Florida's "Lost City" of St. Joseph

I mentioned a couple of days ago that our new Port St. Joe, Florida section is now at www.exploresouthernhistory.com.

This pages explore several fascinating historic sites in and around Port St. Joe, one of the most interesting of which is the site of the "Lost City" of St. Joseph.

Founded in 1835 on the beautiful shore of St. Joseph Bay, the city of St. Joseph quickly became the largest community in Florida. More than 12,000 people moved to the city within two years, making it larger than Tallahassee, Pensacola, St. Augustine and other communities of the time. In 1838-1839, the city was selected as the site of Florida's Constitutional Convention and it was here that the territory's first constitution was drafted.

In 1841, however, St. Joseph was ravaged by a yellow fever epidemic. In a matter of weeks, the population fell to only 400 people. A major hurricane in 1844 destroyed much of what was left and in time the site was reclaimed by the lush coastal forest.

To learn more about St. Joseph, visit our Port St. Joe section at www.exploresouthernhistory.com. You will see the heading on the home page when you arrive at the site.