Perdido Key, Florida

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Perdido Key, Florida is a unincorporated community located in Escambia County, Florida, near the community of Pensacola, Florida. It literally translates to "Lost Island" in Spanish.

[edit] History

Perdido Key is said to have once had an estimated 300 natural springs bubbling up from the sandy bottom. There were so many around the bridge that when construction on the high-rise bridge began, bridge engineers were appalled to see pilings sinking down below the surface, following the soft course of a natural spring. They had their work cut out to build cofferdams to shore up the pilings to prevent them from sinking.^{[citation needed]}

It was not until about 1933 that Perdido Key Island became an Island. This area was really only a small peninsula just to the west of Pensacola. Up until that time, the area was one piece of land with a large ditch, narrow enough to jump across, and sometimes filled with alligators. This ditch would become the Intracoastal Waterway in 1933.

An Intracoastal Waterway (ICW) that would connect Pensacola to Mobile Bay, the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, was started during 1931 during the height of the Great Depression. That digging that would connect Pensacola, Big Lagoon which is also known as Grande Lagoon, Perdido Bay, and Mobile Bay was completed in 1933. Perdido Key Island is now about 16 miles long with almost 60 Percent of it (9.5 miles) located in Federal or State parks. The parks comprise Gulf Island National Seashore, Johnson Beach, and Perdido Key State Recreation Park. In 1978 the National Park Service completed purchase of over 1,000 acres of land on Perdido Key from Johnson Beach to Pensacola Pass for about $8 million dollars. For years this general area was called Gulf Beach and slowly it evolved into being called Perdido Key. Many "old timers" still slip and call the area Gulf Beach.

[edit] Surrounding area

To the south of Perdido Key is the Gulf of Mexico with its white sand beaches and clear blue waters. North of Perdido Key is Old River and the Intercoastal Waterway. Just north of Old River is the private Alabama island of Ono Island. North of Ono and separated by the Intercoastal Waterway (ICW) is a small area called Innerarity Point and Innerarity Island, a small private gated island community of mostly single family homes with a few townhomes at the entrance.

Almost all of these waterways are accessible by boat and can give passage to the Gulf of Mexico via the Alabama Pass in Orange Beach or the major harbor entrance of Pensacola pass. These waterways are comprised of: Old River, Intercoastal Waterway (ICW), Perdido Bay, Pensacola Bay, Escambia Bay, Black Water River, Perdido River, Styx River, and a myriad of boatable canals, bayous and lakes. The inland waterways have historically given protection from the storms and hurricanes which have occurred in this area. This area has many homes lining the waterfront.

Perdido Key is home to the famous Flora-Bama Lounge, which is on the Florida-Alabama State line and is often considered one of America's last great roadhouses.^{[citation needed]}

Coordinates: 30°18′01″N, 87°25′39″W