Florida panhandle why

This is a coast of primal, wind-blown beauty in many places, particularly the undeveloped stretches of salt marsh and slash pine that spill east and west of Apalachee Bay. In other areas, the seashore is given to rental houses and high-rise condos. Part of Napoleon's calculation in offering to sell his nation's entire North American holdings at fire sale prices was that doubling the size of the United States would hobble both Britain and Spain.

Both countries would then share contentious boundaries with the U. Louisiana Purchase Treaty. The most contentious of those boundary disputes was the one with Spain's West Florida.

Spain had long claimed ownership of all the land east of the Mississippi River as part of West Florida, just as the British did when they ruled West Florida. Those borders had been in place for nearly 40 years. And when Spain gave Louisiana back to the French, the deal specifically excluded any land east of the Mississippi. For Thomas Jefferson and his advisors, including future presidents James Madison and James Monroe, this was an untenable situation, as it would be impossible to defend the vital port of New Orleans with the Spanish sitting in forts just across the river.

So Jefferson and his gang of future presidents hatched a plan -- a plan that involved that old, informal dividing line created in by the French and Spanish commanders to end the squabble over Mobile Bay. Map of the south circa The year after the Louisiana Purchase had been completed, the U. This was patently absurd. The map above, created in , clearly shows Spanish West Florida extending all the way to the Mississippi. Nevertheless, an act of congress called the Mobile Act was passed in to that effect, formally stating that all the Spanish land up to the Perdido River belonged to the United States.

Naturally Spain objected. Spain had ruled Louisiana for 40 years prior to returning it to the French. In all of that time, the border of the territory had been the Mississippi River.

The border had been fixed there since the British took control of Mississippi and Alabama after the French and Indian War. The U. Napoleon even played a minor role in this dispute, refusing to back the American. Instead, ever the opportunist, he sided with the Spanish, this time to hamper America's growth. The dispute over West Florida simmered for about a decade, until the United States sent troops in to occupy the area up to the Perdido River.

That was in Though Spain still objected to the land grab, Alabama became a state in , including the portion of West Florida stolen from Spain. After that, Spain sort of lost interest in Florida. Just two years later, in , Spain surrendered the rest of Florida to the U. All of that indulgence calls for…more indulgence. Distillery 98 specializes in small-batch vodka poured in an off-the-beaten-path warehouse. Their signature spirit, Dune Laker, is made with Florida-grown corn and filtered through Gulf oysters, adding a little something-something to the flavor.

For beer lovers, Idyll Hounds Brewing Company just next-door! For a taste of the arts, visit Modus Photography , where Chandler Williams sells his photographs capturing the dreamy landscapes of the South Walton beaches and wetlands.

These lakes can only be found in a few countries around the world. South Walton has 15—the only US coastal dune lakes aside from Oregon. Incredibly, these lakes are filled with fresh water despite only being a few feet away from the Gulf.

Consider renting a kayak and paddling around Western Lake to get the most of this unique feature: if you go in the late spring you might see the water lilies in bloom. The place is beloved for its kitschy decor watch out for that disco ball and fresh-from-the-Gulf seafood. The restaurant burned down in , but the community chipped in to resurrect it a year later, right down to the art on the walls and posters on the ceiling.

Afterwards, stroll around the neighborhood to admire the colorful houses and the outdoor art wall. One of several planned developments along 30A, Alys Beach recalls Santorini with its crisp white architecture.

So Texas chopped off the top of its panhandle to keep its slaves. Thus the shape of Oklahoma was born. Church elders used the term for territories lying uneasily between established parishes. The narrowest gap was at Zonnebeke where British and German soldiers were only about seven yards apart. The WWI trenches were built as a system, in a zigzag pattern with many different levels along the lines.

Sometimes the soldiers would simply dig the trenches straight into the ground — a method known as entrenching. Entrenching was fast, but the soldiers were open to enemy fire while they dug. Trenches were dug in a zigzag pattern so that if an enemy entered the trench, he could not fire straight down the line.

The main trench lines were connected by communicating trenches, allowing for the movement of messages, supplies, and soldiers and were lined with barbed wire.

By WWII those Generals were long dead and by Hitler had launched extremely mobile and quick armor based assaults and fluid attacks, digging in for a trench war was not possible. In fact the Maginot line , born from a WWI mindset was quickly over run by Germanys superior equipment and tactics. There are a small number of places where sections of trench lines can still be visited.