Saint Joseph's Short Life In The Apalachicola

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Deep in the thick swamps and woods of Northern Gulf County, amidst the buzz and sting of mosquitoes, chirps of squirrels, and swirls of the Apalachicola, is a long-lost story. One hundred and eighty years ago the town of Iola sprang out of the cypress swamp of what is now north east Gulf County. That small community, was, and still is an enigma in the wilderness of territorial Florida and has all but faded from the memory of Gulf County and is nothing but a boat ramp now. You cannot discuss Iola without first discussing Saint Joseph. Saint Joseph began its short life in the mid 1830’s after a Supreme Court decision on the Forbes land grants in nearby Apalachicola. Forbes & Co. was formerly the Panton & Leslie Co, located in Pensacola. …show more content…

Of all those affected, the cotton producers received the worst blow. In Virginia, and the Carolinas, the panic caused an increase in the diversifying of crops. New Orleans slipped into a business depression, and its money market stayed in bad condition until after 1843. Several planters in Mississippi spent much of their money in advance, leading to the complete bankruptcy of many planters. By 1839, many of the plantations were out of cultivation. Florida and Georgia did not feel the effects as early as Louisiana, Alabama, or Mississippi. In 1837, Georgia had sufficient reserves to carry on everyday purchases. Until 1839, citizens of Florida were able to boast about the punctuality of their payments. It was in the 1840s when Georgia and Florida began to feel the real negative effects of the …show more content…

A price war broke out. Both groups were trying to underbid each other. The Saints were not in a financial position to continue with the price war, so they backed off and started the pursuit of other means to have money. They needed another reason for people to want to travel to Saint Joseph. They noticed how visitors enjoyed the area, especially Saint Joseph Bay. Saint Joseph was (soon) to become a summer resort. Around 1840, a new worry began to disturb the residents Apalachicola and Saint Joseph. A railroad to connect the western Georgia cotton plantations to the Atlantic sea ports was becoming a reality. That railroad, combined with the increasing danger of navigating the Chattahoochee River, had many shippers rethink shipping to the Gulf. The livelihood of both cities was in

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