Navarre

Navarre, Florida

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Navarre is an unincorporated community in Santa Rosa County in the Northwest Florida Panhandle. It is a bedroom community for mostly U.S. Military personnel, Federal Civil Servants, local population, retirees and defense contractors. Additionally, due to its close proximity to Navarre Beach and its 4 miles of beach front on the Gulf of Mexico as well as the Gulf Islands National Seashore it has a small but growing community of nature enthusiasts and tourists.

Navarre is about 25 miles east of Pensacola and about 15 miles west of Fort Walton Beach. The community is roughly centered on the junction of U.S. Route 98 and State Road 87.[1] It is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area and is known for the untarnished natural beauty, boutique shopping, swimming in the emerald colored water, having a picnic on the beach or in the county park which is located directly on the Gulf of Mexico. Residents and visitors alike enjoy riding or jogging on the several scenic bike paths.

History Guy Wyman and Town Development

The founder of Navarre was Guy Wyman, a colonel in the United States Army. During World War I he met a French nurse named Noel. At the time, immigration policies would not allow him to bring her to the United States as a fiancé or even as a wife, but he could bring her back as his legal child. So he adopted her, and brought her back to the Florida panhandle, where he purchased a large amount of land. Noel named their holdings Navarre, after the province in Spain near France.[1][2] Wyman platted the town in 1925,[1] but made no steps towards development. However, during the Great Depression, the Wymans couldn’t pay the taxes on it, and were forced to begin selling it off. Part of that property is where the Navarre Park is today. While protecting and enhancing the natural beauty of the area; several steps have been taken to develop luxury accommodations, water activities, boutique shopping, scenic trails, top rated schools and nature/educational opportunities. Town of Eagen

About 41 years before Guy H. Wyman platted the town Navarre, a town named Eagan arose in 1884. The town, composed of 40 families, was located off the Santa Rosa Sound and encompassed a portion of present-day Navarre. The settlement, which formerly existed as a post office location, was named after its first postmaster, John Eagan Esq., a famous Pensacola lawyer and politician. Following the post office’s discontinuation Sep. 11, 1884, families continued to live in the area, and the town continued to appear on area maps even into the 1890s. While what became of the town and the people who lived there at that time is unknown, the discovery of the town's existence in 2015 definitively established settlement of the Navarre-area in South Santa Rosa County as being prior to the 20th century. The land upon which Eagan existed would, in fact, later become what is now known as Navarre.[3] Helicopter Crash

On 10 March 2015, a UH-60 from Eglin Air Force Base crashed in the Santa Rosa Sound off the coast of the community of Navarre, FL. All 11 on board were believed killed.[4] A memorial is being built in Navarre Park in memory of the crash.[5] Geography

Navarre is located at 30.401°N 86.863°WCoordinates: 30.401°N 86.863°W. It is located within a portion of the Florida Panhandle observing the Central Time Zone. Elevation is 10 feet.[6]

Navarre is on roughly 12 miles of shoreline.[7]

The community of Navarre is located on the Gulf Coastal Plain and is built on mostly sandy soil. It is bounded geographically in the north by the East River and on the south by the Santa Rosa Sound.[1] Demographics

According to different estimates the population ranges from 40,000 to 42,200 residents living in the unincorporated area of Navarre. The below racial characteristics of the community are from 2013 estimates.

   White 93.5%
   Black 3.9%
   Hispanic 1.7%
   Native American and Alaska Native 0.7%
   Asian 1.1%
   Native Hawaiian and other Pacific Islander 0.5%
   Other 2.0%
   Multiracial 0.2%

Attractions The welcome to Navarre Beach sign with Christmas decorations.

Navarre is centered near the junction of U.S. Highway 98, the primary east-west route between Pensacola and the Fort Walton Beach area, and State Road 87. It is located near several large military facilities: Naval Air Station Pensacola to the west; Hurlburt Field and Eglin Air Force Base to the east; and Naval Air Station Whiting Field to the North.

Tourism has increased in the Navarre area since 2010, being declared "Florida's Best Kept Secret" by the local hospitality business. Navarre has a park on the mainland next to Navarre Beach bridge and the Intracoastal Waterway that contains a Visitor Information Center; water splash pad, duck pond, butterfly house, playground, gazebos; pier and small beach area. Boating, Surfing, jet skiing, paddle boarding, fishing, bird watching, exploring scenic trails and walking/jogging are popular among the residents and visitors.

In 2010 the Navarre Beach fishing pier was rebuilt after repeated damage from hurricanes. At 1,545-foot, it is currently the longest fishing pier on the Gulf of Mexico and in the state of Florida.[8] Hurricanes

As a low-elevation community near the Gulf of Mexico, Navarre is often threatened by hurricanes. Significant damage was incurred as a result of Hurricanes Erin, Opal, Ivan and Dennis. Many homes and businesses immediately along Santa Rosa Sound (generally south of U.S. Highway 98) suffered storm surge as a result of those storms. Recoveries have been rendered by the area with the population quickly flourishing. This area of Florida is consistently listed as one of the worst places for hurricanes.[9] Education

Education in Navarre is administrated by the Santa Rosa County District School system headquartered in Milton, Florida. The schools that serve the Navarre community are:

   Navarre High School (Grades 9–12[10])
   Holley Navarre Middle School (Grades 6–8)
   Holley Navarre Intermediate School (Grades 3–5)
   Holley Navarre Primary School (Grades K–2)
   Woodlawn Beach Middle School (Grades 6–8)
   West Navarre Primary School (Grades K–2)
   West Navarre Intermediate School (Grades 3–5)

Popular Culture Jaws 2 A clean-up of old props from Jaws 2 on Navarre Beach.

A large portion of the scenes in Jaws 2 were filmed off the coast of Navarre and Navarre Beach sometime around 1977.[11]