Explore St. George Island, Florida
The history of St. George Island is a colorful one, including
tales of pirates, Indians, hidden treasures and Shipwrecks.
The Creek Indians around the tenth century AD first inhabited
St. George.
Several Indian middens are located near the Apalachicola
Bay side of the Island and tourists walking along the
Bay frequently find pottery fragments. Decorated pottery,
arrowheads,tools and other artifacts are found during
low tide along the bay shoreline. Please note that any
artifacts found on St. George must be reported to the
State's Archaeology Department. Antique bottles are
also found along the bay shoreline. Many island residents
have large collections dating back to the mid-nineteenth
century.  The
first Europeans to discover St. George Island may have
been the 1528 expedition of Panfilo de Navarez that
followed the Panhandle coastline. This trip was recorded
by one of the survivors, Cabeza de Vaca. By the mid-seventeenth
century, the Spanish occupied the Gulf area with a fort
at St. Marks and the Franciscan friars had established
missions throughout Florida.
Pirates roamed the Gulf waters seeking gold that Spain
regularly transported from the New World. During the
eighteenth century, pirates reportedly buried treasure
near a camp on St. Vincent Island. Several shipwrecks
from the Spanish Grand Fleet are also reported in this
area.
William Augustus Bowles, a European ship captain,
pirate, and adventurer figured prominently in Florida
political affairs during the late 1700's. People believe
that he buried treasure on the western end of St. George
(now Little St. George Island) after deliberately beaching
his ship to avoid capture by the Spanish. Billy Bowlegs
Rodgers, another pirate and onetime comrade of the notorious
Jean Laffite, also raided the waters of the Gulf of
Mexico in his ship the "Mysterio," and reportedly buried
treasure in the area in the early 1800's.
 In
1803, the Creek and Seminole Indians ceded almost 2
million acres of land to the John Forbes company to
settle unpaid debts to the many mercantile establishments
of that company; St. George Island was a part of the
"Forbes Purchase."
John Lee Williams took refuge on St. George Island
in 1823 when a storm interrupted his return to Pensacola
after his historic rendezvous with Dr. John Simmons
to choose the site for the Florida Territorial Capital
(now the city of Tallahassee). The plentiful oysters
and crabs of Apalachicola Bay lessened the hardships
caused by a shortage of food. A boom in commercial trading
along the Apalachicola River led to the rapid growth
of the port of Apalachicola and necessitated the construction
of a lighthouse on St. George Island in 1833. Serving
as a navigational aid for the increased boat traffic,
it was moved to a more visible, westerly site in 1848,
destroyed by a storm, rebuilt in 1852, rebricked in
1948, and still stands on Little St. George Island.
During the Civil War, the port of Apalachicola was
strategically important to both sides. In 1862, Apalachicola
came under the control of the Union blockade and was
effectively neutralized.
 After
1865, Apalachicola never regained its prewar importance
as a cotton-shipping port; the completion of the railroads
dealt a crushing blow to the economy. Nearby St. George
Island had a complex succession of owners. The island's
pine forests were turpentined, cattle were grazed there,
and a charming seaside hotel bloomed and faded during
the early 1900's.
William Lee Popham, the famous "Oyster King," was
the first developer of St. George Island during the
late 1910's and 1920's. Popham ran the hotel/restaurant,
established a ferry to St. George and sold real estate
as well as managing his oyster processing business.
He built a boardwalk across the Island, from the Bay
to Gulf, for prospective buyers.
The Army Corps of Engineers dredged the Bob Sikes
Channel or The Cut, as it is commonly known, in the
1950's. Then a group of Tallahasseans platted the St.
George Island Gulf Beaches and started selling lots.
There are still houses on the Island dating back to
this period.
The entire island, less sales in the Gulf Beaches,
was purchased in 1970 by John R. Stocks, a Tallahassee
real estate developer originally from Huntsville, Alabama.
Assisted by attorney Gene D. Brown, also from Tallahassee,
Leisure Properties (their partnership) sold Little St.
George and the last nine miles on the East End to the
State of Florida.
Leisure Properties then sold five and eight acre tracts
on the East End. St. George Plantation, opened in 1976,
was Leisure's premier development. The Plantation featured
an environmentally sensitive site plan with Protective
Covenants to maintain the pristine qualities of the
property.
 Since
the completion of the Bryant Patton Bridge in 1965,
which connects St. George to the mainland, the island's
economy has depended on tourism and an active real estate
market. The Island currently boasts a permanent population
of about 700 people.
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