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Florida · Forgotten Coast · #762
Franklin County, Florida
Where the Apalachicola River meets the Gulf of Mexico on the Florida Forgotten Coast, Franklin County's Apalachicola oysters are among the finest in North America - wild-caught from one of the most productive estuaries on the Gulf, in a small county where the ecology and the economy have been inseparable for centuries.
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Office: Franklin County Emergency Management – (850) 653-8977 | franklincountyflorida.com
Alert System: Florida FDEM; CodeRED; NOAA Weather Radio
Shelter Info: Carrabelle school facilities; contact OEM; extremely exposed coastal county
FEMA Region: Region 4
Notes: Florida Big Bend coastal county; Apalachicola is county seat; EXTREME hurricane and storm surge risk (Franklin County is one of Florida’s most exposed and lowest-elevation coastal counties; Apalachicola Bay is surrounded by the county; the barrier islands (St. George Island, Dog Island, St. Vincent Island) protect the mainland somewhat but are exposed themselves; Hurricane Michael 2018 caused significant damage; Kate 1985; the county’s very low elevation makes storm surge especially dangerous); flooding (Apalachicola River enters the county and its bay); oyster fishery crisis (Apalachicola Bay’s oysters – once the most productive fishery in Florida and supplying 90% of Florida’s oysters – have virtually collapsed due to reduced freshwater flow from the Apalachicola River caused by upstream Georgia and Alabama water use)
Roads & Utilities
ROADS & TRANSPORTATION
County Roads: Franklin County Roads – (850) 653-8977
Transit: None; primarily auto-dependent
Notes: US-98 (the coastal highway through Eastpoint and Carrabelle – the primary route connecting Tallahassee via US-319 and the panhandle communities); Bryant Patton Bridge (US-98 bridge from Eastpoint to Apalachicola – the primary access to the county seat); Franklin County is about 80 miles from Tallahassee; Apalachicola is a small city of about 2,500 people; St. George Island is accessible via a toll bridge from Eastpoint
Business & Permits
BUILDING & PERMITS
Office: Franklin County Building – (850) 653-8977
Services: County permits; Apalachicola (separate – significant historic preservation), Carrabelle, St. George Island separate
Notes: Resort development on St. George Island (a significant Gulf beach destination); Apalachicola’s historic downtown is under renovation and tourism pressure; limited development given environmental regulations; Dog Island and St. Vincent Island are accessible only by boat
Veterans Services
VETERANS SERVICES
Office: Franklin County Veterans Services – (850) 653-8977
VA Medical: Tallahassee VA CBOC (about 80 miles northeast); very limited local resources; telehealth critical
Services: Benefits claims; Tallahassee CBOC accessible; small veteran population; commercial fishing and tourism community includes veterans
Notes: Remote county; Tallahassee VA accessible but distant; very small veteran population; telehealth important
Libraries
LIBRARIES
System: Franklin County Public Library – (850) 653-2477
Address: Apalachicola
Services: Books, public computers, Wi-Fi, children’s programs; Apalachicola/Apalachicola Bay oyster heritage; Gulf Coast fishing heritage; Civil War history (Apalachicola was a significant cotton shipping port)
Notes: Single library serving one of Florida’s most remote counties; the Apalachicola maritime heritage (the city was Florida’s third-largest city in the 1830s-40s as a cotton shipping port; the oyster industry that defined the 20th century economy) is the primary historical topic; the oyster collapse is a present-day crisis reflected in community conversations
Parks & Recreation
PARKS & RECREATION
Federal: St. Vincent National Wildlife Refuge (St. Vincent Island – accessible by boat only; no bridge; one of Florida’s most pristine barrier islands; endangered red wolves were bred here (wolf recovery program); the island has endemic species; remarkable natural character; one of Florida’s finest undeveloped islands); Apalachicola National Forest (adjacent on the mainland – extensive longleaf pine, pond cypress, and flatwood ecosystems; Sopchoppy River; Ochlockonee River; significant red-cockaded woodpecker population; major hunting destination)
State Parks: St. George Island State Park (St. George Island – 9 miles of undeveloped beach on the Gulf side; primitive camping on Gap Point; considered one of Florida’s finest beach state parks; white sand Gulf beach; excellent birding; sea oats dunes; one of the most beautiful and least crowded beach parks in the Florida Panhandle); Dr. Julian G. Bruce St. George Island State Park – the same park
