For hundreds of years, the St. Andrew Bay area attracted little attention from explorers, wayfarers and freebooters. Most plying the Gulf thought they were passing the entrance to an insignificant river and sailed on by.
                In the 1820s, the area along what’s now Beach Drive in Panama City drew plantation owners from Jackson County who brought their families to spend their “summers by the sea.”   Some people envisioned St. Andrews becoming a large seaport, but all plans were placed on hold when St. Joseph, 40 miles to the east, captured the attention along the Northern Gulf Coast.
                A few skirmishes occurred in the bay area during the Civil War. A Federal attack by the bark Restless took place on Dec. 10, 1863. The bombardment destroyed all 32 cottages and homes in what came to be known Old Town St. Andrews.
                In 1885, the St. Andrews Bay Railroad, Land and Mining Co. began a nationwide promotion of St. Andrews. The mail-order organization, known locally as the Cincinnati Company, offered 25 x 82-foot lots for $1.25. Thousands of investors purchased land sight unseen. Some of these lots were high and dry, but many others were low and marshy or sections of submerged land. The lots extended from Bayou George to the Bell Buoy. 

CITRUS INDUSTRY

The company promoted the citrus industry, advising purchasers and investors that they could prosper by planting and growing citrus trees. Oranges, lemons and grapefruits did grow well because all of the surrounding forests had yet to be cut. These forests sheltered the citrus trees from the cold north winds. But since the promised railroad was never built, the citrus growers had no market for their fruit. Only small amounts could be shipped by a few of the vessels that plied the coast.
                In 1894 and 1895, two devastating freezes killed most of the citrus trees in the St. Andrew Bay area and other groves all over North Florida. Those still interested in growing oranges and lemons were forced to replant and try again.

EARLY PANAMA CITY

A few of the men who came to St. Andrews for the cheap land glanced farther east and centered their attention on what’s now Panama City where they took up homesteads. In 1888, Clark B. Slade platted his land by Massalina Bayou and called the property “Floriopolis.” That same year C.J. Demorest and G.W. Jenks named their land around what’s now McKenzie Park as “Park Resort.” In 1889, they changed the name to “Harrison” for the president in office at that time. In Harrison, cottages or room and board cost $4 per week. 
                George M. West, a northern railroad man, was drawn to St. Andrew Bay by the Cincinnati Company’s promotion in 1886. He purchased land along Beach Drive. In 1906, West retired and turned his attention to promoting property in Harrison through the Gulf Coast Development Co. Joining West were R.L. McKenzie, a naval stores man from Georgia, and A.J. Gay, another Georgian who acquired vast parcels of land. Gay lived at Gay, which today is the location of the Panama Country Club in Lynn Haven.
                A.B. Steele of Georgia was building a railroad south from Dothan to Cottondale at that time. West, McKenzie, Gay and a few others convinced Steele to extend his railroad to the bay for 25 percent of the Gulf Coast Dev. Co. Steele named his railroad the Atlanta & St. Andrews Bay Railway Co. It was later referred to as the Bay Line.
In 1906, the promoters changed the name from Harrison to Panama City for the Panama Canal under construction at that time. The first train chugged into Panama City on June 29, 1908, which brought major development opportunities for Panama City. The railroad also offered excursion specials from Dothan on Sundays. At Panama City tourists rode launches across the bay to the Lands End pavilion on what’s now Shell Island.

St. Andrews came alive again after the turn of the century through its incorporation in 1908. The town claimed four sections: Old Town, Waretown (the St. Andrews Marina), Cincinnati Hill (west end of 13th –15th streets) and West End, around the foot of Michigan Avenue.
James H. Drummond, the town’s first mayor, promoted St. Andrews. He brought a railroad spur into St. Andrews in 1914 that Y’d into the long dock near the foot of Frankford Avenue. The other section continued west and reached the bay near 11th Court. This spur gave fishermen a way to ship their catch on the Bay Line and another location to catch a launch for a ride to Lands End.               
French Canadian Henry Bovis came to this area from Bagdad’s huge sawmill near Milton. He constructed a mill at the head of Watson Bayou. The Millville post office opened in 1899. Bovis ran the sawmill a few years then sold it to the German American Company. This organization expanded and went on to own thousands of acres of land in Bay, Gulf and Calhoun counties. It became one of the most prosperous sawmills in the southeast.
                Millville ranked as the bay’s largest town in 1910, offering residents a company store, six general stores, a hat shop, a movie theater, a large gym, a skating rink and several other businesses. The town boomed until the outbreak of World War I when the Federal government seized the mill under the Trading with the Enemy Act.
                After the war, the mill was sold and purchased by W.C. Sherman and Minor C.  Keith. They renamed the sawmill the St. Andrews Bay Lumber Co., and it became one of the main employers in this area.
                In 1910, W.H. Lynn visited Panama City seeking a second site in Florida to build a town for northern veterans of the Civil War. He selected cut-over land on North Bay  and helped establish the St. Andrews Bay Development Co., the organization  promoting the new town. The company named the streets for states and platted 7,400 lots for sale. At the beginning, the 50 x 150 feet lots sold for $50 with five free acres out of town for farming. Purchasers drew their lots through a lottery that placed them at scattered locations all over town. Lynn Haven developed into a beautiful location on North Bay. 

