View source for Port St. Joe, Gulf county, Florida

'''Port St. Joe''' is a city located at the intersection of [[U.S. Route 98 in Florida|U.S. Highway 98]] and [[Florida State Road 71|State Road 71]] in [[Gulf County, Florida|Gulf County]], [[Florida]], United States. As of the [[2010 United States Census|2010 census]] the population was 3,445.<ref name="Census 2010" This was a decline from 3,644 as of the [[2000 United States Census|2000 census]]. Port St. Joe is the county seat of Gulf County.

==History==
[[St. Joseph, Gulf County, Florida|St. Joseph]] was founded in 1835 by businessmen from nearby [[Apalachicola, Florida|Apalachicola]], which was troubled by legal conflict over land titles.<ref>[http://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/portstjoe2.html ExplorerSouthernHistory.com]</ref> It was mostly abandoned in 1841 after a [[yellow fever]] epidemic; a [[storm surge]] produced by a [[1840–49 Atlantic hurricane seasons#1844|hurricane in 1844]] destroyed what structures remained.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.starfl.com/news/20160908/deaths-angel-great-tide-of-1844|title=Death's Angel: The 'Great Tide' of 1844|last=Jones|first=Herman|date=September 8, 2016|work=The (Port St. Joe) Star|access-date=October 12, 2018}}</ref> In the early 20th century a new settlement was founded close to the original after the arrival of the [[Apalachicola Northern Railroad]] in 1909. It appears that the more informal "Port St. Joe" was adopted for official use around this time.

==Geography==
Port St. Joe is located in southern Gulf County at {{coord|29|48|29|N|85|17|52|W|type:city}} (29.807968, -85.297684),<ref name="GR1">{{cite web|url=https://www.census.gov/geo/www/gazetteer/gazette.html|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2011-04-23|date=2011-02-12|title=US Gazetteer files: 2010, 2000, and 1990}}</ref> within the [[Florida Panhandle]] and along the [[Emerald Coast]]. According to the [[United States Census Bureau]], the city has a total area of {{convert|31.3|km2|order=flip}}, of which {{convert|24.5|sqkm|order=flip}} is land and {{convert|6.8|sqkm|order=flip}}, or 21.86%, is water. The city limits extend into [[St. Joseph Bay]], an arm of the [[Gulf of Mexico]].

[[U.S. Route 98]] passes through Port St. Joe as Monument Drive in the north and Constitution Drive in the south. US 98 leads northwest along the Gulf shore {{convert|36|mi}} to [[Panama City, Florida|Panama City]] and southeast {{convert|23|mi}} to [[Apalachicola, Florida|Apalachicola]]. [[Florida State Road 71]] (Cecil G. Costin Sr. Boulevard) leads northeast {{convert|24|mi}} to [[Wewahitchka, Florida|Wewahitchka]].

Port St. Joe averages only {{convert|3|ft}} above sea level. At its highest point it is only {{convert|8|ft}} above sea level. This portion of the town has been dubbed "Highland View".

As of the census<ref name="GR2">{{cite web|url=http://factfinder2.census.gov|publisher=[[United States Census Bureau]]|accessdate=2008-01-31|title=American FactFinder}}</ref> of 2000, there were 3,644 people, 1,402 households, and 1,030 families residing in the city.  The population density was 1,097.4 people per square mile (423.8/km²).  There were 1,571 housing units at an average density of 473.1 per square mile (182.7/km²).  The racial makeup of the city was 68.52% [[White (U.S. Census)|White]], 30.10% [[African American (U.S. Census)|African American]], 0.22% [[Native American (U.S. Census)|Native American]], 0.22% [[Asian (U.S. Census)|Asian]], 0.05% from [[Race (United States Census)|other races]], and 0.88% from two or more races. [[Hispanic (U.S. Census)|Hispanic]] or [[Latino (U.S. Census)|Latino]] of any race were 0.55% of the population.


==Schools and libraries==
Port St. Joe has one elementary school, with Dolphins as mascot. It has a joint middle-high school with Tiger Sharks as mascots. The school colors are purple and gold.  There is also a small private school, Faith Christian School, which has the lions as its mascot. All of the public schools are located on one development strip set aside under the Department of Education. This begins with the elementary school and its playground and continues with the football stadium, a quarter mile running track, and finally the high school and adult school stretching a distance of about 5 city blocks.  Port St. Joe also has a community college that offers two year associate degrees.

Port St. Joe has a library co-located with the senior citizens center, sheriff's office, courthouse, and animal shelter off [[Florida State Road 71|State Road 71]].

The [[Florida Constitutional Convention of 1838]] took place in St. Joe. There is a museum and monument commemorating this event.

==Transportation==
Port St. Joe is served by a variety of transportation modes.

===Water===
Port St. Joe is traversed by the [[Gulf Intracoastal Waterway]] (GIWW), a federally maintained canal with a channel of {{convert|12|ft}} deep by {{convert|125|ft}} wide, which provides access from [[St. Marks, Florida]], to [[Brownsville, Texas]]. From the GIWW, barges can be moved inland on various river systems including the [[Mississippi River]], [[Tombigbee River]] Waterway System, and the [[Apalachicola River]]. The Apalachicola River is Gulf County's eastern boundary.

The Port of Port St. Joe shipping channel is congressionally authorized to a depth of {{convert|35|ft}} and connects to the shipping lanes of the [[Gulf of Mexico]] and to the world. Existing facilities include a manufacturer of chemical [[lime (material)|lime]] from [[Dolomite (rock)|dolomite]], a chemical plant, a 9 million ton/year dry bulk barge-to-rail transloading terminal, and a builder of dive-cruise ships.

===Rail ===
The [[AN Railway]] previously served the industries and port of Port St. Joe and had a history of transporting a variety of products including wood chips and other forest products, chemicals, and coal. In light of the latter, most of its 96 mile mainline consisted of heavy duty, {{convert|140|lb|adj=on}} rail on concrete ties. The AN connected with the Class I [[CSX Transportation]] at [[Chattahoochee, Florida]]. There is currently no rail service in Port St. Joe.{{citation needed|date=December 2018}}

==See also==
*[[Centennial Building]]
*[[Constitution Convention Museum State Park]]
*[[Port Theatre]]
*[[St. Joseph, Gulf County, Florida]]
*[[St. Joseph Catholic Mission Church]]

==References==

==External links==
{{Wikivoyage|Port St. Joe}}
* [http://www.cityofportstjoe.com/ City of Port St. Joe official website]
* [http://www.visitgulf.com/ Gulf County Tourist Development Council]
* [http://www.gulfchamber.org/ Gulf County Chamber of Commerce]
* [http://ufdc.ufl.edu/UF00028419 ''The Star''], newspaper that serves Port St. Joe; available in full-text with images in [http://ufdc.ufl.edu/fdnl1 Florida Digital Newspaper Library]


[[Category:Foote Family Papers]]
[[Category:Rensselaer William Foote]]
[[Category:Gulf County, Florida]]
[[Category:Cities in Florida]]
[[Category:Seminole War]]
[[Category:Port St. Joe, Florida]]
[[Category:1835 establishments in Florida Territory]]