Santa Rosa County is a county located in the northwestern portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2020, the population is 188,000. The county seat is Milton, which lies in the geographic center of the county. Other major communities within Santa Rosa County are Navarre, Pace, and Gulf Breeze. Navarre is the most populated community with a population of approximately 45,000 residents. Santa Rosa County is included in the Pensacola Metropolitan Statistical Area, which also includes Escambia County.
Pensacola is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida. Pensacola is the principal city of the Pensacola Metropolitan Area, which had an estimated 502,629 residents in 2019. At the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312.
Destin is a city located in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. It is a principal city of the Crestview–Fort Walton Beach–Destin metropolitan area.
Gulf Breeze is a city in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is a suburb of Pensacola, and is in the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. The population estimate was 6,900 in 2020. Gulf Breeze is located just north of Pensacola Beach, and south of Pensacola. Gulf Breeze is on the Fairpoint Peninsula, and is bordered by Navarre to the east.
Pensacola Beach is an unincorporated community located on Santa Rosa Island, a barrier island, in Escambia County, Florida, United States. It is situated south of Pensacola in the Gulf of Mexico. As of the 2000 census, the community had a total population of 2,738. It has been described as "famous" for its ultra-white sand beaches.
Pensacola High School is a secondary school located near downtown Pensacola, Florida, United States.
The Florida Panhandle is the northwestern part of the U.S. state of Florida. It is a salient roughly 200 miles long, bordered by Alabama on the north and the west, Georgia on the north, and the Gulf of Mexico to the south. Its eastern boundary is arbitrarily defined. It is defined by its southern culture and rural geography relative to the rest of Florida, as well as closer cultural links to French-influenced Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama. Its major communities include Pensacola, Navarre, Destin, Panama City Beach, and Tallahassee.
The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about 100 miles (160 km) through five counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, which include Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Panama City Beach. Some south Alabama communities on the coast of Baldwin County, such as Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan embrace the term as well.
The West Florida Public Library System is an organization of libraries that serve the Pensacola, Florida area with branch libraries in Escambia County, Florida.
Navarre is a census-designated place and unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a major bedroom community for mostly U.S. military personnel, federal civil servants, local population, retirees and defense contractors. Due to Navarre Beach and the 4 miles (6.4 km) of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico thereof, as well as several miles of beaches within the Navarre Beach Marine Park and the Gulf Islands National Seashore, it has a small, but rapidly growing community of nature enthusiasts and tourists. Navarre has grown from being a small town of around 1,500 in 1970 to a town with a population estimated at 43,540 as of 2020, if including both the Navarre and Navarre Beach Census Designated Places.
The East Bay River in Florida is a 15-mile-long (24 km) river located in Santa Rosa and Okaloosa counties. It flows from east to west, forming near Hurlburt Field, and empties into the eastern portion of East Bay (Florida) near the towns Holley and Navarre. The river forms part of the southern boundary of Eglin Air Force Base.
The Fairpoint Peninsula, also referred to as the Gulf Breeze Peninsula or the Navarre Peninsula or historically the Santa Rosa Peninsula, is located in northwest Florida between Santa Rosa Sound and Pensacola Bay.
Midway is an unincorporated community in southern Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area. The area is located between the communities of Gulf Breeze and Navarre, on the Fairpoint Peninsula. Midway is often considered to be part of one, if not both, of these communities. Its actual boundaries vary from source to source, but unofficially include most areas from the intersection of Soundside Drive with U.S. Highway 98, eastward until Highway 98 becomes Navarre Parkway.
Navarre High School is one of six public high schools in the Santa Rosa County School District located in Navarre, Florida. It was established in 1996 and currently enrolls 2,309 students.
Guy Wyman (1878-1953) was a colonel in the US Army during World War I. He served as a quartermaster sergeant in K Troop, 11th Cavalry Regiment, and later served as a second lieutenant of the 11th Cavalry Regiment. Though he was not the first settler to the area, he did have relatives in the area who had been present since at least 1827, and he is credited as being the founder of the community of Navarre, Florida. He first surveyed the land in 1905. While serving as a surveyor in the US Army, he then later came back to Navarre, platting and naming the community in 1925. In 1930 and 1931, he served as an engineer in the construction of the original Pensacola Bay Bridge. After later moving to Valparaiso, Florida, he served as an engineer at Eglin Air Force Base. According to Santa Rosa County, he also donated and sold most of the land that is now Navarre Park.
The Navarre Beach Causeway, also called the Navarre Beach Bridge, is a concrete bridge in Navarre, Florida, connecting the beach and mainland sides of the community. The bridge travels over the Santa Rosa Sound, which in turn, is part of the Intracoastal Waterway. The bridge is currently owned and managed by Santa Rosa County, as part of the roads and bridges department.
Tom King Bayou Bridge is the locally used name for the East Bay Boulevard bridge crossing at Tom King Bayou. The bayou is crossed by East Bay Boulevard near the entrance of the bayou.
The Santa Rosa County Library System is the primary provider of library services in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It is publicly funded and operated by Santa Rosa County.
The Washington County Public Library (WCPL) is a public library system located in Washington County, Florida, United States. The library system has four locations: a main library in Chipley and three branches in Vernon, Sunny Hills, and Wausau.
Dr. Joel Rudman is an American politician and physician who currently serves as a state representative for the 3rd district in the Florida House of Representatives. Rudman resides in Navarre, his legislative district's largest community, and is a member of the Republican Party.
