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St. George
Island is a part of Franklin County, Florida in the northern
Gulf of Mexico. It is a barrier island, 28 miles long and two
miles wide. The island is separated from the mainland by a
four-mile long bridge across Apalachicola Bay, connecting to
Eastpoint, Florida. Nearby towns include Eastpoint, Carrabelle,
and Apalachicola. St. George Island is about 80 miles southwest
of Tallahassee, Florida’s Capitol, and 60 miles southeast of
Panama City, Florida’s one of its vacation destination.
St. George
Island State Park occupies the eastern nine miles of the
island.
The park offers ample
opportunities for sunbathing, swimming, canoeing, boating,
hiking, camping, and nature study.
Two boat ramps provide access to Apalachicola Bay where anglers
can fish for flounder, redfish, sea trout, pompano, whiting, and
Spanish mackerel. The park has six large picnic shelters
equipped with grills, tables, and restrooms. The campground
features full-facility campsites; a primitive campsite can be
accessed by trail or by private boat.
Various Indians
cultures occupied St. George Island for hundreds of years prior
the arrival of Europeans. The first Lighthouse was constructed
at the west end of the island in 1833. A second lighthouse was
constructed in 1848. Yet a third lighthouse was constructed in
1852 and was 400 yards from the beach. Erosion has moved the
Cape 400 yards north from 1852 to 1985 and caused the historic
lighthouse to crumble in 2005.
Pine trees on
St. George Island were used to make turpentine from 1910 to
1916. During World War II the island served as a practice
gunnery range for B-24 bombers stationed in Apalachicola. From
1950 to 1956, the pine trees were again harvested for
turpentine.
In 1954, the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the ship channel known
as Bob Sikes Cut across the St. George Island creating Cape St.
George Island or “Little St. George Island”
The island is
full of old relic sand dune ridges and sand dunes. Since this
island is now inhabited and becoming developed quickly, the
original appearance is long gone. 2005 Hurricane Dennis has
successfully flattened sand dunes across the island.
Today, St.
George Island is known for its serene and tranquil setting,
where a number of beach homes and small hotels have sprouted
up. There is hundreds of dwelling there, mainly for vacationers
and there are approximately 900 permanent residents that reside
on the island. Since the completion of the Bryant Patton Bridge
in 1965 and 2006, which connects St. George Island to the
mainland, the island’s economy has depended on tourism and an
active real estate market.
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