Trail of Florida's Indian Heritage

PANAMA CITY, FL – The Trail of Florida’s Indian Heritage is proud to announce its newest member site, Oaks By The Bay Park, in Panama City. Comprising almost five acres of the St. Andrews Bay waterfront at the south end of Beck Avenue, Oaks By The Park offers a serene setting for sightseeing and education.

Oaks by the Bay Park is rich in Indigenous history as well. Archaeological evidence shows that Native peoples thrived here during the Weeden Island and Fort Walton periods, between A.D. 700 and 1600. Ceramics and shellfish remains found at Oaks by the Bay show that St. Andrews Bay was a vital place for gathering food and making tools.

By the 1500s, when Spanish explorers began mapping the Gulf Coast, the Chatot and Yucci tribes inhabited this area. The arrival of Europeans, however, brought devastating change. The Chatot people vanished soon after contact, part of the tragic loss that claimed more than 90 percent of Florida’s Native population. The Yucci tribes survived by dispersing north and west. Over the next two centuries, the region became home to Creeks and Cherokees, many of whom were fleeing forced relocation during the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.

The Panama City Publishing Company’s Museum Committee supported this effort that was completed by the City of Panama City Parks, Culture, and Recreation Department staff Dr. Kesia Blenn. Learn more about the Trail at www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org