ESTABLISHMENT OF BAY COUNTY       

 In 1913, legislators created Bay County from Washington, Calhoun and Walton counties. The natal day celebration took place on July 1 when hundreds of visitors flocked into Panama City from around the bay. The main part of the festivities took place in McKenzie Park.
During the mid-1920s Florida boomed with real estate sales. Bay High School was built as well as the Dixie Sherman Hotel, the area’s first high rise. The Cove Hotel, a favorite tourist attraction was located off what’s now Cherry St. This hotel offered bayside swimming and a special place for children to bathe in shallow water. Other two-story wooden hotels in Panama City attracted visitors and tourists such as the Pines, the Panama and the Bay prior to the opening of Panama City Beach.
                In 1926, a memorable event occurred that did not meet with great acceptance by local residents. St. Andrews and Millville were incorporated into Panama City, which caused these two towns to lose their identities.

THE BAY BRIDGES

In 1929, the state opened both DuPont and Hathaway Bridges across the bays. The Coastal Highway, now U.S. 98, was also completed along most of the Gulf at this time, giving tourists east-west access and a means of reaching Panama City Beach.  
                A year later paper mill owners visited Panama City looking for a place to construct the first paper mill in Florida. Those representing the Southern Kraft Corp., which was a subsidiary of the International Paper Co., liked the size town they saw and the cut-over forest land. The company began construction of its $10 million paper mill at Bay Harbor and a massive reseeding project. IPC’s mill opened in 1931. 
The Corps of Engineers completed the New Pass into St. Andrew Bay in 1934, providing ships a more stable way of reaching the paper mill and Panama City.
Other towns in the greater Panama City area are Parker, Cedar Grove, Callaway and Springfield. Parker dates back to antebellum days, but the other locations were begun in the early and mid-1900s.

WORLD WAR II BRINGS CHANGES

World War II changed Panama City from a small town to a booming seaport in the early 1940s. Panama City tripled its population during the war. The East Peninsula, reached by DuPont Bridge, became Tyndall Field in 1941. When military personnel arrived here to train at Tyndall or the Navy Base, established in 1942, most were drawn to this area’s magnificent beaches during their off-duty hours. Clark Gable earned his silver wings at Tyndall Field during the winter of 1942-1943. Many servicemen later returned to make this area their home.
The same became true of the 18,000 workers at Wainwright Shipyard, which opened in 1942. The shipyard, where 106 Liberty ships and six tankers were built, was located just east of Hathaway Bridge at what’s now Port Panama City.   
Following the war, several new industries moved into the bay area as they continue to do today. Tyndall Field became Tyndall Air Force Base, and the Navy Base is now called the Naval Support Activity (NSA) Panama City. Gulf Coast Community College and Florida State University/Panama City, two institutions of higher learning, now beckon students to their Panama City campuses. 
 

DEVELOPMENT OF THE BEACHES                    

                Panama City Beach grew in popularity as people enjoyed increased leisure time following the war. Favorite locations were The Hangout, Miracle Strip Amusement Park, Petticoat Junction and other amusements. Air conditioning also helped to build the beaches and other cities and towns in Florida.
In the 1970s after spraying for dog flies began, the beaches started drawing fall and winter visitors, known as Snowbirds. During that same period, increasing numbers of towering condominiums began sprouting on the sand.    
                Now with Panama City Beach catering to a more upscale clientele most of the mom and pop motels are gone, victims of an earlier way of life. Pier Park, other developments and shopping centers, and the new airport under construction, now offer Panama City and Bay County increased opportunities for the future.

Information from Marlene Womack