Regional: Apalachicola (one of Florida’s most beautifully preserved small cities; the John Gorrie State Museum honors John Gorrie – the Apalachicola physician who invented mechanical refrigeration and ice-making in 1851, solving the problem of storing the ice shipped from the North to cool yellow fever patients; one of the most significant technological inventions of the 19th century; Gorrie’s invention led directly to air conditioning and refrigeration; the museum and original model of his ice machine are housed here); Apalachicola Bay (the most productive estuary for oysters in Florida’s history; Apalachicola oysters (“Apalach” oysters) were famous for their exceptional flavor from the bay’s unique mix of fresh and salt water; the bay’s oyster fishery has largely collapsed)
Notes: Apalachicola is one of Florida’s most charming and historically significant small cities – its perfectly preserved Victorian commercial district (the Gibson Inn, the Chestnut Street Cemetery, the antebellum houses along Avenue E) reflects its 19th century cotton port prosperity; John Gorrie’s invention of mechanical refrigeration here in 1851 is one of the great overlooked technological achievements of American history – the system he built to make ice to cool yellow fever patients became the direct ancestor of modern air conditioning and refrigeration; St. George Island State Park is genuinely one of the finest beach state parks in Florida – the undeveloped Gulf side with its white sand and sea oats has a pristine character rare in Florida
GIS & Maps
GIS & MAPS
GIS Portal: Franklin County GIS; Florida DEP; USFWS St. Vincent NWR maps; St. George Island maps; Apalachicola Bay oyster lease mapping; USFS Apalachicola NF maps
Notes: County GIS; Apalachicola Bay oyster lease maps (historically significant – the bay had extensive oyster leases now largely inactive); St. Vincent Island maps; Apalachicola River flood maps; sea turtle nesting site mapping
Animal Services
ANIMAL SERVICES
Shelter: Very basic; Franklin County Sheriff animal control
Notes: Coastal county; sea turtles (loggerhead nesting on St. George Island and Gulf beaches); shorebirds; sea birds; Apalachicola Bay wildlife (wading birds; dolphins; manatees; sea turtles); St. Vincent NWR red wolf program; black bear in Apalachicola NF
Environmental & Waste
ENVIRONMENTAL / WASTE MANAGEMENT
Solid Waste: Franklin County Solid Waste – (850) 653-8977; very limited; transfer station
Environmental: Florida DEP; Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve (ANERR – one of the finest estuarine research reserves in the US; extensive water quality and ecological monitoring of Apalachicola Bay); USFWS (St. Vincent NWR); Northwest Florida Water Management District; USFS (Apalachicola NF)
Key Issues: Apalachicola Bay oyster fishery collapse (the collapse of Apalachicola Bay’s oyster industry is one of Florida’s most significant environmental and economic disasters; the bay’s oysters depended on freshwater inflow from the Apalachicola River to maintain the proper salinity for oyster growth and to limit predator (oyster drill snail) populations; reduced river flow from upstream Georgia and Alabama water use has allowed the bay to become saltier, driving invasive predators and disease; drought years (2012 particularly) accelerated the collapse; by 2020 the oyster harvest had fallen to nearly zero from the 10 million pounds per year of the 1980s; FDACS closed the commercial oyster season repeatedly; thousands of oystermen lost their livelihoods; the restoration program (including oyster reef restoration, cultch planting, and aquaculture development) is ongoing but the bay has not recovered to its historic productivity; the ACF water war (with Georgia) is directly connected to this ecological and economic disaster); Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve’s monitoring program documents the bay’s ecological changes in exceptional detail
Notes: Apalachicola Bay’s oyster collapse is one of the most documented and analyzed environmental resource collapses in the southeastern US; the connection between upstream water consumption decisions in Georgia (Atlanta’s growth; agricultural irrigation) and the downstream collapse of Florida’s most productive oyster fishery is a case study in interstate water resource management failure; the Florida Supreme Court and ultimately the US Supreme Court have been involved in the dispute; the human cost (oystering families who had worked the bay for generations losing their livelihoods) is significant; the Apalachicola National Estuarine Research Reserve’s long-term water quality and ecological data provides the scientific foundation for understanding what happened and what restoration might require
About Franklin County
Franklin County’s Apalachicola Bay is the confluence of a massive river system draining the southeastern Appalachians – the Apalachicola River carries the combined flow of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers from the Georgia Piedmont to the Gulf – with the shallow, nutrient-rich estuary that has made the bay one of the most productive oyster habitats in the country. The oysters filter that freshwater-saltwater mix and produce a flavor distinctive enough that “Apalachicola oysters” is a geographic designation that carries genuine culinary premium. Prolonged drought and water management conflicts with Georgia have reduced freshwater flow and stressed the oyster population, making the bay’s future a live and consequential ecological question.
