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| Panama City Beach, Florida |
| Home of the World's Most Beautiful Beaches |
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Panama City's Natural geography protected Bay County from early European explorers. Ships sailing the Gulf of Mexico did not discover the large bay because the entrance was screened by high bluffs & large trees. Indians enjoyed the fish & oysters abundantly supplied by St. Andrews Bay, but established few permanent villages. Early Spanish explorers did not attempt much settlement.
After the United States acquired Florida as a territory, communities grew up around the bay & its fishing activities & the production of salt became a major industry. Following the Civil War, the Homestead Act of 1885 made cheap land available, & the abundance of timber attracted the lumber & turpentine industry & with it world-wide shipping. In the St. Andrew Bay area, settlements were mostly around the bay or along the Bayline Railroad which reached Panama City in 1908.
State legislation created Bay County in 1913. The first incorporated town was St. Andrews in 1907, followed two years later by Panama City & by Millville in 1913. The three towns consolidated into greater Panama City by legislative act in 1926. Today, Bay County has eight municipalities; Panama City, the county seat; Callaway (chartered 1963), Cedar Grove (chartered 1951), Lynn Haven (chartered 1913), Mexico Beach (chartered 1967), Panama City Beach (chartered 1969), Parker (chartered 1967) & Springfield (chartered 1935). The growth of Bay County was stimulated during World War II with the construction of Tyndall Air Force Base, a Navy Base & Wainwright Shipyard. The military still plays a significant economic role for the area, with thousands of military & civilian personnel employed at the 20,000-arce Tyndall Air Force Base & the Navy's 648-acre Coastal Systems Station.
Bay County has grown to a population of more than 150,000. Homes, recreation areas, & businesses dot the countryside, but the main attractions are still the "World's Most Beautiful Beaches."