Santa Rosa

Formed February 18, 1842 (21^st county)

Santa Rosa County (187,991), Milton (8,826)

The Neo-Classical tan brick courthouse is located on Caroline Street at Willing Street.  The site is on United States Highway 90.  The courthouse was built in 1927 using the designs of Chandler Yonge.  The building was remodeled and enlarged in 1960.  The grounds have a Liberty Bell replica and veteran memorials.  Milton has been the only county seat.  A new Justice Center is under construction in 2020.  The county is named for the island which is named for Saint Rose.  The county seat is either named for settler Milton Amos or for a local mill.  Santa Rosa County was formed on February 18, 1842 from Escambia County as the 21^st county. 

Santa Rosa County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-four Circuit Court Judges serve Santa Rosa, Escambia, Okaloosa, and Walton counties and Two County Court Judges, clerk, and county attorney serve Santa Rosa County (judicial.) The county is in the Florida panhandle with borders on both Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico.  The Escambia River forms its western border.  Mobile, Alabama is west and Tallahassee, Florida is east.  The center of the county is 14.1 miles North-Northeast of Milton nearer Allentown.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Alabama and Okaloosa County and the Gulf of Mexico and Escambia County. 

The area of the county is 1016 square miles.  It is 16 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 28 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 185.0 persons per square mile making it 35 out of 67 in the state.  Santa Rosa County has 9.1% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 crosses from Okaloosa County to Escambia County, east to west.  United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Okaloosa County to Escambia County.  United States Highway 98 follows the coastline east to west from Okaloosa County to Escambia County.  A fat cowboy boot describes the shape of this county.  Milton lies slightly southwest of center in the county.  Milton is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 5.4% of the county population.  This county is in the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area.