Both St. George Island and St. Vincent Island probably received their European names in 1633 from the Franciscan Friars establishing Spanish missions in North Florida’s Apalachee Indian territory. While St. George Island to the east is long and narrow, St. Vincent’s chunky, triangular shape reaches toward Cape San Blas looking something like a crab claw. The 12,490 acre barrier island is one of four islands — St. Vincent, Cape St. George, St. George Island and Dog Island — that shelter the coastline from the Gulf of Mexico and create Apalachicola Bay. Know by promoters as “The Forgotten Coast,” this truly memorable region is hard to overlook. So much so, St. Vincent Island is the only one of the four islands that is completely protected from development and managed as a National Wildlife Refuge. Walks on the island’s oyster shell roads reveal the homeland of the old Apalachee Indians, and also celebrate the splendor of pine trees and cabbage palms on winding beaches.
