St. George Island

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This article is about the island in Florida. For the island in Alaska, see St. George Island (Alaska).

St. George Island is a part of Franklin County, Florida and is an island in the northern Gulf of Mexico. It is a barrier island, 28 miles long and two miles wide at its widest point which makes this a rare island. St. George Island is adjacent to Cape St. George Island. The island is separated from the mainland by a four-mile long bridge across Apalachicola Bay, connecting to Eastpoint, Florida. Nearby towns include Eastpoint, Carrabelle and Apalachicola.

Today, St. George Island is known for its serene and tranquil setting, where a number of beach homes and small hotels have sprouted up. They range from small cottages, to townhouses to large multi-million dollar beach homes. There are hundreds of dwellings there, mainly for tourists and there are few all-year residents that reside on the island. During the winter season, the island is almost empty.

St. George Island State Park occupies the eastern nine miles of the island. The park has a series of hiking trails, boardwalks and observation platforms. Bird watching is a popular activity there.

[edit] History

St. George Island was first inhabited by the Creek Indians between the 900s and 1400s. With the arrival of European colonists to the area in the late 1700s came an intense struggle for control. In 1803, the Creek Indians ceded a large tract of land, which included St. George Island, to trader John Forbes and Company, known as the Forbes Grant.

During the early and mid-1900s the Island's pine forest was turpentined for the production of naval stores.

During World War II, St. George Island was a practice range for B-24 bombers from nearby Apalachicola.

In 1954, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers constructed the ship channel known as Bob Sikes Cut across St. George Island creating Cape St. George Island or "Little St. George Island" and enhanced its remoteness. The cut is used by the fishing fleet from Apalachicola and provides an access to the Gulf waters from the bayside.

[edit] Geography

The island is full of old relic sand dune ridges and sand dunes. Since this island is now inhabited and becoming developed quickly, the original appearance is long gone.

[edit] Vegetation

Scrub and sea oats can be found on the newer dunes, Slash pine flatwoods in the older relic dunes. The western part of the island is more forested while the eastern two-thirds is more sparse in trees.