Nestled between Jacksonville and
Daytona Beach on Florida's east coast, Flagler County — currently
one of the fastest growing areas in the country — was created way back
in 1917. It was named for Henry Morrison Flagler, a famous railroad builder
who built the Florida East Coast Railway.
By far, the county's most populous city is Palm
Coast. The population there was 32,732 at the 2000 census, but as of
2004 that number had jumped to 44,427 and has continued to grow at a phenomenal
rate, due to both immigration and annexation.
According to a March 16, 2006 report from the U.S. Census Bureau, Flagler County
was the fastest-growing county for the second year in a row with a 10.7 percent
population increase from July 1, 2004, to July 1, 2005. With 76,410 residents,
the county also led the nation with a 53 percent population increase since Census
2000.
Life in the country proceeds at a relaxed pace, with many of its residents
retirees from colder states to the north, such as New
York, New
Jersey and Pennsylvania.
Among the chief activities to enjoy is that of fishing,
as Flagler County includes the beautiful, serene city of Flagler
Beach, which opens up to the Atlantic Ocean.
On a negative historical note, in 1998, when two huge brush fires threatened,
a mandatory evacuation was ordered for the entire county. This was the first,
and so far the only, time a whole county was evacuated in Florida.
The Flagler County area has a storied history; one which extends back over
200 years. During the late 1800's (1861-1875), in the period of European exploration
and colonization, the rivalry between Spanish forces based in St. Augustine
and French based near present day Jacksonville escalated, Flagler Beach witnessed
a dramatic but inconclusive naval fracas that was waged off shore. The combat
took a strange turn as a violent storm overcame the French ships, pushing them
southwards and wrecking them on the beach close to what is currently know as
Ponce de Leon Inlet. The legend of the ensuing brutal mass killing of the surviving
French troops is memorialized at Fort Matanzas National Park attraction.
As the victors, the Spanish set up a chain of missions, including two in Flagler
County. If one travels to Bulow Plantation Ruins State Park and the nearby Bulow
Creek Park today, the individual will be using the same roads utilized since
these early days — King's Road and Old Dixie Highway.
As in many other instances, contact with the Europeans took a terrible toll
on the area's native Indian population. Diseases to which they had no immunity
soon decimated their numbers, until at the Timucuan nation ceased to exist.
In addition, hostilities between the Spanish, French, English and Indians destroyed
many of the artifacts of the Indian civilization.
Control of the territory seesawed between the British and the Spanish from
1763-1784. After the latter date, generous Spanish land grants provided an impetus
for immigration. One Josia Dupont received an oral grant from the Spanish king,
but conflict with the Indians made it impossible for him to establish a viable
plantation. His son, Abraham Dupont, returned in 1825 with his family and their
descendants are among the earliest families to reside in Flagler County.
Moving forward to the 1860's and the period of the Civil War and Reconstruction,
Flagler County supported the Confederate cause through military service and
the supply of timber, beef, citrus cotton and salt. In particular, salt was
in short supply and great demand as meat preservative. At the Mala Compra Plantation,
the salt works were a critical source, but Union patrols made the area insecure
and the works process was moved eastward to the coast. There the huge iron vats
from the St. Joseph sugar plantation were used to boil sea water in the production
of salt.
The coming of the railroad that connected Jacksonville
and Ormond (now Ormond
Beach) in the mid to late 1880's shaped the next chapter of Flagler's
history. Rail transportation spawned explosive growth in both timber and turpentine
production. Timber was exported and used locally for building railroads and
making the barrels that would take potatoes to market. Potato farming grew in
importance as rail transportation provided access to markets to the north.
Henry Flagler purchased the narrow railway that had served the area in 1885
and converted it to standard width, greatly increasing access for cattle, timber,
turpentine, potato and citrus producers. As previously noted, the county was
named in his honor.
In 1915 Dixie Highway was constructed as a narrow brick road from Jacksonville
through the towns of St.
Augustine, Hastings,
Espanola, Bunnell
and ended at Flagler Beach. Today Dixie Highway (US 1) is a major north-south
route, but Old Dixie Highway is still in service.
Flagler became a county in 1917, with Bunnell serving as the county seat.
In the modern era, the post WWII 'boom' was a little late in arriving in Flagler
County. The boom came in the form of an interstate roadway now known as I-95
and the ITT Corporation. Plans made public in 1969, which created the city of
Palm Coast, included 48,000 home sites on approximately 42,000 acres of the
68,000 acres owned by ITT. The city's comprehensive land use plan is widely
recognized as one of the best examples of modern community planning in the United
States.
Currently, industrial parks in Palm Coast house more than 30 mid to large size
businesses with the largest corporation, Palm Coast Data (PCD), employing close
to 1,000 people. PCD is one of the leading magazine fulfillment companies in
the United States serving over 50 clients and over 300 memberships, products
and publications.
As previously noted Flagler County has had one of the highest rates of recent
population growth, and the University of Florida's Bureau of Economic and Business
Research predicts the county will experience one of the highest job growth rates
in Florida between 1995 and 2010.
On December 31, 1999, the City of Palm Coast was officially incorporated. The
five-member City Council is elected at large and serves staggered four-year
terms. One member is elected as Mayor. The city hired its first city manager
on April 17, 2000.
According to the Palm Coast listing in the CityBook.com
Online Yellow Pages, the city provides a wide range of services including
development services, fire services, street construction and maintenance, parks
and recreational activities. The city contracts with the Flagler County Sheriff's
Office for law enforcement services. Preservation and protection of environmentally
sensitive lands is a key goal for the future.
The City of Palm Coast has become so synonymous with Flagler County —
providing by far the highest tax revenue in the county, and by many accounts
becoming more well-known — that it is increasingly a matter of discussion
that it should become the seat of the county government instead of Bunnell.
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