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It was crossed by a large ditch
that was narrow enough to jump
across, and sometimes filled with
alligators. The ditch was improved
and widened to become part of the
Intercoastal Waterway in 1933. The
island of Perdido Key is now about
16 miles long with almost 60% of it
protected in federal or state parks.
On July 26, 1950, Army Private
Rosamond Johnson, Jr was the first
resident from
Escambia County
to die in the
Korean War. He
joined the military
at age 15 and was
fatally wounded
after successfully
carrying two
wounded soldiers
to safety and
trying to rescue a third. The Gulf Beach
area was renamed to honor its fallen
hero at the suggestion of the Sunset
Riding Club. The name Rosamond
Johnson Beach remains today.
ARMY PRIVATE
ROSAMOND
JOHNSON, JR
On the western side of Perdido Key,
the Alabama Pass began construction.
In the early days, the pass was
dangerous to boats due to the strong
tides and fast forming sand bars. In
1953, the Alabama Department of
Conservation began to dredge the pass.
In 1962, a small two-lane concrete
bridge caused the state border to
change. For Alabama constructing the
bridge, Florida allowed Alabama to
claim about three miles of the Key.
By 1970, development on the
Key was at a constant rise. Initially
known as the Gulf Beach Development
Association, a small not for profit
group that originated in the 1950s,
officially incorporated as the Perdido
Key Development Association,
which later became known as the
Perdido Key Association. Their main
purpose was to promote the welfare
and orderly development, combat
deterioration, lessen neighborhood
tension, and maintain the natural
beauty of the community known
as Perdido Key, Florida.
In 1978, the National Park Service
purchased over 1,000 acres of land
on Perdido Key, from Rosamond
Johnson Beach to Pensacola Pass. In
the same year Big Lagoon State Park
was officially opened to the public.
After growth in the 70s, came great
devastation. In 1979, Hurricane
Frederic was a category 4 storm that
made landfall in nearby coastal
Alabama. The Perdido Area was
declared a disaster
area, taking years to
clean up and rebuild.
The extensive damage
swept away and
destroyed
structures.
After the cleanup,
came the time
for rebuilding,
luring developers
to the area bringing
change to Perdido Key.
The year 1985 queued some
big moments for residents of
Perdido Key. The year brought the
beginning of the Perdido Key Area
Chamber of Commerce, the rise of
the iconic Eden Condominiums,
the inauguration of the Frank
Brown International Songwriters
Festival, and the first Mullet Toss
at the Flora-Bama. This was also
the year that the infamous Perdido
Key Beach Mouse was included on
the list of Endangered Species.
Change persisted as Perdido
Key continued to settle into its
namesake in 1994. The Perdido
Chamber requested that the US
Board of Geographic Names
change maps to read “Perdido
Key” instead of Gulf Beach.
Devastation occcurred when
Hurricane Ivan, a Category 5 storm,
made landfall on Perdido Key. Damage
was observed along the coast from
Baldwin County, Alabama to Santa
Rosa County, Florida. The brunt of the
storm hit Perdido Key, NAS Pensacola,
Innerarity Point and Warrington. Some
subdivisions were destroyed with few
key roads in Perdido only opening in
late 2005, over a year after the storm
hit. In Pensacola, the Interstate 10
Escambia Bay Bridge was heavily
damaged, with as much as
a quarter mile collapsing
into the bay. Destruction
from Hurricane Ivan
took many years to
clean and rebuild,
TRANSFORMATION
DID EVENTUALLY
COME IN THE
AFTERMATH,
SHOWING
PERDIDO KEY’S
NEVER-ENDING
RESILIENCE.
EDEN CONDOMINIUMS
some of which was never restored.
Transformation did eventually
come in the aftermath, showing
Perdido Key’s never-ending resilience
despite historical devastation. By
2015, Escambia County
presented the Perdido
Key Master Plan. The
Master Plan created a
vision for the future
development and
characteristics
of Perdido Key.
The Master plan, in
addition to changes in
zoning regulations, was
set to make the Key more
welcoming to shoppers,
diners, pedestrians and cyclists.
The vision today is much like in
previous years, developing new ways
for visitors and locals to experience
the uniqueness of our precious barrier
island. Within this past year, despite
more destruction from Hurricane
Sally in September 2020, several
improvements have begun, including
pedestrian crossing developments along
Perdido Key Drive. Residents shown
support in public meetings for a
roundabout at Perdido Key Drive
and Johnson Beach Road and
the multi-use path planned
to stretch from the Theo
Baars bridge all the way
to the Flora-Bama.
PerdidoChamber.com • VisitPerdido.com | 850-492-4660
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