payment you make now next to the new one, with the cash you’d walk away with and the cost to close, so you can make the call yourself.