SmashMouth

In his excellent book, The Rise and Decline of the Redneck Riviera, Harvey Jackson details the final change to the borders of Alabama and Florida, a change that came in the late 1950s. Part of using the Perdido River as the dividing line between states meant that Perdido Pass, the spot where the river and its bay drained into the Gulf, had always been considered the border. That changed when Alabama and Florida agreed to build the first bridge over the pass. Initially, it was to be a joint project, with both states paying half. But an engineering study showed that Perdido Pass had moved three miles to the west since Florida became a state, meaning that Florida had essentially gained three miles of Alabama’s coastline.

The case went to court, and ultimately Alabama won back its three miles of beach and the state line was relocated three miles east. But that meant the bridge over the pass would be entirely Alabama’s to pay for. So, basically for the price of a bridge, Alabama expanded its coastal territory for the first time since 1819 and claimed a tiny portion of Florida’s panhandle.


Ironically, if Alabama had waited just two more years before becoming a state, it is likely that all of West Florida would have been added to Alabama, and the state’s share of the Gulf coastline would extend all the way to Apalachicola.

Put another way, if it weren’t for the chicanery of greedy politicians, Alabama might be the sole owner of all the Redneck Riviera’s best beaches.

read more here on why the Alabama state line was defined as it is.

SmashMouth

Did Florida Steal Rosemary Beach from Alabama?