Panama City, Florida
ONE OF PANAMA CITY’S GREAT St. Andrews Bay attracted little and the area flourished. Two rail
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draws is its location on St. Andrews attention in the early years of the lines were now in the area that
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Bay and the Gulf of Mexico. Its United States. Its small community extended to the North Bay. During
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beautiful beaches make it a popular was established during the Civil War the 1920s, Florida’s real estate
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tourist destination, but its small- in an area now known as Old Town market boomed and, in 1929,
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town atmosphere is what encourages St. Andrews, but all 32 cottages and the state opened the DuPont and
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people to return and perhaps homes were destroyed by a federal Hathaway Bridges across the bays.
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eventually to call it home. attack from The Restless. The Coastal Highway, now U.S. 98,
Panama City, in the Florida In the 1880s, the St. Andrews was also finished.
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Panhandle, will celebrate its Bay Railroad Land and Mining World War II completed the
centennial throughout 2009, Company sold 25 x 82-foot lots change of Panama City from a small
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complete with an official song that for $1.25, which thousands of town to a bustling seaport in the
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harks back to its small-town roots. investors scarfed up sight unseen. early 1940s. The city’s population
When the First Methodist Church, One proud new owner called his tripled during the war, and many
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then located on the corner of 4th property Floriopolis, and another veterans chose to make the area i
Street and Magnolia Avenue, hosted referred to his land as Park Resort. their permanent home. d
its first wedding on May 5, 1917, In 1889, these names were changed Today, with a population of
the event was also the city’s first to Harrison, in honor of Benjamin almost 37,000 people, the city has
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wedding, the union of Susie Kelly Harrison, then the 23rd president not forgotten its small-town roots, .
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and Thomas Percy Dean. of the United States. Seventeen even while enjoying the benefits of
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Susie Kelly Dean later wrote a years later, in 1906, the name upscale tourist developments. If in
waltz, with the music composed by changed once again to Panama doubt, sit back, relax and listen to
C.J. Bryan, that is now the official City, referencing the Panama Canal, Susie Kelly Dean’s waltz as Panama
song for Panama City’s 100th which was then under construction. City celebrates 100 years of the
anniversary celebration. In 1909, the city was incorporated good life.
At A Glance
Panama City, Fla.
Population: 36,807
Average Temp: 79
Average Age: 37
Nearest Hospital:
Bay Medical Center
Nearest Major Airport:
Panama City-Bay County
International Airport
Panama City Info:
The Greater Panama City Beaches
Chamber of Commerce
(850) 235-1159
www.pcbeach.org
Courtesy of the Panama City Beach Convention and Visitors Bureau.
CarolinaHomesAndInteriors.com | www.RetiringToFlorida.com I www.HotRetirementTowns.com
61_Panama City.indd 61 8/19/08 3:41:28 PM
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