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Historical Events
1559-Tristan de Luna y Arellano landed in Pensacola, Florida. He established a colony in Pensacola, but the colony and his fleet were destroyed by a hurricane soon after his arrival. 1600-Over the next few centuries, the Spanish, English, and French visited the Santa Rosa peninsula. The peninsula was given many different names but the area was generally used to careen wooden sailing vessels, remove barnacles, and make repairs. The number of inhabitants of the peninsula gradually began to grow with the issuance of foreign land grants. 1820-The first federal road in Florida was the Pensacola-St. Augustine Highway. The highway began at Deer Point and extended eastward along the Santa Rosa Peninsula to St. Augustine on the Atlantic Coast of Florida. Eventually abandoned, the local people continued to use the road which in 1933 became the same general path of Highway 98. 1821-Florida becomes a United States Territory. 1823-Navel Live Oak Reservation established because the United Sates Navy was interested in acquiring good hardwood for ship building. 1862-During the Civil War, the Confederates maintained Camp Ariolla, a lookout tower, and a hospital at Deer Point from 1862 to 1865. 1876-Pensacola was fast becoming a great seaport and there was a need for a place away from town to be used to quarantine and fumigate vessels arriving from all around the world. The Gulf Breeze area was used for those quarantine stations. 1888-Pensacola Marine Railway and Drydock Company opened on Santa Rosa Peninsula. The company was established to build and repair vessels, buy, sell, lease, and improve real estate. Driven out of business when shipping changed from wooden ships to metal ships, the company later reopened as a fertilizer plant and glue factory in 1910. 1913-Peake's Hunting Lodge and Cottages established. 1920-The Boy Scouts of America and the Girl Scouts of America established camps in the Live Oak Reservation. The Boy Scout camp, Camp Big Heart, was near the Santa Rosa Sound. The Girl Scout camp, Camp Isabella Ingraham, was east of the boy scout camp. 1930-YMCA camp established between Deer Point and Fair Point. 1931-Pensacola Bay Bridge opened on June 13, 1931. Tourist interest grew the area with the completion of the Pensacola Bay Bridge and the Santa Rosa Sound Bridge. 1939-New Post Office opened at 100 Northcliff Drive. Voting took place at Gulf Breeze Cottages. 1946-Telephones: Southern Bell Telephone, party lines only, 7 to 11 customers on one line. 1949-St. Ann's Church established a mission church on Daniel Drive. St. Ann's parish was formed in 1958. 1950-Bonifay Hardware store established. Allan W. Davis Shell Shop opens at Highway 98 and Pfeiffer. Later, shop moved to Highway 98 and Shoreline Drive. 1955-More churches established in Gulf Breeze: the Gulf Breeze Methodist Church, Saint Paul Methodist Church, the First Baptist Church of Gulf Breeze, and St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church. 1956-Bokas Pharmacy opened in the Benson building. 1958-The Gulf Breeze Volunteer Fire Department was established with Dr. J. A. Jacobs as the first fire chief. 1960-December: The Gulf Breeze Sentinel, a weekly newspaper, was established by Charles Somerby. 1961-The City of Gulf Breeze incorporated on August 10. 1961. First City Council: Mayor C. J. Heinberg, Allan Davis, Wayne Lee, Michael Batz, and John Schilf. 1962-The first library in Gulf Breeze was private. It was run by the St. Francis of Assisi Episcopal Church members but was open to the general public. For a history of the Library, click here.The new Pensacola Bay Bridge was completed on August 10, 1962, and was named the Phillip Dane Beall, Sr. Memorial Bridge in honor of the late Senator who was President of the Florida Senate when he died in 1943. Today, the bridge is generally referred to as the Three Mile Bridge. 1964-Good Shepard Lutheran Church of Gulf Breeze established. 1967-Gulf Breeze Middle School established. 1970-Gulf Breeze High School established. 1973- Bob Sikes Bridge from Gulf Breeze to Pensacola Beach built. 1985-Gulf Breeze Hospital opened. 1987-UFO sightings put Gulf Breeze on intergalactic tourist maps. 1988-Gulf Breeze Area Chamber of Commerce established. 1989- City of Gulf Breeze purchased South Santa Rosa Utilities System. 1992-Shoreline Park designated as smoke-free/drug-free park. New entrance/exit to Wayside Park constructed. Lane Gilchrist elected Mayor. 1993-Designated Bike Lanes constructed on Highway 98 from Gulf
Breeze to Navarre. 1994- South Santa Rosa Utility Advisory Board created. Police motorcycle squad disbanded. Historical signs erected at Wayside Park. 1995- Sunset Kids Park in Gulf Breeze established. Kids Safe Home project initiated. Area hit by hurricanes Erin and Opal. 1996-City of Gulf Breeze celebrates 35th Anniversary with Community /Appreciation Day and International Festival. 1997-Renovation and expansion of City Hall. 1998- Open House and rededication of City Hall. Police Department renovated and expanded. 1999-Time capsule buried in front of City Hall to commemorate the new millennium. Capsule to be opened in the year 2050. 2001-City of Gulf Breeze celebrates 40th Anniversary with a Fall Festival. Updated 07/19/02
Copyright © 2001, City of Gulf Breeze, Florida. All Rights Reserved. City of Gulf Breeze |
