Category: History

Dry Counties

Debbie Roney Smith on

Half of Florida’s dry counties are found in the Panhandle. There are a total of four dry counties, areas where the sale of alcohol is prohibited, in Florida. The two counties in the Panhandle are Washington and Liberty. Liberty County was created in 1855 and named after the American ideal of liberty; sadly, there are no Florida counties named freedom or equality to complete the ideal set. Washington, named after the first president of the USA, is only a partially dry county. For this specific county, partially dry means that alcohol cannot be bought or sold on Sunday within the city limits of Chipley. Vernon, Ebro, and Wausau are excluded from this ordinance.

Florida Panhandle

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Did you know that the Florida Panhandle is technically three separate regions? There’s the Emerald Coast, the Forgotten Coast, and the Interior Panhandle. The Emerald Coast is also called the Miracle Strip and includes Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay counties. Formerly known as the “Redneck Riviera,” it includes such sites as the Choctawhatchee National Forest and the Gulf Islands National Seashore. The Forgotten Coast is called so because it includes a series of coastal counties that had been left out of Florida tourism promotions for several years in a row. The counties? Franklin, Gulf, Jefferson, and Wakulla. Some beautiful things to see are the Apalachicola National Forest and Bald Point State Park. The Interior Panhandle includes those counties not bordering either coast.

March 6th~Battle of Natural Bridge

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Friday, March 6, 2020 was the 155th anniversary of the Battle of Natural Bridge, fought just south of Tallahassee near present-day Woodville in the final months of the American Civil War. Joshua Hoyet Frier was a Confederate soldier from Florida who wrote down his recollections about the war. The memoir was later transcribed by one of Frier’s descendants, and a copy of it now resides at the State Archives of Florida.

Map showing Natural Bridge and the surrounding area (1865).

Mockingbird~State bird

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Spring is upon us, and the bird calls have only just begun. Did you know that Florida’s state bird is the mockingbird? Mockingbirds were chosen as the official state bird in 1927, the same year Texas declared mockingbirds their official bird too! Arkansas, Tennessee, and Mississippi also chose the mockingbird as their state bird, although later than Florida. Mockingbirds are arboreal songbirds; arboreal simply refers to a bird that nests on tree branches and seldom comes to the ground for foraging purposes. Mockingbirds have extraordinary vocal abilities – they can sing up to 200 songs, including the songs of other birds and can also mimic (or mock) insect, amphibian, and mechanical sounds.

Calhoun County

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Did you know at one time Calhoun County extended all the way to the Gulf of Mexico? In 1913 part of the county was transferred to Bay County and in 1925 the southern part of Calhoun County was separated as Gulf County. The Census in 2010 showed Calhoun County to be the 5th-least populous county in Florida. It’s county seat is in Blountstown. It was named for the South Carolina Senator John C. Calhoun and it covers 574 square miles with only 7 square miles of that being water. Calhoun County was created in 1838. Calhoun County has 2 high schools. One in Altha and the other in Blountstown. Calhoun County is not served by any US Highways or Interstates. They do have an airport in Calhoun County located 5 miles northwest of Blountstown.

A few places to visit while in Calhoun County is on Hwy 20 just outside the Sheriffs office you will find the only Florida Historic Marker that is in 2 languages, English and Apalachicola. The marker tells the story of the Apalachicola Creek Indians who in 1815 permanently settled in Calhoun County. Also M&B Railroad Memorial Park. There you can see a locomotive that was built in 1911. Blountstown Greenway, Panhandle Pioneer Settlement, and A River Runs through it (Chipola River Outfitters) are on the list of places to visit as well.

Calhoun County offers plenty of elbow room and encourages you to just go with the flow. So if you have time, check out the County for a relaxing day.

Calhoun County in 1910

Feb 18th~Panama City Publishing Co. Museum reopening

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The Panama City Publishing Company Museum has been closed for floor repairs since November. The original floors were damaged beyond repair after getting wet during Hurricane Michael. Now that those repairs are nearly finished, the public is invited to attend the museum’s grand re-opening. Plan to join them at 4pm, Tuesday, Feb. 18 to celebrate the reopening of this historic treasure. Located at 1134 Beck Avenue in Panama City, you can call them at 850-872-7208.

George Mortimer West is credited as the founding father of Panama City, developing it into an economically viable city and port on the shores of St. Andrews Bay. He built the Panama City Publishing Company building in 1920, in the heart of historic St. Andrews. The building served as the home of Panama City’s first newspapers, including the St. Andrews Buoy, the Panama City Pilot, the St. Andrews Bay News and Lynn Haven Free Press. West died in 1926, and his wife, “Miss Lillian,” continued to run the business. She was an outspoken and sharp businesswoman, and one of the first women registered to vote in Bay County. Miss Lillian sold the St. Andrews Bay News to John Perry, owner of the Panama City Herald in 1937, and he merged the two papers into the current Panama City News Herald. In addition to photos, newspapers, and documents, produced by Mr. West, the building houses more than 70 major historical items, including original printing presses and office furnishings, which were still in use by Mr. West’s great-great grandson Charles (Buddy) West, who operated the business until the City of Panama City purchased the building in October 2005, restored it, and opened it as a museum in 2008.

Panama Grammer School now on National Register of Historic Places list

Debbie Roney Smith on

The Panama Grammar School was built over 100 years ago and still sits on the corner of Harrison Avenue and 7th Street. This property has been placed on the National Register of Historic Places by The United States Department Of The Interior. For months officials have been working to get one of the oldest Panama City buildings national recognition. In November, the building received state approval and then moved toward national approval. Built in 1914, the red brick building has served as a downtown landmark for decades and has been owned by the First Presbyterian Church of Panama City since it closed as a public school in 1965. Due to extensive damage from Hurricane Michael the church put the building up for sale.

 

Have You Heard About Fayette?

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Excerpt of a map showing the new shape of Fayette County in 1833.

There are 67 counties in Florida but only one county was ever completely erased off the map; Fayette County in the Florida Panhandle. Fayette County was established on February 9, 1832 after a majority of the members of Jackson County, in which it presided, agreed to the split. However, the county was doomed to fail. The boundaries were never specified and many people were up-in-arms about having to switch counties, going so far as to continue voting as if they lived in Jackson County instead of Fayette. Half the population, half the territory, and two thirds of the wealth had gone back to Jackson County in 1833 which made people very upset. In 1834, a petition was signed pleading for the counties boundaries to be changed or for it to be dissolved completely. In the end, the county disappeared.