• St. George Island and the other barrier islands in the chain are thought to be around 5,000 years old.
  • 200,000 years ago, sea level was approximately 350 feet lower than it is now, making Florida about twice the size it is now.
  • Eastpoint was founded in 1896 by a communal farming group of settlers from Nebraska and got its name from the town across the bay, Westpoint now known as Apalachicola.
  • As many as 300,000 baby loggerhead turtles hatch each year on St. George Island!
  • In 1954 Lanark Estates Inc. from Miami FL bought most of Camp Gordon Johnston and named it Lanark Village. With sales offices in New York, Chicago & Washington, they began promoting Lanark Village as a beautiful and affordable place to live.
  • Over 250,000 troops were trained at Camp Gordon Johnston and the barrier islands were used for amphibious landing training that was used in both Pacific and European theaters in WWII.
  • While the economy of much of Franklin County relies on the Gulf of Mexico and the Apalachicola Bay for much of its income (fishing and oystering) some of the people on the mainland depend on other sources. Another industry is bee culturing which produces about 350,000 pounds of tupelo honey each year and brings income to many local beekeepers.