Volusia County is a county located to the east of the state of Florida. It's biggest city is the Deltona, though the county's most famous city is probably Daytona beach, home of the Daytona 500 in NASCAR racing.
History of the state
Origin
Volusia county was founded in 1855 and was named after the port of Volusia on the east bank of the St. Johns river which runs through the county.
Early inhabitants
The land was previously inhabited by the indigenous Timuca Indian tribe before they were wiped out by disease and war following the arrival of the European settlers.
Another local tribe, the Seminoles also camped in the Volusia area as they resisted relocation attempts.
Sugar plantation
A very large sugar plantation had previously existed in the state before it was burned to the ground by the Seminolan tribe during the second Seminole war between 1836 and 1842.
Fort Florida was established in 1836 by General Winfield Scott on the east shore of the St. Johns river.
Present day
Population census
Volusia County is situated fifty miles to the north east of modern day Orlando and sixty miles north of the Kennedy Space centre. As of the 2010 census, the population of Volusia county stands as just under 500,000 people.
As of the 2000 census, there was 86.6% white people and 9.29% black people and African American with Asians making up the biggest proportion of the remaining percentage.
Daytona International Speedway
The county's main attraction is probably the Daytona International Speedway, home of the famous Daytona 500 NASCAR race which is one of the most prestigious races in the sport.
The track was built in 1958 by William France Senior and opened in 1959. It does not just house NASCAR racing but also has a motorcycle course as well as a 180 acre infield lake which hosts power-boating.
Features
At present, it has a capacity of almost 170,000 and along with the Daytona 500, it also hosts prestigious races such as the Coke Zero 400, the Budweiser shootout and the Gatorade dual.
The main track is made of standard asphalt and runs at 3.5 miles in distance with twelve turns. The 'Tri- Oval' track runs at a mile less with only four turns.
