The St. Joseph Peninsula is located in

Gulf County, Florida Gulf County is a county located in the panhandle of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,192. Its county seat is Port St. Joe. Gulf County is included in the Panama City, FL Metropolitan Statistical Area. ...

, in the

Florida Panhandle The Florida Panhandle (also West Florida and Northwest Florida) is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida; it is a salient roughly long and wide, lying between Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the ...

, at coordinates . It is a 15-mile long spit, extending northward from

Cape San Blas Cape San Blas is part of a peninsula in Gulf County, Florida, extending westward from the mainland of Florida, separating St. Joseph Bay to the north from the Gulf of Mexico to the south. It is fifty-nine miles southeast of Panama City. The St. ...

between the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United ...

to the west and

St. Joseph Bay St. Joseph Bay is a bay on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The bay is located in Gulf County between Apalachicola and Panama City. Port St. Joe is located on St. Joseph Bay. St. Joseph Bay is bounded on the east by the mainland, o ...

to the east. It is 6 miles west of

Port St. Joe Port St. Joe is a city located at the intersection of U.S. Highway 98 and State Road 71 and the county seat of Gulf County, Florida. As of the 2020 census,the population was 3,357. This was a decline from 3,644 as of the 2000 census. Histo ...

at its closest point. The

peninsula A peninsula (; ) is a landform that extends from a mainland and is surrounded by water on most, but not all of its borders. A peninsula is also sometimes defined as a piece of land bordered by water on three of its sides. Peninsulas exist on a ...

is also known as St. Joseph Spit. The northern end of the peninsula is known as St. Joseph Point.

History

Evidence of the occupation of the St. Joseph Peninsula by Native Americans includes the Old Cedar site, the Eagle Harbor site and the Harrier site, occupied by people of

Weeden Island culture The Weeden Island Cultures are a group of related archaeological cultures that existed during the Late Woodland period of the North American Southeast. The name for this group of cultures was derived from the Weedon Island site (despite the diss ...

. The Old Cedar and Eagle Harbor site also have artifacts from the Fort Walton culture, and the Eagle Harbor site has artifacts from the

Swift Creek culture The Swift Creek culture was a Middle Woodland period archaeological culture in the Southeastern Woodlands of North America, dating to around 100-800 CE. It occupied the areas now part of Georgia, Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, and Tennessee. In ...

. The Spanish named the bay ''Bahía de San José'' early in the 16th century, but did not occupy or exploit the area through the 17th century. In 1701 they built a fortification, the ''

Presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were cen ...

Bahía de San José de Valladeres'', on the mainland opposite St. Joseph Point, with a lookout post on the point, but left two years later. In 1718, during the

War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance (1718–1720) was caused by Spanish attempts to recover territories in Italy ceded in the 1713 Peace of Utrecht. Largely focused on Sicily, it included minor engagements in North America and Northern Europe as we ...

, the French invaded St. Joseph Bay and established Fort Crevecouer on the shores of St. Joseph Bay opposite St. Joseph Point. The Spanish in turn sent 800 men to retake St. Joseph Bay. After pushing the French out of the area in 1719, the ''Presidio Bahía de San José de Nueva Asturias'' was established on St. Joseph Point. With the loss of

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

to France that year, the new presidio was designated the capital of the newly created Province of the Principality of Nueva Asturias. The presidio, with about 2,000 inhabitants, lasted until 1722, when the post was moved to ''Presidio Isla Santa Rosa Punta de Siguenza'' near Pensacola on Santa Rosa Island. The St. Joseph Bay Light was established on St. Joseph Point in 1838 to serve the new town of St. Joseph on the eastern shore of the bay. The light was discontinued in 1847, after the town had been abandoned, and the unused tower was destroyed in a storm in 1851.

Park

T.H. Stone Memorial St. Joseph Peninsula State Park occupies somewhat more than half of the northern part of the peninsula. The peninsula was cut through by

Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to ma ...

October 10, 2018 leaving the northern part of St. Joseph Peninsula State Park on an island. The breach partially filled in naturally by March 2019. The state has also brought in sand to restore dunes. , the state plans to rebuild the access road to the northern part of the park.

Notes

References

* USGS Geographic Names Information System Feature Detail Report - Saint Joseph Peninsula- retrieved February 17, 2006 Landforms of Gulf County, Florida Peninsulas of Florida {{GulfCountyFL-geo-stub

History

Park

See also

Notes

References