The city was named after Umatilla, Oregon. In 1998 it was the site of a Mediterranean fruit fly outbreak at the Golden Gem citrus plant. In 2019, a Senior at Umatilla High School surprised many when she was convicted of hiring two Assassins to have her parents murdered.
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,214 people, 867 households, and 582 families residing in the city. The population density was 871.4 inhabitants per square mile. There were 987 housing units at an average density of 388.5 per square mile. The racial makeup of the city was 93.54% White, 3.52% African American, 0.23% Native American, 0.32% Asian, 0.95% from other races, and 1.45% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.93% of the population. There were 867 households out of which 29.6% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 49.8% were married couplesliving together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 32.8% were non-families. 28.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.48 and the average family size was 3.01. In the city, the population was spread out with 24.3% under the age of 18, 8.4% from 18 to 24, 26.3% from 25 to 44, 20.5% from 45 to 64, and 20.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females, there were 89.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $29,628, and the median income for a family was $37,500. Males had a median income of $25,500 versus $21,741 for females. The per capita income for the city was $17,739. About 7.2% of families and 11.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 13.9% of those under age 18 and 17.9% of those age 65 or over.
Parks and recreation
The city offers many outdoor activities such as boating, fishing, camping and hiking. Nearby Alexander Springs features a section of the Florida Trail, an unpaved hiking trail, long, spanning the state of Florida from north to south.
Notable people
Al Hofmann, drag racer and drag car owner in the funny car division
Jonathan Lucroy, catcher for the Chicago Cubs
Willis V. McCall, sheriff of Lake County
Robert M. McTureous, Jr., recipient of the Medal of Honor
Will Radcliff, creator of the Slush Puppie; owned a ranch surrounding Umatilla, which was donated to the state St. Johns River Water Management District upon his death
