Apalachicola is a city in Franklin County, Florida, United States, on the shore of Apalachicola Bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico. The population was 2,231 at the 2010 census. Apalachicola is the county seat of Franklin County.

"Apalachicola" comes from the Apalachicola tribe and is a combination of the Hitchiti words apalahchi, meaning "on the other side", and okli, meaning "people". In original reference to the settlement and the subgroup within the Seminole tribe, it probably meant "people on the other side of the river". Many inhabitants of Apalachicola have said the name means "land of the friendly people"

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A British trading post called "Cottonton" was founded at this site on the mouth of the Apalachicola River. Gradually after acquisition by the United States and related development in Alabama and Georgia, it attracted more permanent European-American residents. In 1827, the town was incorporated as "West Point". Apalachicola received its current name in 1831, by an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida.

Trinity Episcopal Church was incorporated by an act of the Legislative Council of the Territory of Florida on February 11, 1837. The building was one of the earliest prefabricated buildings in the United States. The framework was shipped by schooner from New York City and assembled in Apalachicola with wooden pegs.

In 1837, a newspaper at Apalachicola boasted that the town's business street along the waterfront "had 2,000 feet [600 meters] of continuous brick stores, three stories high, 80 feet [25 meters] deep, and all equipped with granite pillars."[10]

Botanist Alvan Wentworth Chapman settled in Apalachicola in 1847.[citation needed] In 1860, he published his major work, Flora of the Southern United States. A defunct elementary school was named in his honor.

In 1849, Apalachicola physician Dr. John Gorrie discovered the cold-air process of refrigeration and patented an ice machine in 1850. He had experimented to find ways to lower the body temperature of fever patients.[11] His patent laid the groundwork for development of modern refrigeration and air conditioning, making Florida and the South more livable year round. The city has a monument to him, and a replica of his ice machine is on display in the John Gorrie Museum. The John Gorrie Memorial Bridge, originally built in 1935 and rebuilt in 1988, carries U.S. 98 across Apalachicola Bay to Eastpoint.

Before the development of railways in the Gulf states, Apalachicola was the third busiest port on the Gulf of Mexico (behind New Orleans and Mobile).[11] The AN Railway, formerly the Apalachicola Northern Railroad, serves the city. In the late 19th century and early 20th century, the sponge trade, led by Greek immigrants, was a major industry in town.

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Apalachicola is still the home port for a variety of seafood workers, including oyster harvesters and shrimpers. More than 90% of Florida's oyster production is harvested from Apalachicola Bay. Every year the town hosts the Florida Seafood Festival. The bay is well protected by St. Vincent Island, Flag Island, Sand Island, St. George Island, and Cape St. George Island.

On April 3, 1862, during the American Civil War, the gunboat USS Sagamore and the steamer USS Mercedita (relieving the USS Marion) captured Apalachicola.[12] Union forces occupied west Florida during much of the war.*

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Source:

*https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apalachicola,_Florida

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We service the following zip codes in Apalachicola, Florida (FL):

32320, 32329