Santa Rosa Island (Florida)
This article is missing information about physical features.(August 2017) |
Santa Rosa Island
The Island of Santa Rosa | |
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850 | |
30°22′57″N 86°51′23″W / 30.38250°N 86.85639°WSanta Rosa Island is a 40-mile (64 km)
Santa Rosa Island has weathered numerous hurricanes and other
Parts of the island are protected from development within the Gulf Islands National Seashore.
History
Pre-Statehood
Santa Rosa Island was explored by
After a treaty in 1722 returned Pensacola from French hands back to Spanish, the island was settled by Spain on November 25, 1722. The colony, Presidio Isla de Santa Rosa, was hit by hurricanes in 1741 and 1752 forcing the settlers to relocate across the bay to what is now Pensacola.[1] The remaining remnants on the island were wiped out by a 1762 hurricane.[citation needed]
Following the Treaty of Moultrie Creek, Santa Rosa Island was inhabited by Creeks. During a visit in 1835, the famous painter George Catlin painted a Creek family catching and drying redfish on the island.
American Civil War
After the outbreak of the American Civil War, some of the Union troops located within Confederate Florida retreated to Fort Pickens on the island.[2]
The Battle of Santa Rosa Island took place here on October 9, 1861.[3] Confederate Richard Anderson crossed from the Florida mainland onto Santa Rosa Island with 1200 men, in two small steamers, in a failed attempt to capture Fort Pickens (located on the west end of the island). In late 1863, the Union formed a recruiting post at the far east end of the island.[4] By 1864, the garrison was reinforced by a large number of deserters and others who were pro-Union. The sheriff and some of the prominent citizens of the town served as guides and supplied the Union force with horses for raiding.[5] The fort remained in Federal hands throughout the war.[3]
20th Century
Considering Fort Pickens to be outdated, the U.S. War Department sold Santa Rosa Island in 1929 to
On July 8, 1950 the federal government conveyed an 875-acre (3.54 km2) parcel of Santa Rosa Island with 3 miles (4.8 km) of Gulf frontage to
The island has been hit by many tropical cyclones; in 1995 it was the landfall point of hurricanes Erin and Opal. Hurricane Dennis hit the island in July 2005, and with 120 mph (190 km/h) winds, was the strongest storm to do so. Tropical Storm Claudette hit in 2009.
In 2008-2009, a sunken Spanish ship was located and excavated offshore. These findings confirmed reports of the 1559 expedition by
One of the final missions in the Florida Phase of the US Army's Ranger School is conducted on Santa Rosa Island.
See also
- Gulf Breeze, Florida - city linked by bridge to Santa Rosa Island
- Pensacola Beach, Florida#Novelty houses, a dome home built to withstand 133 m/s winds
- Fort Pickens
- Fort McRee
References
- ^ Dunkelberger, Rosanne (20 July 2012). "Pensacola Pride". Tallahassee Magazine. Retrieved 14 January 2023.
- ^ Dunkelberger 2012.
- ^ a b "Battle Summary: Santa Rosa Island, FL", NPS.gov, 2008, web: NPS-B-fl001 Archived 2009-08-25 at the Wayback Machine.
- ISBN 9780692793589.
- ^ Beals, Carleton (1965). War Within a War; the Confederacy Against Itself (1st ed.). Philadelphia, PA: Chilton Books. p. 70.
- ISBN 978-0-912627-73-1.
- ^ "Island Tract Turned Over To Okaloosa - Formal Transfer Completed With $4,000 Payment", Playground News (Fort Walton Beach, Fla.), July 13, 1950, Volume 5, Number 24, page 1.