The Quiet Stretch Navarre Beach, Florida

Santa Rosa County, Florida

The story of Navarre Beach

Everything below is a single verifiable claim with a citation attached. Where the record is a local legend rather than a document, it says so.

SR 399 and US 98 intersection north of Navarre Beach.
SR 399 and US 98 intersection north of Navarre Beach. Ebyabe · CC BY-SA 3.0
  1. 1925Platted by Guy Wyman
  2. 1970About 1,500 residents
Built coast versus protected coast from Pensacola Beach east - the gap is the product.

founding

How it started

  • 1925

    Guy Wyman, a US Army colonel, platted Navarre in 1925 but did no immediate development. The community has grown from about 1,500 people in 1970 to more than 43,000.

    Navarre, Florida

etymology

How it got its name

  • Named for Navarre, the Spanish province near the French border.

    Navarre, Florida

industry

What it lived on

  • Beach tourism, on a stretch of coast that stayed quiet far longer than its neighbours.

    Navarre, Florida

claim to fame

What it is known for

  • Navarre Beach sits immediately east of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, with Pensacola Beach beyond it - protected coast on one side and a national seashore on the other.

    Navarre, Florida

landmark

What still stands