Apalachicola/Port St. Joe Area
Apalachicola and Port St. Joe are the two principal towns of Florida's Forgotten Coast. Florida's Forgotten Coast is the nickname for the location of some of Florida's most undeveloped and underrated beaches, as well as pristine sections of coastline, stretched along the panhandle roughly from the community of Mexico Beach to the mouth of the St. Marks River. The town of Port St. Joe is the county seat of Gulf County. The original town was formed by people who were kicked out from the nearby town of Apalachicola in the early 1800s. It became a tourist attraction, as a port town. In 1841, Port St. Joe became a ghost town as most of the inhabitants were wiped out first by yellow fever and then by a hurricane and wildfire. The historic town was rebuilt in the early 1900s after the construction of the Apalachicola Northern Railroad. The town is home to the Constitution Convention Museum, where you can find out more about Port St.Joe's past.
Apalachicola, the county seat of Franklin County, is another historic town on Florida's Forgotten Coast. Originally, Apalachicola was a British trading post at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, called Cottonton. By the early 1800s, the town had grown, and in 1827, it acquired the name West Point, which was changed to Apalachicola just four years later. The town used to be home to a couple of relatively famous people: botanist Alvan Chapman, and physician Dr. John Gorrie. Gorrie discovered the process using which refrigerators now work. He patented an ice machine, the first step to modern refrigerators, in 1850. A monument for Gorrie is placed in Apalachicola, and the John Gorrie Museum in the town has a model of the ice machine. The John Gorrie Memorial Bridge that was built to carry US Route 98 from Apalachicola to Eastpoint across the Apalachicola River and East Bay was named after him. To this day, Apalachicola is still considered an important town, where over 90% of Florida's oyster production is harvested.
The area around the towns of Port St. Joe and Apalachicola, along with the rest of Florida's Forgotten Coast, is home to some outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, near Cape San Blas southwest of Port St. Joe, is home to several hiking trails that travel the tip of the peninsula. St. George Island, located southeast of Apalachicola and south of Eastpoint, is a barrier island that is home to one of the best beaches in all of Florida. The eastern end of St. George Island is protected by St. George Island State Park, where there are hiking trails that travel through slash pine forest and coastal scrub. To the northeast of Apalachicola, Tate's Hell State Forest and Apalachicola National Forest form one of the largest unbroken tracts of pristine nature in Florida, home to locations such as the Dwarf Cypress Swamp and Bradwell Bay Wilderness, where bears roam the pine flatwoods and alligators frequent the shallows. Other smaller tracts, such as Bald Point State Park near Alligator Point, and Ochlockonee River State Park near the historic town of Sopchoppy, provide additional hiking and recreation opportunities throughout the region of Florida's Forgotten Coast.
Apalachicola, the county seat of Franklin County, is another historic town on Florida's Forgotten Coast. Originally, Apalachicola was a British trading post at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, called Cottonton. By the early 1800s, the town had grown, and in 1827, it acquired the name West Point, which was changed to Apalachicola just four years later. The town used to be home to a couple of relatively famous people: botanist Alvan Chapman, and physician Dr. John Gorrie. Gorrie discovered the process using which refrigerators now work. He patented an ice machine, the first step to modern refrigerators, in 1850. A monument for Gorrie is placed in Apalachicola, and the John Gorrie Museum in the town has a model of the ice machine. The John Gorrie Memorial Bridge that was built to carry US Route 98 from Apalachicola to Eastpoint across the Apalachicola River and East Bay was named after him. To this day, Apalachicola is still considered an important town, where over 90% of Florida's oyster production is harvested.
The area around the towns of Port St. Joe and Apalachicola, along with the rest of Florida's Forgotten Coast, is home to some outstanding outdoor recreation opportunities. St. Joseph Peninsula State Park, near Cape San Blas southwest of Port St. Joe, is home to several hiking trails that travel the tip of the peninsula. St. George Island, located southeast of Apalachicola and south of Eastpoint, is a barrier island that is home to one of the best beaches in all of Florida. The eastern end of St. George Island is protected by St. George Island State Park, where there are hiking trails that travel through slash pine forest and coastal scrub. To the northeast of Apalachicola, Tate's Hell State Forest and Apalachicola National Forest form one of the largest unbroken tracts of pristine nature in Florida, home to locations such as the Dwarf Cypress Swamp and Bradwell Bay Wilderness, where bears roam the pine flatwoods and alligators frequent the shallows. Other smaller tracts, such as Bald Point State Park near Alligator Point, and Ochlockonee River State Park near the historic town of Sopchoppy, provide additional hiking and recreation opportunities throughout the region of Florida's Forgotten Coast.