A BRIEF HISTORY OF BAY COUNTY
By Tommy Smith
Bay County was the 49th county to be formed in Florida when in 1913 It was carved from portions of Calhoun, Washington and Walton Counties It covers an area of 758 square miles and contains St. Andrews Bay, a 69,000 acre body of water, larger than any other body of water in a West Florida county.
East Bay, near Parker; North Bay, near Lynn Haven; and West Bay, at the town of West Bay, combine with the numerous bayous, creeks, and inlets to comprise St. Andrews Bay. The name comes from early maps of West Florida as explored by Spanish navigators between 1516 and 1558.
The history of Bay County coincides with that of the State of Florida. The ill
fated voyage of Governor Panfilo de Narvaez in 1529 is the first account of
Europeans visiting the area. The voyage of Narvaez was recorded by Captain
Cabeza de Vaca in his diary. A translation of this diary can be found
at:
http://www.vaca.com/cab-text.html.
What Vaca privately told two powerful Conquistadors who followed, Coronado
and Desoto, may never be known.
Years later, trips through the area by John L. Williams produced a description of Bay County: It was primitive with only a few families who depended on fishing for livelihood. He had glowing praise for St. Andrews Bay as a promising future port.
In 1818 General Andrew Jackson invaded West Florida with a private army to halt Indian raids into South Alabama and Southwest Georgia. The result was the purchase of Florida, including Bay County, from Spain in 1819 for five million dollars. Florida became a United States territory in 1821. There were two counties in the State: East Florida with its county seat at St. Augustine, and West Florida with its government at Pensacola. General Jackson became the first Governor of Florida in 1821 and later President of the United States.
His first move as Governor was to create two counties in both East and West Florida. Escambia County with Pensacola as its county seat and Jackson County with Marianna as county seat. Washington County was legislated from a major portion of Jackson County in 1827. Other counties were created from time to time. Bay County was created in 1913 from portions of Calhoun, Washington, and Walton Counties. The bill to create Bay County was sponsored by State Senator L. H. Howell and State Representative R. L. McKenzie. Panama City was listed as temporary county seat. It became the permanent seat in a bitterly contested election on May 7, 1914.
The first action was an election on June 7, 1913, to elect the Bay County officials.
County government functioned in temporary quarters throughout Panama City until the Court House was constructed in 1915. In addition to court rooms and county officials it also contained the county jail. The building burned in 1921, gutting the courthouse, but it was immediately restored. It remains in its original location with several additions. It is one of five original courthouses in Florida.
Crude rut roads of the past have developed into National Highways such as US98, US77, US231, US79, etc. Boats of all sizes and types have passed though the port from the time of Vaca until today. The most famous were the S.S. Tarpon and the S.S. Mateo with scheduled port of call with merchandise and passengers. While these ships no longer exist, large ocean going freighters arrive and depart the port today.
The first railroad to serve Bay County was the Atlanta and Saint Andrews Bay Railroad built in 1902. This railroad provided passenger and fright service between Dothan, Alabama and Panama City. The railroad still exists. While it no longer carries passengers, the "Bay Line" remains a major source of transportation for local businesses. The Birmingham, Columbus and Saint Andrews Railroad was established in 1912, and ran between Chipley, Florida and Southport. The venture was not profitable and the railroad was soon abandoned.
This is a brief sketch of the history of Bay County. Additional
information can be found in the reference material cited under Links
and References.