Physical Characteristics. Leon County is in north Florida and is bordered by the state of Georgia and by Wakulla, Jefferson, Liberty, and Gadsden counties. The county has 675.91 square miles of land and 26.08 square miles of water for a total of 701.99 square miles. The average January temperature is 51.7 degrees Fahrenheit, and the average August temperature is 80.8 degrees Fahrenheit. The average annual rainfall is 55.17 inches.
History. Leon County was established from a portion of Escambia County in 1824 and named for the Spanish explorer, Juan Ponce de Leon. On the second voyage of Columbus, Ponce de Leon sighted Florida in the spring of 1513 and named the land "Pascua Florida," after the Feast of Flowers being held at that time. Present-day Leon County was the center of the Apalachee Indian culture when Hernando de Soto arrived in 1539.
