Carved out of Calhoun County on June 6, 1925, Gulf County is one of Florida’s youngest counties. The county seat, Port St. Joe, was founded in 1913, and construction of the St. Joe Paper Company’s plant in 1937 revitalized the area. The popular fishing site Wewahitchka was the county seat until voters elected to relocate it to Port St. Joe in 1964. Until recently, Port St. Joe was a typical company town, anchored by the paper mill headquarters. The town is near St. Joseph, where Florida’s first constitution was drafted in 1838, and which was later destroyed by yellow fever and hurricane surge. Today Gulf County is a thriving, growing area of industrial and recreational resources with nostalgic reminders of a glorious past and a promising future. Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka remain away from the hustle and bustle of large cities.

Gulf County (FL) (Images of America)

Arts & Photography

Mount-Douds, Beverly

Photography & Video

Arcadia Publishing

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.

Apalachicola (Images of America)

This book on three local lighthouses in the Forgotten Coast area of Florida, gives a glimpse of what life was like for the men and their families who maintained these magnificent sentinels. It also serves as a family history of the generations of men who kept the waters safe for ships and sailors. Many of their descendants still live in this area. 
Beverly Mount-Douds has collected a brief history of these lighthouses, along with a few short stories that range from mysterious deaths of lighthouse keepers to the genealogy of lighthouse keepers themselves. This work is filled with information on the construction, operation of these buildings and the many battles fought to build and maintain each lighthouse through these years. 
 Lighthouse Keepers delivers a marvelous library of family histories and photographs of the men and their families who lived this great adventure.

Lighthouse Keepers

Reference

Dream Catcher Pub Inc

When pioneers first came to the territory now known as Wewahitchka, they were welcomed by Native Americans, but the natives' resistance grew when their land and hunting grounds were threatened. As a result of this turmoil, many lives were lost. Gen. Andrew Jackson made three trips to the Florida Territory. One such visit brought him to the Wewa-Iola area, where he took advantage of the interpretation skills of the pioneering George Richards and his family. Thomas Richards later served as an Indian Agent, and along with his brother Andrew and several others, they built a fort on the banks of the Dead Lakes. In 1872, Dr. John Keyes moved to the Wewa area and planted pecan, pear, and orange trees. Dr. Keyes referred to the two lakes as "Alice" and "Julia" after his two daughters. Around 1875, residents decided to call the town Wewahitchka, meaning "water eyes," in honor of the lakes in the center of the settlement.

Wewahitchka (Images of America)

Carved out of Calhoun County on June 6, 1925, Gulf County is one of Florida's youngest counties. The county seat, Port St. Joe, was founded in 1913, and construction of the St. Joe Paper Company's plant in 1937 revitalized the area. The popular fishing site Wewahitchka was the county seat until voters elected to relocate it to Port St. Joe in 1964. Until recently, Port St. Joe was a typical company town, anchored by the paper mill headquarters. The town is near St. Joseph, where Florida's first constitution was drafted in 1838, and which was later destroyed by yellow fever and hurricane surge. Today Gulf County is a thriving, growing area of industrial and recreational resources with nostalgic reminders of a glorious past and a promising future. Port St. Joe and Wewahitchka remain away from the hustle and bustle of large cities.

Gulf County

History

Americas

Arcadia Publishing Library Editions

Apalachicola

Wewahitchka

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Books by Mount-Douds, Beverly