Apalachicola’s historic downtown – Victorian commercial buildings from the cotton trade era – has been preserved by the same remoteness that limits economic development.
All Services
Browse every category and topic available for this county.
Florida assesses property at just value. The homestead exemption reduces assessed value by $50,000. The Save Our Homes cap limits annual homestead increases to 3%. Florida has no estate or inheritance tax.
Courts & Legal
Courts & Legal
Franklin County Clerk of Circuit Court (Probate): 33 Market Street, Apalachicola, FL 32320 | (850) 653-8861.
Marriage & Vital Records
Marriage licenses, divorce records, and birth & death certificates are handled by the following office(s):
CLERK OF COURTS (Records, Marriage Licenses)
33 Market St., Apalachicola, FL 32320
(850) 653-8861
Genealogy
County-level record sources
Franklin County Clerk of the Circuit Court (probate/estate case files – see Probate section above).
Local societies
No dedicated Franklin County genealogical society was confirmed in available directories.
Probate & Estate
Losing someone and having to deal with courts and paperwork at the same time is hard. This section won’t make that easier, but it should tell you what to expect, what it costs, and where to go – so at least you’re not walking in blind.
Where to go
Franklin County Clerk of the Circuit Court, Probate Division Franklin County Courthouse, 33 Market Street, Suite 203, Apalachicola, FL 32320 (850) 653-8861 ext. 103 Franklin County sits in Florida’s 2nd Judicial Circuit. Circuit Judge: Hon. J. Gordon Shuler.
IMPORTANT – a major statewide law change just took effect: Florida’s summary administration threshold DOUBLED from $75,000 to $150,000 effective July 1, 2026, under CS/HB 1337 (Chapter 2026-57, Laws of Florida). Confirm which threshold applies based on date of death when helping someone (see
Probate filings, estate administration, and guardianship matters are handled by the following office(s):
Public Safety & Arrests
Arrest records, inmate search, and law enforcement services are handled by the following office(s):
SHERIFF
270 State Rd. 65, Eastpoint, FL 32328
(850) 653-8977
Elections & Voting
Voter registration, polling locations, and elections information are handled by the following office(s):
SUPERVISOR OF ELECTIONS
33 Market St., Apalachicola, FL 32320
(850) 653-8527
Health & Human Services
Offices & Contacts
Health services, social services, and assistance programs are handled by the following office(s):
FL Dept of Health — Franklin
139 12th St., Apalachicola, FL 32320
(850) 653-2111
FL DCF — Franklin
(850) 653-3561
FL Medicaid
(800) 299-4833
Weems Memorial Hospital
weemsmemorial.com
Public Health Information
PUBLIC HEALTH
Office: Florida DOH in Franklin County – (850) 653-2111 | franklin.floridahealth.gov
Services: Basic health department; immunizations; vital records; oyster handling and seafood safety
Hospital: No local hospital; George E. Weems Memorial Hospital (Apalachicola – small clinic); Tallahassee hospitals for most care; helicopter evacuation
Notes: No local hospital; extreme healthcare access challenges for this remote coastal county; the oyster industry collapse has created economic stress and associated behavioral health challenges; commercial fishing community health; seasonal tourism creates temporary population spikes
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Last verified June 2026
County Facts
County Seat: Apalachicola
Population: 12,000
Area: 535 sq mi
Established: 1832
Tier: 4
Inmate Services
Care Packages
Send care packages to inmates in Franklin County facilities via Amazon.
