Apalachicola mixes rugged fishing village with charm of tourist spot

By Peggy Ussery

Published: July 6, 2008

APALACHICOLA, Fla. — The Venezellos is not used for fishing anymore. It sits along a downtown street, pulled out of the water long ago. Old, rusted and generally beat up, it would be an eyesore anywhere else.

Not in Apalachicola. Instead, it’s one of the most photographed sights in this Florida fishing hamlet.

Combine the charm of funky art boutiques, historic inns and antique stores with the rough callouses on an oysterman’s palms and you’ve got Apalachicola. This northwest Florida town has evolved into a bustling tourist spot while never losing the identity that makes it home to 3,000 people.

“It’s different; it’s authentic; it’s historic,” said Anita Grove, executive director of the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce. She came to the town 11 years ago.

About a two-and-a-half hour drive from Dothan, the commercial fishing industry is still the backbone of the town’s economy. But the cost of diesel fuel, the saturation of cheaper foreign seafood and a three-state water war has put a lot of pressure on the fishermen whose boats line the marinas on the Apalachicola Bay.

The chamber’s focus in the future will be to push Apalachicola’s seafood for its quality and taste — a value-driven product that stands out among its competitors. They’re building a brand.

“We have an unspoiled bay,” Grove said. “ ... Every decision that has come before Franklin County in the last 60 years has been with the bay in mind.”

Dating back to the early 1800s, Apalachicola’s economy wasn’t always rooted in the bay. Cotton trade gave way to lumber, which in turn gave way to natural bay sponges and seafood. The community became known for its oysters, shrimp, crabs and fish.

But as far as tourists, Apalachicola was an after-thought for visitors to nearby St. George Island. Many of its historic buildings were shuttered and unoccupied. But renovations of historic buildings began in the 1980s and picked up momentum over the years. The most noticeable might be The Gibson Inn, a Victorian-style bed and breakfast built in 1907 in the heart of town under the shadow of the long bridge that spans the bay on U.S. 98.

Bill Spohrer came to Apalachicola as an outsider more than 25 years ago, buying the historic Coombs House and other properties. Spohrer and his wife, interior designer Lynn Wilson, traveled back and forth from their primary home in Miami. They began renovating.

“Not a single old home had been renovated,” Spohrer said. “Nobody was enthusiastic about restoration.”

When paper giant St. Joe Company started to develop its timber land in northwest Florida, locals became suspicious and anti-development. The attitude softened as they realized that to keep their community, they had to take control of what became of their town.

Many of the shops and restaurants in Apalachicola are locally-owned, and some whole neighborhoods have resisted the urge to sell their properties to outsiders looking to invest, according to Grove with the chamber. But there are those who have not been able to turn away from the high-dollar they can get for a historic home, even though they know they’ll never get it back, Grove said.

It’s the downside of being discovered by the outside world.

Spohrer and his wife moved to Apalachicola full-time a year ago, and Spohrer is now president of the Apalachicola Area Historical Society. They run the Coombs House Inn. He’s become an old hand at giving tours to reporters and writers seeking a story about the town.

“I think the town has changed in a nice way,” Spohrer said. “We’ve got trees everywhere and buildings have been renovated.”

And there’s a lot of history in Apalachicola.

At least 200 homes and buildings were built in the 19th Century and another 100 built between 1900 and 1910. Historic houses have been transformed into inns, museums and, of course, homes. Even the police station is in a historic building.

Several museums depict the furnishings and lifestyle of an age gone by — the Raney House Museum, the Apalachicola Maritime Museum, the Orman House. Then there’s the John Gorrie Museum State Park. A physician, Gorrie tended to patients with yellow fever and developed a machine that produced ice in order to keep his patients’ rooms cool. While he died before he could market his invention, he set the stage for modern refrigeration and air conditioning. The museum is dedicated to Gorrie, who served as mayor, postmaster and city treasurer during his residence.

A pedestrian-friendly historic commercial district is thriving with seafood restaurants, shops, antique stores and art galleries. Even the old Sponge Exchange is selling natural Apalachicola sponges again.

Worn by nature, even the fishing vessels at the marinas look historic.

Apalachicola has been written up in magazines and was named one of the 2008 Dozen Distinctive Destinations by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

But there’s more than history. A new Vietnam veterans’ monument will be unveiled later this month. The Apalachicola Nature Center displays fish found in local waters and features a walking trail through an estuary. Sailing tours, river tours, fishing charters are also available. Canoes and kayaks can be rented. Beaches are just a short drive away on the barrier islands that protect Apalachicola.

Then there’s food. There are several restaurants in the center of town — Apalachicola Seafood Grill, Boss Oyster, The Owl Cafe and Tamara’s Cafe Floridita. By Spohrer’s account, one would have to search hard for a local restaurant that isn’t good.

Apalachicola is a self-entertaining place; visitors have to seek out its treasures. Apalachicola is not for everybody nor does it want to be. Grove recognizes them as soon as they walk in her door at the chamber. They have the same body language. Hands on their hips, they want to know what there is to do in this town. They might as well go to Panama City.

“They don’t get it,” she said.
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Want more information?
To find out more about Apalachicola, Fla., visit the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce Web site at http://www.apalachicolabay.org.