Apalachicola

History

The Apalachicola Province, after whom the river and, ultimately the city, are named, was located along the lower part of the Chattahoochee River in Alabama and Georgia in the 17th century, when the Spanish included the Chattahoochee as part of the Apalachicola River. The name is a combination of the Hitchiti words apalahchi, meaning "on the other side", and okli, meaning "people". In original reference to the settlement, it probably meant "people on the other side of the river". Between the years 1513 and 1763, the area that now includes the city of Apalachicola was under Spanish jurisdiction as part of Spanish Florida. While the Spanish established missions with the Apalachee people to the northeast of the city of Apalachicola (centered around Tallahassee), and with the Chatot people to the north in the upper Apalachicola River valley and the Chipola River valley, the Spanish did not establish any missions in the area of the lower Apalachicola River during the duration of Spain's first occupation of Florida. The earliest-known settlement by non-indigenous people was in 1705, when the Spanish built a fort in the area. In the 1750s, during the French and Indian War, the British captured the Spanish colony of Cuba; however, because Cuba was a prized possession for the Spanish, and Florida was mostly unused backwater, the Spanish traded Florida to the British in return for regaining Cuba. Trinity Episcopal Church was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida on February 11, 1837. The building was one of the earliest prefabricated buildings in the United States. The framework was shipped by schooner from New York City and assembled in Apalachicola with wooden pegs. In 1837, a newspaper at Apalachicola boasted that the town's business…

Geography

Apalachicola is located in the northwestern part of the state on Apalachicola Bay and at the mouth of the Apalachicola River. U.S. 98 is the main highway through town, leading east across the bay to Eastpoint and northwest to Panama City. Tallahassee, the state capital, is to the northeast via U.S. 98 and U.S. 319. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 26.67%, is water. The climate of Apalachicola is humid subtropical (Köppen Cfa), with short, mild winters and hot, humid summers. The hottest temperature ever recorded in the city was on August 15, 1995, and the coldest temperature ever recorded was on January 21, 1985.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Northern Mockingbird

  Mimus polyglottos (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,831
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,387
• Brown Pelican

  Pelecanus occidentalis Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  4,332
• Red-bellied Woodpecker

  Melanerpes carolinus (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  4,215
• Laughing Gull

  Leucophaeus atricilla (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,847
• Carolina Wren

  Thryothorus ludovicianus (Latham, 1790) · Aves
  3,738
• Gray Catbird

  Dumetella carolinensis (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  3,482
• Mourning Dove

  Zenaida macroura (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  3,426