The Fairpoint Peninsula (also referred to as the Gulf Breeze Peninsula or the Navarre Peninsula) is located in northwest

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

between

Santa Rosa Sound Santa Rosa Sound is a sound connecting Pensacola Bay and Choctawhatchee Bay in Florida. The northern shore consists of the Fairpoint Peninsula and portions of the mainland in Santa Rosa County and Okaloosa County. It is bounded to the south by San ...

(the location of the

Gulf Intracoastal Waterway The Gulf Intracoastal Waterway is the portion of the Intracoastal Waterway located along the Gulf Coast of the United States. It is a navigable inland waterway running approximately from Carrabelle, Florida, to Brownsville, Texas. The waterw ...

's route through the region) and

Pensacola Bay Pensacola Bay is a bay located in the northwestern part of Florida, United States, known as the Florida Panhandle. The bay, an inlet of the Gulf of Mexico, is located in Escambia County and Santa Rosa County, adjacent to the city of Pensacol ...

History

In 1559,

Tristan de Luna Tristan (Latin/ Brythonic: ''Drustanus''; cy, Trystan), also known as Tristram or Tristain and similar names, is the hero of the legend of Tristan and Iseult. In the legend, he is tasked with escorting the Irish princess Iseult to wed ...

arrived in Pensacola Bay with 500 Spanish soldiers. The first settlement was abandoned due to diseases, disasters and hostile natives, but other Europeans followed. In the late 1700s, the British occupied the peninsula and named it Town Point. By the early 1930s, bridges between

Pensacola Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal ci ...

and

Gulf Breeze 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 Pensaco ...

and Gulf Breeze and

Pensacola Beach 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 (and Gulf Breeze connected via bridges spanning to the Fairpoint Pen ...

were completed. The current route of

U.S. Highway 98 U.S. Route 98 (US 98) is an east–west United States Highway in the Southeastern United States that runs from western Mississippi to southern Florida. It was established in 1933 as a route between Pensacola, Florida, Pensacola and Apalachicola, F ...

was also completed, operated as a toll road between 1939 and 1946. Gulf Breeze's namesake was established in 1936 when the Gulf Breeze Cottages and Store opened a post office branch where Live Oaks Plaza now stands. The

Naval Live Oaks Reservation The Naval Live Oaks Reservation (also known as Deer Point Live Oaks Reservation or Deer Point Plantation) is part of the Gulf Islands National Seashore, and is near Gulf Breeze, Florida. It was purchased by U.S. government in 1828 as the first ...

was the home of America's first experimental tree farm, established by

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

John Quincy Adams John Quincy Adams (; July 11, 1767 – February 23, 1848) was an American statesman, diplomat, lawyer, and diarist who served as the sixth president of the United States, from 1825 to 1829. He previously served as the eighth United States S ...

in 1828. It was established to provide raw material to support shipbuilding for the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

in the area. Today, Naval Live Oaks is part of the

Gulf Islands National Seashore Gulf Islands National Seashore offers recreation opportunities and preserves natural and historic resources along the Gulf of Mexico barrier islands of Florida and Mississippi. The protected regions include mainland areas and parts of seven isla ...

, a unit of the

National Park Service The National Park Service (NPS) is an agency of the United States federal government within the U.S. Department of the Interior that manages all national parks, most national monuments, and other natural, historical, and recreational propertie ...

Communities

Based on the most recent censuses, and estimates, these are the communities located on the Fairport Peninsula, with their populations (if known): *

Navarre, 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 ...

- Population: 44,876 * Midway, Florida - Population: 16,115 *

Gulf Breeze, Florida 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 Pensaco ...

- Population: 6,466 *

Tiger Point, Florida Tiger Point is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. Its population was 3,090 as of the 2010 census. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bure ...

- Population: 3,096 *

Woodlawn Beach, Florida Woodlawn Beach is a census-designated place (as of the 2010 Census) on Santa Rosa Sound in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States surrounded by the older Midway CDP. It lies south of U.S. Highway 98 between Nantahala Beach Road ( CR 191C) and ...

- Population: 1,785 * Oriole Beach, Florida - Population: 1,420 The following communities are adjacent to the peninsula, and are sometimes considered part of the Fairpoint Peninsula region, or are considered to be a part of one of the larger communities on the peninsula: *

Holley, Florida Holley is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. Its population was 2,484 as of the 2020 census. Florida State Road 87 passes through the community. For almost all cases, the communi ...

- Population: 1,630 (Often considered to be a neighborhood of

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

) *

Pensacola Beach, Florida 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 (and Gulf Breeze connected via bridges spanning to the Fairpoint Pen ...

- Population: Not Recorded (Often considered to be a neighborhood of

) *

Navarre Beach 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 ...

, part of Navarre, is on Santa Rosa Island and not on the peninsula

References

Peninsulas of Florida Navarre, Florida {{SantaRosaCountyFL-geo-stub