Welcome to Our County Santa Rosa County was established February 18, 1842 from a portion of Escambia County and named for Santa Rosa Island, which was named for the Roman Catholic Saint, St. Rosa de Viterbo. In 1743, the first record of the West Florida lumber industry was two masts of yellow pine. After the transfer of SANTA ROSA Florida to the United States in 1821, a number of saw mills began operating around the bays and streams adjacent to Pensaola (neighboring Escambia County).  These saw mills continued in operation until the Civil War.  The first year of the Civil War brought prosperity to Santa Rosa County.  The second year, Confederate troops moved across Santa Rosa County and Bagdad was torched to prevent falling into Union hands. By 1867, the world-wide demand for yellow pine resumed and fortunes were made from the lumber industry. For over a hundred years, the logging industry provided jobs for thousands, but by 1939 the area was soon depleted of trees forcing the mills out of business. Today, north and south Santa Rosa County are known for their outstanding water resources, rivers, creeks, bays and the Gulf of Mexico. Explore! We hope you enjoy this resource into the past!  The state coordinator is working to bring this county back to life. You can help! Acknowledgement Please note that much of the data on this site was originally collected by Donna Buchanan, a former County Coordinator for FLGenWeb unless otherwise noted.  Donna was the Santa Rosa County Coordinator from 1997 to 2012. We wish to express our deepest thanks to her for all her hard work and dedication. Members of the Genealogical Society of Santa Rosa County maaged the county thereafter until December 2021 and many thanks go out to them as well!

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