Gulf

Formed June 6, 1925 (66^th county)

Gulf County (14,200), Port Saint Joe (3,362)

The 1967 Modern style tan brick and concrete courthouse is the first for Port Saint Joe.  The building is located on Cecil Costin Boulevard between Liberty and Knowles streets.  Florida State Highway 71 is Costin Boulevard.  Joseph L. Donofro and Paul Donofro provided the building designs.  Veteran memorials are on the grounds and an Administration Building is next door.  There was a 1927 courthouse located at Wewahitchka.  Wewahitchka (1925) and Port Saint Joe (1965) have been the county seat.  The Gulf of Mexico is the source for the county’s name.  The county seat is named for Saint Joseph Bay.  The county was created on June 6, 1925 from Calhoun County as the 66^th county. 

Gulf County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Nine Circuit Court Judges serve Gulf, Bay, Calhoun, Holmes, Jackson, and Washington counties and a County Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Gulf County (judicial.) The county is located in the northwest panhandle on the Gulf of Mexico.  Tallahassee, Florida is to the northeast.  The center of the county is 15.9 miles Northeast of Port Saint Joe nearer Wewahitchka.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Calhoun, Liberty, and Franklin counties and the Gulf of Mexico and Bay County. 

The area of the county is 565 square miles.  It is 52 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 61 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 25.1 persons per square mile making it 59 out of 67 in the state.  Gulf County has 38.3% of its population in its incorporated areas.  United States Highway 98 follows the coastline east of west through the county from Franklin County to Bay County.  The Apalachicola River is the eastern border for the county.  The barrier islands form a “hook” on the southwest giving the county the look of a capital letter J.  Port Saint Joe is located in the extreme southwest quarter of the county.  Port Saint Joe is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 23.7% of the county population.