Florida Panhandle

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The Florida Panhandle extends along a narrow area from the Alabama border at Perdido River to the west along the Gulf of Mexico Coast into the curve (the Big Bend) of the Florida peninsula. The northern and western borders of the Panhandle are the states of Alabama and Georgia. Part of the Deep South and often known as "the Real Florida", the Panhandle is a unique area of dense pine forest, swamps, snow white beaches, sleepy towns, and amazing seafood (especially shrimp, blue crabs, oysters, red snapper, triggerfish, and bill fish) often overlooked by visitors. It's been so overlooked that a long stretch of it (the area east of Panama City) is referred to as the "Forgotten Coast" and many state tourism maps used to exclude the region entirely. The Panhandle's beaches are perennially recognized as the best in the nation (usually at least 3 of America's 10 best rated beaches are in the Panhandle) and are noted for their pure white quartz sand, emerald-green and clear warm water, and extensive sand dunes.

	florida panhandle Travel Guide : 1 Regions 1.1 Counties 2 Cities 3 Other destinations 4 Understand 4.1 History 5 Get in 6 Get around 7 See 8 Do 8.1 Spectator Sports 8.2 Festivals/Holidays 9 Eat 10 Drink 11 Stay safe 12 Get out

Regions

• Northwest Florida - This region is usually synonymous with the Florida Panhandle, but is sometimes used to include areas as far east as the Suwannee River (the region of Middle Florida).
• Emerald Coast - The Emerald Coast, also called the Miracle Strip, includes Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay counties. The Pensacola area (Escambia and Santa Rosa counties) is also often included in this area.
• Forgotten Coast - This region is comprised of Gulf, Franklin, Wakulla, and Jefferson counties.
• West Florida - This is the only part of an east coast state to be in the Central time zone and consists of the ten counties west of the Apalachicola River (Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, Bay, Gulf, Holmes, Washington, Jackson, and Calhoun). This region was once part of the Spanish and British colonies of West Florida (which included parts of Alabama, Mississippi, and Louisiana as far west as the Mississippi). Its capital was Pensacola.
• Middle Florida - This is the region of North Florida between the Apalachicola and Suwannee Rivers. It was once the core of antebellum Florida's slave-based cotton plantation economy. It includes the six easternmost coutnies of the Panhandle (Gadsden, Leon, Liberty, Franklin, Wakulla, and Jefferson) as well as counties in Northeast Florida. Sometimes all of Middle Florida is considered part of Northwest Florida and, rarely, the Panhandle.

Counties

The four former plantation counties bordering Georgia (Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, Jefferson) are heavily black and Gadsden county is the only county in the state of Florida with an African American majority. Otherwise, the residents of all of the landlocked counties and Gulf county are primarily of American ancestry. The residents of the remaining coastal counties, excluding Gulf, are principally of British ancestry. Liberty county is the most sparsely populated county in Florida.

County by population (000s) and race/ethnicity:

• Coastal West Florida
  • Escambia =294.4, 71% white, 22% black, 3% Asian
  • Santa Rosa =117.7, 89% white, 4.6% black, 3% Hispanic
  • Okaloosa =170.5, 81% white, 10% black, 4% Hispanic, 4% Asian, 2% multi-racial
  • Walton = 40.6, 87% white, 7% black, 3% Indian
  • Bay =148.2, 83% white, 11% black, 2% Hispanic
  • Gulf = 13.3, 79% white, 17% black, 2% Hispanic
• Coastal Middle Florida
  • Franklin = 11.1, 80% white, 17% black, 2% Hispanic
  • Wakulla = 22.9, 85% white, 12% black, 2% Hispanic
  • Jefferson = 12.9, 58% white, 39% black, 2% Hispanic
• Inland West Florida
  • Holmes = 18.6, 89% white, 7% black, 2% Indian
  • Jackson = 46.8, 69% white, 27% black, 3% Hispanic
  • Washington = 21.0, 81% white, 14% black, 3% Indian
  • Calhoun = 13.0, 78% white, 16% black, 4% Hispanic
• Inland Middle Florida
  • Gadsden = 45.1, 58% black, 36% white, 6% Hispanic
  • Leon =239.5, 64% white, 30% black, 4% Hispanic
  • Liberty = 7.0, 75% white, 19% black, 4.5% Hispanic

Cities

Cities with metropolitan population in ,000s, 2000:

• Pensacola = 412.2
• Tallahassee= 284.5
• Panama City = 148.2
• Fort Walton Beach = 170.5

Town with population (000s):

• Destin = 11.1
• Milton = 7.0
• Crestview = 14.8
• Seaside = 1.0
• Bonifay = 4.1
• Marianna = 6.2
• Blountstown = 2.4
• Bristol = 1.0
• Port Saint Joe = 3.6
• Apalachicola = 2.3
• Quincy = 7.0
• Crawfordville = 1.4
• Saint Marks = 1.0
• Monticello = 2.5

Other destinations

Understand

History

• Pre-Columbian

The area's pre-historic inhabitants were primarily related to the Creek Indian nation. A noted Indian mound is located in Fort Walton Beach.

