History of Panama City, Florida
In 1885 the small community of St. Andrew captured the attention of the nation when thousands of circulars publicized its “Free Homes and Orange Groves” throughout the United States. The land, promoted by the St. Andrew Bay Railroad, Land and Mining Co. of Cincinnati, Ohio, became the first real estate mail-order scheme in Florida.
Thousands invested in
this development scheme that invited people from all over the United States to
visit “St. Andrews – By the Sea.”
The land seekers
traveled by schooner to St. Andrew or by rail to Chipley and on the St Andrew by
hacks, wagons or by stagecoach.
In the beginning,
the twenty-five-by eighty-two-foot lots sold for $1.25.
Within a few months, the prices were increased to $3.00, with an
additional lot available for $2.00. After
depositing $1.00 down for two lots, purchasers were allowed to mail in payments
of fifty cents per week. Those who
paid cash received free lots or acreage outside of town.
During the first one hundred days of the promotion, 6,000 individuals
requested lots. It was stated that
350,000 people in the United States ultimately took advantage of the terms.
While developers eyed
St. Andrew in the 1880s,several individuals took up homesteads on the land that
would become Panama City. C.J. Demorest and G.W. Jenks surveyed some of this
property and platted it as the Town of Harrison on September 20, 1883.
The Harrison Post Office opened on the waterfront on January 14, 1889.
Harrison appeared in the St. Andrews Messenger with the caption “cool
summers – pleasant winters – plenty of deer and turkey – fine oysters in
abundance – trout, mullet, redfish, pompano, snapper, grouper, tarpon and
turtle – and vegetables in winter.” Lots were listed for sale in the
newspaper and cottages or room and board in private homes costs $4.00 a week.
The area’s
reawakening began in Millville when a French Canadian with lumber interest in
Bagdad, Florida, surveyed the bay and seemingly inexhaustible surrounding
forests. The St. Andrew Lumber
Company mill was constructed at the
head of Watson Bayou. Those seeking
work flocked to the mill town. The
Millville post office opened on September 29, 1899.By 1910, Millville ranked as
the bay’s largest community, one that went on to produce many of the area’s
most influential sons and daughters. The
town boasted six general stores, a livery, grocery and drug stores, a millinery,
and several other businesses.
George
M. West teamed with A.J. Gay and R.L. McKenzie
to develop the small town of Harrison into a port city. In 1906, the group
together with the Gulf Coast Development Corporation mapped plans for the town.
Harrison was renamed Panama City in 1906 after the Panama Canal which was
under construction during this period. The
Panama City post office was established on July 16, 1906.
On February 23, 1909 a notice of intent to incorporate “Panama City”
was published. An election for incorporation was held on February 28, 1909. Only
land owners were allowed to vote and only 34 qualified voters participated in
the election.
During November,
1925, an extraordinary session of the State Legislature was called by Governor
John Martin. Among the many bills
introduced was one which would combine the three separate municipalities (St.
Andrew, Panama City and Millville) into one larger municipality which would be
known as Panama City. The bill was
passed with the result being that on March 12, 1926, when the official change
was effective the population of the City of Panama City was approximately
12,000.
Ripley’s
“Believe It or Not” once noted
that Panama City was the only city in the United States with three different
post offices, each with a name of a different city, i.e.: St. Andrews, Panama
City, and Millville.
Today Panama City
is both a resort and an industrial center. It
is known for the production of paper, seafood, chemicals, and other products. Panama City campus of Florida State University is located
within the city as is the Gulf Coast Community College. The U.S. military is also a major contributor to the economy
of the area with both Tyndall Air Force Base and U.S. Navy Coastal Systems
Command nearby.
Note:
Much of the above was taken from the following Books.