Page 12 - Carrabelle

History and St. George, which has a causeway
and an airport and has developed into a
city of carrabelle-chartered in 1893 by the seaside vacation community with shops,
Florida Legislature restaurants and beach rentals.
he history of Dog Island and During the Civil War Dog Island was used
Carrabelle, Florida, includes a by the Union Navy as a base for staging
Twonderful mix of Indians, shipping, the blockade of Apalachicola. In 1838,
bootlegging, logging and battles. This the Dog Island Lighthouse was built on the
charming town was a fishing village prior western tip of the island. It marked the
to the Civil War, isolated from the rest of “middle entrance to St. George’s Sound,”
Franklin County by the lack of bridges and between St. George and Dog Islands until
paved roads. After the war, it became its collapse by a hurricane in 1873.
an internationally known lumber town, In 1876, explorer Nathaniel Holmes
shipping wood from the hundreds of Bishop of Medford, Massachusetts
thousands of acres of surrounding virgin navigated the Crooked River through
forest. Turpentine, distilled from pine sap, the lowlands to the Ochlockonee River.
was shipped via schooners from the natural Then, in 1877, Oliver Hudson Kelly, also
deep water port on the Carrabelle River. from Massachusetts, founded the town
Dog Island has some evidence of and named it Rio Carrabelle (Beautiful
human presence dating back as early as River). The following year the first U.S. Post
8,000 years ago. The island also has a rich Office was established with its address
maritime history. The discovery of a 9th- as Rio Carrabelle. By 1881 the population
century canoe is a testament to prehistoric was between 500 and 600 people. Early
mariners on the island. During the 17th and settlers in the area, both Indians and early
18th centuries, the barrier islands became Europeans, hunted the bountiful game for
a haven of piracy and smuggling. food and furs, which were then shipped out
In 1528 the first Spanish expedition of of St. Marks.
Panfilo de Narvaez passed through the Carrabelle’s boom time came after the
area on its way from Tampa Bay to the Rio Civil War when lumber and naval stores
Grande. Carrabelle, Dog Island, and St. were the most important commodities. In
George Island served as points to stage 1879, Carrabelle had the largest sponge
raids on local ports as well as San Marcos fleet in Florida next to Key West. In 1875 the
de Apalache in 1677 and 1682. first lumber mill was established - cutting
Dog Island and its two neighboring pine and cypress from up river and in
islands were discovered by the French in swamps, and shipping it to the north and
overseas. Ships, mainly schooners, would
1536 and named the Dog Islands, because
wild dogs were found on them; the islands come through the pass and drop anchor
behind Dog Island in Ballast Cove, so
resemble a crouched dog, or the early
ships put their common sailors - known as named because the ships would drop their
dogs - on the islands, before docking on ballast before sailing into Carrabelle to
pick up their cargo. You may to this day,
the mainland, so they could not jump ship.
Later, the two neighbors were renamed: St. find ballast rock in the cove. By 1893 there
were many lumber and saw mills along
Vincent, which is a Federal wildlife refuge,
the Carrabelle River, and the downtown

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