Blountstown in Calhoun County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Abe Springs Bluff Courthouse
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 17, 2022
1. Abe Springs Bluff Courthouse Marker Side 1
Abe Springs Bluff was Calhoun County's second county seat -- from 1849 to 1880. About 4/10 mile west of here, at a remote location overlooking the Chipola River, stood the one-story wood frame courthouse that housed county courts and offices for over three decades, including the turbulent period surrounding the Civil War.
Earlier, St. Joseph had served as the original county seat from the time Calhoun County was created in 1838 until the coastal boom town was destroyed by a yellow fever epidemic and a hurricane in the early 1840s. For a time thereafter the county actually had no seat of government.
From 1845 to 1847 the Florida Legislature tried unsuccessfully to re-establish a county seat. Finally, in 1848 Calhoun Countians voted on proposed locations and, the following January, Abe Springs Bluff -- a more centrally located inland site -- was officially declared the county seat.
Unlike its ill-fated predecessor, Abe Springs Bluff never was a true community -- just a courthouse site. In 1880 the Abe Springs Bluff courthouse was destroyed by fire and the county seat was moved to the new community of Blountstown on the Apalachicola River.
Erected 1993 by The Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-347.)
Topics. This historical marker is listed
this page online
Location. 30° 23.39′ N, 85° 9.062′ W. Marker is in Blountstown, Florida, in Calhoun County. It is at the intersection of County Route 275 and Abe Springs Road, on the right when traveling south on County Route 275. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Blountstown FL 32424, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle. It is also in the American South and specifically in the Deep South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 11 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: M & B Railroad (approx. 7.4 miles away); "Old Blountstown" Courthouse (approx. 7.4 miles away); Cochranetown - Corakko Talofv (approx. 7.4 miles away); Blunt Reservation and Fields (approx. 7.4 miles away); Calhoun County War Memorial (approx. 7½ miles away); Apalachicola Tribal Town Mekko John Blount (approx. 7½ miles away); Governor Fuller Warren (approx. 8.8 miles away); Liberty County Veterans Memorial (approx. 10.6 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Blountstown.
Also see . . . Calhoun County History. (Submitted on February 19, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 17, 2022
2. Abe Springs Bluff Courthouse Marker Side 2
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, July 17, 2022
3. Abe Springs Bluff Courthouse Marker
Credits. This page was last revised on November 27, 2024. It was originally submitted on February 19, 2021, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 889 times since then and 69 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3. submitted on October 28, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