• First Spanish Period (1559-1719)

The first European settlement in the United States was Pensacola, which was established on Santa Rosa Island by conquistador Don Tristan de Luna in 1559. Two years later, in 1561, the settlement and its fleet were destroyed by a hurricane. Two survivors managed to walk the arduous journey to Mexico City. Pensacola was permanently established by the Spanish in 1698 and became the largest city in Florida and the capital of the colony of West Florida. Another important Spanish settlement was established at Saint Marks in Wakulla county (San Marcos de Apalache). The Spanish settlers established a unique Creole culture in the region and brought in the first African slaves to the area and introduced the Roman Catholic Church.

• French Period (1719-1722)

The French, who had established earlier settlements further west at Mobile and Biloxi, held Pensacola during this period. Overall, French influences were generally dominant among the Creoles on the Gulf Coast west of Pensacola, with Spanish influences dominant among Creoles in the modern Panhandle. A hurricane drove the French from Pensacola in 1722 and the Spanish moved the town from the storm-vulnerable barrier island to the mainland.

• Second Spanish Period (1722-1763)

Population growth remained modest during this period, which was characterized by mission work with Indians and the development of Pensacola as an important port and military outpost. Most settlement remained concentrated around Pensacola and St. Marks. Conflict with French and British interests was common.

• British West Florida (1763-1780)

At the end of the massive French and Indian War of 1756-1763, the British gained access to inland areas as far west as the Mississippi River and the French were expelled from the North American mainland. Louisiana was transferred from French to Spanish control. West and East Florida were transferred from French and Spanish control to British control. The British colony of West Florida, with its capital at Pensacola, included all of the Panhandle west of the Apalachicola River, as well as southwestern Alabama, southern Mississippi, and the Florida parishes of modern Louisiana. West Florida included the important cities of Pensacola, Mobile, Biloxi, Baton Rouge, and, disputably, Natchez. In 1763, the British laid out Pensacola's modern street plan. This period included the major introduction of the slave-based cotton plantation economy and new settlement by Protestant Anglo-British-Americans and black slaves. British East Florida, with its capital at Saint Augustine, included the rest of modern Florida, including the eastern part of the Panhandle.

During the American Revolution (1775-1783), Georgia, including inland Alabama, revolted against the British crown, but East and West Florida, like the Canadian colonies, remained loyal to the British. Many British Loyalists, or Tories, settled in Florida during this period. Like the French, the Spanish allied themselves with the American rebels. In 1780, in the Battle of Pensacola, the Spanish attacked the British there and succeeded in capturing West Florida for Spain. At the end of the war with the American victory over the British, East Florida was also transferred to Spain.

• Third Spanish Period (1780-1819)

The Spanish now controlled the entire Gulf Coast and Mississippi River Valley, a region vital for shipment of American goods such as cotton, tobacco, and corn. This situation was not acceptable for the American Southern settlers of inland Alabama and Mississippi, who were rapidly expanding profitable cotton plantations (and hoping to expel the remaining Indians from the entire region). After the transfer of the vast Louisiana territory from France to Spain and the subsequent purchase of the region by the United States, Spanish East and West Florida were surrounded by American Southern states and territories. Anglo-American settlement of West Florida increased and the Spanish, busy with growing rebellions throughout Mexico and South America, were not able to focus on fortifying the region. In 1810, American settlers in the part of West Florida west of the Pearl River declared the West Florida Republic a state independent from Spain. The region was annexed into the new state of Louisiana in 1812. The residents of the prosperous Alabama and Mississippi territories, eager to avoid being trapped in landlocked states without seaports, agitated to annex more of West Florida. They succeeded in doing so with the military aid of General Andrew Jackson. He captured much of West Florida in the 1810's. He briefly returned Pensacola to Spain but areas further west became part of the new states of Mississippi (1817) and Alabama (1819). In 1819, the United States once again captured Pensacola and, in 1821, all of modern Florida was transferred to the United States. Residents of Pensacola, where Anglo-Southerners now outnumbered Hispanic Creoles, voted to become part of Alabama. However, as Pensacola was the largest city and most important port in Florida, Pensacola remained part of the new American Florida territory, giving Florida its current borders for the first time.

