The Forgotten Coast is an area of the
Florida Panhandle encompassing Gulf and Franklin counties. So named because of the few
sleepy communities dotting its coastline such as
Beacon Hill,
Port St. Joe, and
Apalachicola, this area still largely resembles the
romantic pre-war
Florida that is depicted in so many
sepia-toned
postcards. The area also was of considerable importance to
maritime interests in the last
century as the site of the Beacon Hill and
Cape San Blas lighthouses.
Ironically, the term Forgotten Coast has been popularized in the 1990s by greedy real estate moguls who seek to commercialize one of the last unspoiled areas of Florida. Currently, there is a huge furor among Gulf County locals about The St. Joe Company or Arvida's plans to relocate U.S. Highway 98 from its current coastal route through St. Joe Beach to an undeveloped area further inland. It is feared that this area will then become the home of the dreaded condominiums that pollute the rest of Florida.
A special tour of this area has been scheduled for those attending the Grouper and oysters and shrimp gathering hosted by panamaus December 28-31, 2001. The gathering will be held smack dab in the middle of the area in peril.