St. Joseph, Florida 2081093 222711781 2008-06-30T19:11:31Z Donald Albury 374244 recovered broken web link '''St. Joseph, Florida''' was a [[boomtown]] that briefly became the largest community in [[Florida]], before being destroyed only eight years after it was founded. St. Joseph was founded in 1835 on the shores of [[St. Joseph Bay]], one of the finest [[natural harbor]]s on the [[Gulf Coast of the United States]]. ==History== As no rivers flowed into St. Joseph Bay, two [[Rail transport|railroad]]s were built connecting St. Joseph with the [[Apalachicola River]] in an attempt to siphon off some of the [[cotton]] and [[lumber]] being shipped down the river to the port of [[Apalachicola, Florida|Apalachicola]]. By 1837 St. Joseph had become the most populous place in the [[History of Florida#American rule|Territory of Florida]], with approximately 6,000 inhabitants. In 1838 the town hosted the first [[Constitutional convention (political meeting)|Constitutional Convention]] for Florida, which drew up the [[constitution]] used when Florida became a state in 1845. Some have called St. Joseph "Constitution City" and even transferred the name to the new [[Port St. Joe, Florida|Port St. Joe]].<ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20070827135553/http://www.c21gulfcoastrealty.com/areainformation.php]Web site for "Century 21 Gulf Coast Realty Inc.", Web page titled "Area Information" Port St. Joe section, accessed [[September 17]], [[2006]]</ref> In 1841 a ship brought [[yellow fever]] to St. Joseph. The disease killed many of the town's inhabitants, and caused the rest to flee. A [[hurricane]] in 1843 struck with a large [[storm surge]], destroying the abandoned town. The area remained uninhabited for the rest of the 19th century. In the early 20th century [[Port St. Joe, Florida|Port St. Joe]] was founded about two miles north of the site of old St. Joseph. ==Present Day== The only remains of old St. Joseph are some tombstones in the Old St. Joseph, or 'Yellow Fever', Cemetery in present-day Port St. Joe. The [[Constitution Convention Museum State Park]] nearby explains the role of St. Joseph in the early history of Florida government. ==See also== *[[Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Canal and Railroad]] *[[St. Joseph Point Light]] ==Notes== <references/> ==References== *<cite style="font-style:normal" id="Reference-McCarthy-1990">McCarthy, Kevin M. (1990). ''Florida Lighthouses'', Paintings by William L. Trotter, [[Gainesville, Florida]]: [[University of Florida]] Press. ISBN 0-8130-0982-0.</cite> *[http://www.ghosttowns.com/states/fl/stjoseph.html St. Joseph, Florida Ghost Town] - retrieved [[February 17]] [[2006]] *[http://www.lighthousefriends.com/light.asp?ID=590 Lighthouse Friends - St. Joseph Point, FL] - retrieved [[February 17]] [[2006]] *[http://www.coastghosts.com/yelfev.htm Old St. Joseph Cemetery a/k/a Yellow Fever Cemetery] - retrieved [[February 17]] [[2006]] ==Further reading== *Louise Porter. ''Lives of St. Joseph''. St Joseph Historical Society (Dec 2001) ISBN 0-9636228-2-X {{Florida}} [[Category:Gulf County, Florida]] [[Category:Ghost towns in Florida]] [[Category:Settlements established in 1835]]