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    Apalachicola
    Apalachicola
    Apalachicola
    Ebook204 pages53 minutes

    Apalachicola

    By Beverly Mount-Douds

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    About this ebook

    Once the third-largest port on the Gulf of Mexico, Apalachicola's diverse and colorful past remains visible today. With more than 900 historic homes and buildings in the National Register Historic District, visitors are invited to stroll along the picturesque, tree-lined streets where Victorian homes display the charm of years gone by. This delightful little fishing village has a warm and friendly atmosphere, making it even more appropriate that Apalachicola's name is a Native American word meaning "friendly people." When Apalachicola was established in 1831, its major industry was the shipping of cotton, and the city soon became an important port on the Gulf of Mexico. When the railroads expanded throughout the United States, Franklin County developed several large lumber mills to harvest and process wood from the surrounding cypress forests. These lumber magnates built many of the magnificent historic homes that still line Apalachicola's streets today.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherArcadia Publishing
    Release dateSep 18, 2012
    ISBN9781439622872
    Apalachicola
    Author

    Beverly Mount-Douds

    Beverly Mount-Douds is an avid researcher and is actively involved in the genealogical community. She is founder and president of the Gulf County Genealogical Society and has published one other book, Lighthouse Keepers. In this book, she has gathered images from Gulf County citizens to highlight the Forgotten Coast.

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      Book preview

      Apalachicola - Beverly Mount-Douds

      me.

      INTRODUCTION

      In the mid-1800s, Apalachicola was a bustling shipping port in North Florida’s Panhandle region. Many historic houses, inns, churches, and commercial buildings still remain.

      The first steamboat sailed on the river in 1828. That same year, Cotton Town was named West Point by the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida.

      It was incorporated in 1829 with four councilmen. It was finally named Apalachicola in 1831. Some 33,000 bales of cotton were shipped in 1835, according to the Apalachicola Gazette.

      The Port of St. Joseph was established in 1836 to escape the control of the Apalachicola Land Company. The Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal Company was formed to build what became a railroad (1839) from Iola to St. Joseph to draw the cotton trade from the Apalachicola River.

      This was Florida’s first railroad. Florida’s Constitutional Convention was held in St. Joseph in 1838. St. Joseph was not able to compete with Apalachicola, however, and major storms in 1837, 1839, and 1844, along with a yellow fever epidemic in 1841, destroyed the town.

      A number of homes moved by barge from St. Joseph in 1844 are still standing in Apalachicola. It is estimated that 150 people lived in West Point in 1828 and 2,000 in 1838. However, the population would fluctuate according to trade and yellow fever conditions.

      Cotton was shipped from December through June, with most of it shipped from January through March. In 1836, some 50,000 bales of cotton were shipped from Apalachicola. It became the third largest cotton port on the Gulf Coast, ranking after New Orleans and Mobile.

      These vessels would go to New England, England, France, Belgium, or wherever there were cotton mills or lace manufacturing centers. They tended to sail a triangular route among Boston or New York, Apalachicola, and Liverpool or Le Havre. There were foreign consulates in Apalachicola. Goods were also shipped upriver to towns and plantations.

      By the 1850s, the waterfront was lined with brick warehouses and broad streets to handle the loading and unloading of cotton. Steamboats laden with cotton came down the river and were unloaded. Then small shallow-draft schooners (lighters) shuttled the cargo to ships moored offshore.

      As the railroads expanded throughout the United States, a new industry took shape in the city. Home to large cypress forests, Franklin County developed several big lumber mills in the late 1800s. Lumber magnates built many of the magnificent historic homes that line our streets.

      By the end of the 19th century, oysters and seafood became an important industry. Today Franklin County harvests more than 90 percent of Florida’s oysters and 10 percent of the oysters consumed in the nation. Shrimp, blue crab, and finfish are also very important commercially, bringing in over $11-million worth of seafood to Franklin County docks annually. Apalachicola has celebrated Oyster Day since 1914.

      Among the family names in the city, some were Orman, Scheolles, Taranto, Martina, Raney, Porter, Gorrie, Chapman, and Grady. Florida became a state in 1845.

      Apalachicola, like many other Southern cities, had established a Mardi Gras celebration. The custom was continued until 1916 and then was abandoned. The reigning monarch of the celebration was termed King Retsyo (Oyster spelled backward) and was described as the Son of Neptune, guardian of inland waters, bays, and estuaries. The opening ceremony usually saw King Retsyo and his royal coterie arriving by steamboat to open the ceremonies. In 1916, King Retsyo II arrived via steamboat at the Tarpon dock in Apalachicola on Thursday, March 2, being greeted by huzzas and music of many bands. In addition to being given the keys to the city, King Retsyo attended a coronation ball and a fancy dress masque ball.

      Apalachicola organized the first seafood festival, known as Harbor Day, in 1946. It was promptly pushed forward by Newt Creekmore, Apalachicola’s city manager at that time. Apalachicola Seafood became the new name for the festival in 1963. The Florida Seafood Festival, as it is known now, is the largest maritime festival in the state of Florida, and that name changed during the 1970s.

      KEY TO PHOTOGRAPH SOURCE ABBREVIATIONS:

      Fred Sawyer—FS

      Frank Cook—FC

      Bill Spohrer—BS

      Patsy Hays Philyaw—PHP

      Dolores Taranto Roux—DTR

      Rex Buzzett—RB

      Apalachicola Municipal Library—AML

      Linda Glover—LG

      Dawn Radford—DER

      Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce—ABCC

      Ruth Hall Schoelles—RHS

      Despina Williams—DW

      Martha Pearl Ward—MMW

      Susan Buzzett Clementson—SBC

      Wesley Chesnut—WC

      Voncille Sangaree McLeod—VSM

      Faye Parker Tarantino—FPT

      Dorothy Porter Hill—DPH

      Mark Curenton—MC

      Holley Lemon—HL

      Dixie Partington—DP

      Brittany Alford Beauchamp—BAB

      Dimples Johnson Poloronis—DJP

      Lucille Silva Saker—LSS

      Olga Nichols—ON

      Louie Van Fleet—LVF

      Lisa Zillgarelli—LZ

      Holley Lemon—HL

      Brittany Alford Beauchamp—BAB

      Beverly Mount-Douds—BMD

      Robert Nedley—RN

      George Watkins—GW

      Dave Maddox—DM

      One

      APALACHICOLIANS

      Abraham K. Allison was the president of the Senate in 1865 when Gov. John Milton committed suicide, making Allison the sixth governor of Florida. He served from April 1 to July 13, 1865, when the Union army came and took over Tallahassee. Allison was a businessman and politician. He served in the Florida Territorial Legislature and the Florida State House of Representatives. Allison was born December 10, 1810, in Jones County, Georgia. He worked as a merchant in Columbus, Georgia, before moving to Apalachicola, where he served as the city’s first mayor. He also served as the first county judge of Franklin County and as the clerk of the U.S. Court. In the Seminole War, he was captain of the Franklin Rifles. His death occurred on July 8, 1893, in Quincy, Florida.

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