Franklin County, Florida
The story of Apalachicola
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
- 1831
The settlement was incorporated as West Point in 1828 and took the name Apalachicola in 1831.
History of Apalachicola - City of Apalachicola official site
etymology
How it got its name
- 1831
The town carried three names in as many decades: first Cottonton, then West Point on incorporation in 1828, and finally Apalachicola from 1831.
History of Apalachicola - City of Apalachicola official site
industry
What it lived on
- 1836
Oysters were sold locally as early as 1836, and the Ruge Brothers Canning Company was established in 1885 by Herman Ruge and his sons.
History of Apalachicola - City of Apalachicola official site
- 1879
Sponging was a mainstay from the mid-1870s: Apalachicola had 16 sponge vessels working in 1879, and by 1895 between 80 and 120 men were employed in the trade.
History of Apalachicola - City of Apalachicola official site
- 1907
Timber commerce rose from $2,000,000 in 1898 to $13,324,000 in 1903, and the first Apalachicola Northern Railroad engine reached the town on 30 April 1907.
History of Apalachicola - City of Apalachicola official site
claim to fame
What it is known for
- 1841
Dr. John Gorrie (1803-1855) practised medicine in Apalachicola, where an 1841 yellow fever outbreak led him to cool sickrooms with ice and then to build a mechanical ice-making machine. He is recognised as the father of air conditioning and refrigeration.
figure
Worth knowing
- 1851
Gorrie received an 1851 patent for mechanical refrigeration, the invention the Apalachicola museum was later built to commemorate.
John Gorrie Museum State Park - Friends of Franklin County State Parks
landmark
What still stands
-
Orman House Historic State Park on Market Street, whose grounds include the Chapman Botanical Garden and the Three Soldiers Detail South memorial.
John Gorrie Museum State Park - Friends of Franklin County State Parks
-
Battery Park, at the mouth of the Apalachicola River, is the town's waterfront green and the ground on which the Florida Seafood Festival is held.
- 1957
John Gorrie Museum State Park on Sixth Street: the site was donated to the State of Florida in 1955 and the one-storey brick museum building was constructed in 1957.
John Gorrie Museum State Park - Friends of Franklin County State Parks