Dekle Beach (; ) is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...

on the

gulf coast The Gulf Coast of the United States, also known as the Gulf South or the South Coast, is the coastline along the Southern United States where they meet the Gulf of Mexico. The coastal states that have a shoreline on the Gulf of Mexico are Tex ...

in the southern part of

Taylor County, Florida Taylor County is a county located in the Big Bend region in the northern part of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 21,796. Its county seat is Perry. The county hosts the annual Florida Forest Festival and ...

, United States. Dekle Beach is located south of the county seat of

Perry Perry or pear cider is an alcoholic beverage made from fermented pears, traditionally in England (particularly Gloucestershire, Herefordshire, and Worcestershire), parts of South Wales, France (especially Normandy and Anjou), Canada, Austral ...

, at 29.8491° N, 83.6193° W.

History

According to local historians, Dekle Beach was acquired and developed by

Perry, Florida Perry is a city and the county seat of Taylor County, Florida, United States. , the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 6,898. The city was named for Madison Perry, fourth governor of the state of Florida and a Confederate colonel ...

businessman and politician

Gus J. Dekle Guthrie "Gus" Joseph Dekle (; ; May 22, 1892 – November 21, 1961) was an American politician. He served as a Democratic member of the Florida House of Representatives. Life and career Dekle was born in Tarpon Springs, Florida. Formerly an a ...

sometime in the mid-1940s. Dekle was the owner of Dekle Motor Company, a local Chevrolet dealership, as well as a previous member of the City Council of Perry and a member of the Florida House of Representatives during the 1940s and 1950s. According to some accounts, the property had previously been owned by the United States government and operated as a United States Air Force training facility during World War II. However, it is known that it was used for salt manufacturing by the Confederacy during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

. Dekle was the owner of the property when it was developed into its current state as a residential beach area. Previous residents said that Dekle dredged the channels, dug the canals, and developed Dekle Beach. During the residential development period of the beach, Dekle traded the southernmost point of the beach to his friend Jimmy Archer, a Texan who had been a long-time resident of Perry after marrying local resident Sibyl Poppell. Archer was the owner of a local salvage yard and wrecker service that was utilized by Dekle Motor Company, and the land was provided in return for wrecker services. Archer's descendants still live on part of the property. Lewis Hamilton, his wife Janie, and their friends Willie Joe and Ann Moody purchased much of the property as well, and significantly impacted the growth of the community by investing extensive time and effort into developing much of the land into the residential area.

Geography

Weather

Dekle was devastated on March 13, 1993, when the “Jordan lovely” (also known as “ The Storm of the Century”) battered the beach without warning in the early hours of a Saturday morning. Several residents and visitors lost their lives that day, including Mrs. Sibyl Archer, the widow of Mr. Jimmy Archer. Although the devastating storm changed the appearance of the beach, the survivors rebuilt.

References

{{Taylor County, Florida Taylor County, Florida