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Discover Old Florida and the Forgotten CoastIn the center of the self-proclaimed Forgotten Coast of Northwest Florida, lie the Gulf County cities of Port St. Joe, Cape San Blas, Indian Pass, and Wewahitchka. These towns played a key role in Florida's history?, and continue to represent that "old Florida" today. Nearly 35 miles southeast of Panama City, and 100 miles southwest of Tallahassee, the area remains rich in natural bounty and rustic towns. Florida's earliest Constitution was signed here, and Tupelo honey still flows - a wealth of golden currency.
The small community of Wewahitchka, known to locals as "Wewa" on Hwy 71, north of coastal Port St. Joe, and
south of I-10, is known for its liquid gold, world-famous Tupelo honey. The highly coveted honey derives from
the local Tupelo gum tree that blossoms in the spring. Wewa is the only area in the country in which the
non-granulating honey is commercially harvested. Generations of Wewa's residents, most notably the Lanier Family,
have been involved in gathering Tupelo Honey for more than a century.
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In December 1838, five delegates from all counties in Territorial Florida assembled in the old city of St.
Joseph (now Port St. Joe) to create Florida's first State Constitution. The document served as the basis of
Florida government until the Civil War. In 1922, the Constitution Monument was erected in one of Port St. Joe's
most picturesque parks, bearing the names of the 1838 convention delegates engraved in marble. Nearby, the
Constitution Convention Museum State Park commemorates the city of St. Joseph, the signing of Florida's first
constitution, and houses one of the most extensive collections of native artifacts found in the area.
St. Joseph was fast becoming one of the largest cities in Florida, in the 1830s, with its shipping port and
Florida's first steam-powered railroad. The first engine from this railroad can be seen today, next to the
Constitution Convention Museum State Park. Railroads served the company town of Port St. Joe throughout most
of the twentieth century, transporting timber and products to and from the St. Joe Paper Company. St. Joe
owned and operated paper mills in Port St. Joe and Jacksonville, and managed more than one million acres of
North Florida timberland. Today, the region is changing, as the St. Joe Company, the largest landowner in
Gulf County and the largest private landowner in Florida, begins extensive community beachfront and waterfront
development.