289. Pensacola's Steamer, the Charles E. Cessna 1915

Updated: Mar 28, 2022

Once upon a time, a Chicago businessman by the name of Dr. Charles Edgar Cessna decided in 1909 to create his own settlement called "Santa Rosa Plantation" in Walton County, Florida. To make this happen, he bought 20,000 acres along Choctawhatchee Bay and divided it into ten-acre plots. The laid out homesteads stretched from Point Washington on the east to today's Sandestin on the west with the Gulf of Mexico on the south and the Basin and Alaqua bayous to the north. To support the new settlers, general stores, warehouses, a post office, lumber mill and hotels were constructed. School were added for the children and social clubs soon followed. Given the topography, Cessna established a sugar cane industry with refineries for local consumption and shipping along the Gulf Coast. Satsuma orchards were also becoming increasingly popular and lucrative all over, especially in the new settlement.

Advertisements were sent all over the North enticing people to "buy a piece of heaven" down South, away from the harsh winters. Quickly, Northerners and locals poured into the area and began settling their land. Lack of established roads restricted the mobility of the new settlers, but coastal steamboats provided for movement of passengers and cargo. By 1915, the boats were bringing in everything including their mail, groceries, passengers, and even ice for food preservation. One of the paddle wheelers was the "Charles E. Cressna" named after the areas developer and captained by John N. Rogers of 233 East Gregory Street, Pensacola. Built in 1894, the big boat was home ported in Pensacola, but made regular trips all along the coast. Captain Rogers would pass away in 1934 and was buried in St. John's Cemetery.

There was also the "Capt. Fritz," which was later destroyed by fire. One of the last boats to traverse the waters of Walton County was the "Jewel," which was a small freighter that only ran between Point Washington and Freeport. In 1910, disaster struck when the "citrus canker" was first discovered in Florida. Four years later, it had spread all over the southeast United States. Cessna's satsuma trees were hit so hard that the only solution was to chop them all down and burn them. With the satsuma's gone, so went the peoples livelihood. Other avenues of revenue were tried, but all failed. By 1925, most of the settlers had picked up their roots and moved on. Houses were abandoned and continued to dot the landscape for years to come. The huge hurricane the following year finished off what the citrus disease had started. Today, there's hardly anything left of the old town of Santa Rosa except for an old wooden bridge still in use at Hogtown Bayou. However, the name still lives on at "Cessna Landing," a public park with a fishing dock.

As to Dr. Cessna, there were still a few rough spots in his life down the road. Born in 1863 in Illinois, he would graduate from the Rush Medical School in 1885. He would marry Sarah Louise Murback in 1896 and everything went smoothly for awhile. At some point in time, he became involved with Dr. J. Russell Lister and the two formed a partnership called the "Dr. J. Russell Price Company." Soon, Federal authorities were accusing the two with fraudulent activities concerning medical books and such sent through the mail. Cessna was listed as the controlling partner and as a result, his medical license was revoked in 1918. Cessna would pass away in 1929 at the age of 66-years old and was buried in the Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago. Sarah would join him in 1952.