Gulf County, Florida
The story of Port St. Joe
Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.
founding
How it started
- 1841
The original town of St. Joseph was mostly abandoned in 1841 after a yellow fever epidemic, and a hurricane storm surge in 1844 destroyed what structures remained.
- 1835
St. Joseph was founded by a handful of settlers in 1835 and within three years held more than 12,000 people, making it the largest city in Florida.
reported · St. Joseph, Florida - Wikipedia
etymology
How it got its name
-
The modern town carries the saint's name of the settlement that died here - St. Joseph, with Port added.
industry
What it lived on
- 1844
Everything here has been rebuilt at least once. The first town was erased by fever and storm within three years, and the port that replaced it took the same name.
- 1836
The territory's first railroad was built here in 1836, one of the earliest in the United States, running to Lake Wimico and later to Iola on the Apalachicola River so cotton could reach the new port overland.
reported · St. Joseph, Florida - Wikipedia
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1838
Florida's statehood began here. Territorial delegates met at St. Joseph from 3 December 1838 to 11 January 1839 to write the state's first constitution; the town's motto is still Birthplace of the Florida Constitution.
- 1838
Fifty-six territorial delegates arrived at St. Joseph in early December 1838 to write a constitution, and signed Florida's first state constitution on 11 January 1839.
reported · Constitutional convention monument for 1838 - Florida Memory
landmark
What still stands
-
Constitution Convention Museum State Park, 14 acres outside town, with a reproduction convention hall and audio-animated recreations of the 1838 delegates.
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Cape San Blas and its lighthouse, west of town in Gulf County.
- 1922
A memorial naming the convention delegates in marble was erected in 1922.
reported · Constitutional convention monument for 1838 - Florida Memory