Carrabelle History

Carrabelle's  first post office was founded in 1878. This new federal facility served the fifty families living around the mouth of the Crooked River.
  Lumbering and the timber harvesting industry soon came to be the mainstay of this struggling but optimistic settlement. Vast quantities of logs and loads of turpentine were floated down the river and dispatched aboard sailing vessels, which anchored in the secure coves of Dog Island, hence the name Shipping Cove. The captains of these vessels also left their crew on the Island. Most of their crew were men that had been shanghaied, so they did not want them to run away!
  A severe hurricane in 1898 destroyed much of the town. The lumbering business fell off and the local economy was depressed for a time as the residents strove to rebuild their community a bit farther upstream. The new version of Carrabelle rose on the shores of St James Island, sandwiched between the Crooked and New rivers. The town continues to occupy this site today.
  During WWII, Carrabelle experienced a short lived boom. Camp Gordon Johnston was established five miles out of town and new recruits trained for amphibious landings on the shores of Dog Island.
  Following the war, Carrabelle lapsed more and more into the role of an isolated but charming fishing village. Shrimp, crab and freshwater fish are harvested for sale locally and they are shipped out. Grouper, snapper and other deep water fish are fished offshore. There is also a lot of commercial, charter and recreation fishing.
 This weekend they hosted the Big Bend Saltwater Classic Fishing Tournament.  So we walked down yesterday to see the weighins, they caught some really big fish...today they auctioned them off. It was cool. See ya on the water!