Blountstown

Blountstown is the county seat of Calhoun County, West Florida.

Understand

Apalachicola River in Torreya State Park

John Blount, a chief of the Creek tribe, helped General Andrew Jackson (who would later become president) invade the Spanish Florida colony in 1818; Florida became part of the U.S. three years later. The city was seriously damaged by Hurricane Michael, which struck in fall 2018. At the time the hurricane was thought to be a Category 4, but it was later adjusted to Category 5 after a review. Blountstown had a population of 2,500 in 2010. The Calhoun Correctional Institution, southwest of the town, can hold over a thousand prisoners and maintains multiple security levels.

Bristol, a small town across the river, is included within this article of Blountstown, though the two towns are in different time zones. Blountstown is on the Central Time Zone while Bristol is on the Eastern Time Zone.

Climate

As is the case across northern Florida and the Panhandle, Blountstown and the surrounding rural areas have a humid "subtropical" climate, with cool winters and hot, humid summers. Rainfall is highest during the summer but can occur year-round.

Get in

By car

From I-10, follow FL-69 (exit 152) south to Blountstown. The journey should last about thirty minutes; Blountstown is the first town to be encountered on this route. FL-71 leads south from Blountstown to the coast, and FL-20 crosses it from west to east and connects it to nearby towns.

See

• 1 Panhandle Pioneer Settlement, 17869 NW Pioneer Settlement Rd, ☏ +1 850 674-2777, info@panhandlepioneer.us. Tu Th–Sa 10AM–2PM. $8 adults, $5 child. (updated Jun 2021)
• 2 Torreya State Park, 2576 NW Torreya Park Rd, Bristol (13 miles (19 km) north of Bristol), ☏ +1 850 643-2674. Limestone bluffs along the Apalachicola River are home to the Torreya "Florida nutmeg" tree, a critically endangered species, in the area. The park is also home to the Gregory House, which was reassembled at the location of the park in the 1930s by the Civilian Conservation Corps.  

Do

• 1 Veterans Memorial Park, 10561 NW Theo Jacobs Way, Bristol, ☏ +1 850 643-6646. (updated Jun 2020)

Eat

• 1 Fiddler's Steam House & Oyster Bar, 17415 Main St N, ☏ +1 850 237-1243. Tu–Th 10AM–7:30PM, F Sa 10AM–9:30PM. (updated Jun 2021)
• 2 Parramore Too Restaurant, 16438 SW Chipola Rd, ☏ +1 850 674-3400, parramoretoo@hotmail.com. (updated Jun 2021)
• 3 Apalachee Restaurant, 10536 NW FL-20, Bristol, ☏ +1 850 643-2264. M–F 7AM–7:30PM. (updated Jun 2021)

Sleep

• 1 Snowbird Motel, 10758 NW FL-20, Bristol, ☏ +1 850 643-2330. Small, independent motel that receives good reviews. (updated Jun 2021)

There aren't many places to stay in the immediate area; see #Go next for a list of towns with more accommodation, though all of them are some distance away.

Go next

• The town of Marianna to the north
• The coastal communities including Carrabelle, Crawfordville, and Port St. Joe
• The state capital, Tallahassee, has many restaurants and points of accommodation as the dominant city in the mid-Panhandle region.