Editing Grand Ridge, Florida (section)

==History==
In 1860, Judge John Thomas Porter and his wife Phoebe J. Porter ([[née]] Finley) moved from [[New Salem, Fayette County, Pennsylvania]] to Illinois with their son [[Ebenezer F. Porter]] (born 1859), close to [[Grand Ridge, Illinois]] in [[LaSalle County, Illinois]], where they lived on a farm until 1872. Porter was at first a farmer, and afterward a lumberman and grain dealer. In 1872, he moved into Grand Ridge, Illinois proper, and built and operated two [[grain elevator]]s. In 1881, he moved to Florida and engaged in the lumber business. He founded the '''Town of Grand Ridge''', Florida, naming it in honor of his old Illinois home.<ref name=GRset>pp. 580-587, ''A Twentieth century history and biographical record of Crawford County, Kansas'', by Home Authors; Illustrated. Published by Lewis Publishing Company, Chicago : 1905.</ref><ref name=GRhistory>{{Cite web|title=GRAND RIDGE: HISTORY|url=https://www.choosejackson.com/live/grand_ridge/|website=www.choosejackson.com}}</ref>

John T. Porter also owned the ''West Florida Echo'', a newspaper in Grande Ridge. He was a [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]]<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=zBFQAAAAYAAJ&dq=%22john+t.+porter%22+newspaper+florida+republican&pg=RA1-PA603 |title=The Florida Agriculturist |date=1898 |publisher=Kilkoff & Dean |language=en}}</ref> and it is reported as the only Republican newspaper in the northwestern panhandle of Florida at the start of the 20th century. His son Ebenezer F. Porter became a [[state legislator]] in [[Kansas]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Kansas Legislators: Past and Present • State Library of Kansas • CivicEngage |url=https://kslib.info/BusinessDirectoryii.aspx?ysnShowAll=0&lngNewPage=0&txtLetter=P&txtZipCode=&txtCity=&txtState=&txtBusinessName=&lngBusinessCategoryID=25&txtCustomField1=&txtCustomField2=&txtCustomField3=&txtCustomField4=&txtAreaCode= |access-date=September 5, 2023 |website=kslib.info}}</ref>

The town was officially incorporated as a municipality in 1951, despite being settled since 1881.<ref name=GRset/><ref name=GRhistory/><ref name=GRInc>{{Cite web|title=FLORIDA CITIES BY INCORPORATION YEAR WITH INCORPORATION & DISSOLUTION INFO|url=https://www.flcities.com/docs/default-source/research-institute-reports/2020citiesbyincorporationwithinfo.pdf?sfvrsn=5009d6d5_0|website=www.flcities.com}}</ref><ref name=GraRidInc>{{Cite web|title=MUNICIPAL DIRECTORY Florida League of Cities: Town of Grand Ridge|url=https://www.floridaleagueofcities.com/research-resources/municipal-directory|website=www.floridaleagueofcities.com}}</ref>