• American Florida Territory (1821-1845)

Andrew Jackson served as Florida's first territorial governor, residing at the capital of Pensacola. He was noted for his persecution of Indians and Hispanic Creoles, many of whom left the territory to be replaced by an increasing number of Anglo Southern settlers, including many planters and black slaves. To determine a location for a territorital capital, riders on horseback were sent on the Old Spanish Trail from the territory's two main cities, east from Pensacola and west from Tallahassee. The riders met at the Indian village of Tallahassee, which became the new territorial capital city. As cotton plantations flourished, Florida's growing population came to be 50% slave. In the Panhandle, most slaves outside of Pensacola were concentrated in the new capital of Tallahassee and in the plantation counties near the Georgia border, notably Jackson, Gadsden, Leon, and Jefferson. Sandier areas near the coast were less dominated by plantation agriculture.

• Antebellum Statehood (1845-1861)

Florida was admitted as a state in 1845; its admission having been slowed by the struggle with the Seminole Indians in sparsely populated South Florida and the need to wait for a free state (Iowa) to enter along with it. North Florida, including the Panhandle, remained the most populated part of the state.

• Confederate Period (1861-1865)

In January of 1861, Florida became the third state to secede from the Union and join the newly formed Confederate States of America. Fort Pickens, one of three forts guarding the entrance to Pensacola Bay, was held by Federal troops. In the Battle of Santa Rosa Island, the city of Pensacola and the two Confederate forts fought against an invading Yankee army and Fort Pickens. Pensacola was conquered by Yankee troops and most of the city was burned. Residents evacuated inland to Greenville, AL. The Confederate Secretary of the Navy, Stephen Mallory, was a Pensacolian and is buried in the city's historic Saint Michael's cemetery.

• Second American Period (1865-Present)

The ravages of Reconstruction greatly damaged the region's economy. Cotton, worked largely by the sharecropper descendants of freed slaves, remained crucial to the economy but slowly economic diversification and urbanization reached the region. Vast pine forests, their wood used to produced paper, became an economic basis. Shipping declined in importance but the military and manufacturing became prominent and harvesting of fish and other seafood are also vital. Aside from cotton and pine trees, major crops include peanuts, soybeans, and corn.

The late twentieth century saw a dramatic increase in the beach-based tourism industry and the rapid development of previously pristine wilderness beaches, particularly those around Panama City and Fort Walton Beach-Destin. The region did not receive the twentieth century influx of northern retirees and Latin American immigrants and remained an Old South stronghold of largely (excepting military families) native-born residents. Only in the last couple of decades has the tourism and retiree beachfront development characteristic of peninsular Florida reached the region. However, this development is now rapid and dramatic, despite periodic hurricane damage. Many barrier island areas have gone from sand dunes and water to condos and houses but other remain undeveloped, especially the beautiful Gulf Islands National Seashore and smaller state parks, notably Grayton Beach, St. Joseph's Peninsula, and St. George's Island.

Get in

Interstate 10 and its scenic byways slice across the Panhandle parallel to, but several miles inland from, the coast. I-10 follows the route of the older Highway 90. Closer to the coast, Highway 98 is the most important route. Like much of the US a car is really a requirement to see this area. There is local bus service in most cities, and biking is popular both for getting around town or for longer tours of the coast.

Get around

See

Marianna is home to Florida Caverns State Park.

Do

Spectator Sports

Tallahassee host Florida State University's excellent football team and college football is a fervent religion for Panhandle residents. Pensacola is home to the semi-professional ice hockey team, the Pensacola Ice Pilots.

Festivals/Holidays

Major holidays in Pensacola include Mardi Gras and the Fiesta of Five Flags. Celebrations of note in Pensacola are the Greater Gulf Coast Arts Festival, the Seafood Festival, the Bushwhacker Festival,the Bill Fishing Tournament, and the Gay and Lesbian Memorial Day Festival. Fort Walton Beach is known for the Billy Bowlegs Festival, and Panama City for Spring Break.

Eat

In the Panama City and Panama City Beach area there are many great places for local fare. The most recognized restaurant is Captain Anderson's on Thomas Drive in Panama City Beach. It's located on the lagoon and get there early to see the fishing fleet arrive and unload the day's catch.

Other restaurants of note include Pompano's on Front Beach Road, Saltwater Grill on Middle Beach (Hutchison Road)and Canopies. Canopies is a "fine dining" establishment overlooking St. Andrew's Bay in Panama City.

Drink

Stay safe

Get out

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