Editing Port St. Joe, Florida (section)

==History==
[[File:Florida - Port St. Joe - NARA - 23936813 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|Port St. Joe, 1943]]
[[St. Joseph, Gulf County, Florida|St. Joseph]] was founded in 1835 by businessmen from nearby [[Apalachicola, Florida|Apalachicola]], which was troubled by legal conflict over land titles.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/portstjoe2.html|title=St. Joseph - Florida's Lost City - The Story of the City on St. Joseph Bay|website=Explore Southern History|last=Cox|first=Dale|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080704181231/https://www.exploresouthernhistory.com/portstjoe2.html|archive-date=2008-07-04}}</ref> It was mostly abandoned in 1841, after a [[yellow fever]] epidemic; a [[storm surge]] produced by a [[1844 Atlantic hurricane season|hurricane in 1844]] destroyed what structures remained.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.starfl.com/news/20160908/deaths-angel-great-tide-of-1844|title=Death's Angel: The 'Great Tide' of 1844|last=Jones|first=Herman|date=September 8, 2016|work=The (Port St. Joe) Star|access-date=October 12, 2018|archive-date=October 13, 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013014423/http://www.starfl.com/news/20160908/deaths-angel-great-tide-of-1844|url-status=dead}}</ref>

During the [[American Civil War|Civil War]], Florida was a leading producer of salt for the [[Confederate army]]. On September 15, 1862, a [[Union army]] officer on board the [[USS Kingfisher (1861)|USS Kingfisher]] wrote that he and his men had sent a demand to the extensive salt works at Saint Joseph that they cease production. When the work was not halted, the Kingfisher went into Saint Joseph bay, sent at least 50 men inland, and destroyed the salt works.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.floridamemory.com/learn/classroom/learning-units/civil-war/documents/saltworks/ |title=Destruction of a Rebel Salt Factory, on the Florida Coast|website=Florida Memory}}</ref>

In the early 20th century, a new settlement was founded close to the original after the arrival of the [[Apalachicola Northern Railroad]] in 1909. It appears that the more informal "Port St. Joe" was adopted for official use around this time.

The community was extensively damaged by [[Hurricane Michael]] on October 10, 2018.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://insideclimatenews.org/american-climate/essay/loss|title=The Common Language of Loss|last=Banerjee|first=Neela|date=2019-11-25|website=[[InsideClimate News]]|access-date=2019-12-08}}</ref>