357. Santa Rosa's Dickerson City 1918

Updated: Mar 23, 2022

Once upon a time, a Chicago doctor had a wonderful dream of creating a health resort and sanitarium along Santa Rosa's beautiful Blackwater River. Dr. C. B. Raymond had practiced medicine for years in Chicago but never gave up on the idea that the Gulf Coast was an ideal place to live and work. To fulfill her dream she bought twenty acres of land prior to 1919 on the east shore of Garcon Peninsular, about nine miles south of Bagdad. A hotel was built on the waterfront around c1918 by Mr. Dickerson and was named the "Dickerson Hotel" thus giving the would-be community its name. The hotel was a two story wood frame building that was built for travelers ferrying between Milton and Pensacola. By 1992, only the sidewalks of the old hotel were still there and were on the property of the Benz family. In the meantime, Dr. Raymond, together with her planners laid out their roads and their homesites all drawn up on the plats.

But there was just one small problem that Dr. Raymond did not take into consideration. An adequate road to the planned community did not exist! Traveling to the site down the old dirt roads and pathways was arduous, especially during rainy weather. Horse and buggies was one thing but the new fangled automobiles was another when it came to deep mud. But for Dr. Raymond, buying land and selling lots was a small cost compared to clearing virgin timber and building a road in such a low lying area. And it was this issue that most likely caused the downfall of her dream community. Unfortunately, Garcon Road was not built until 1955 and eventually opened up the area by providing excellent access. But this was still decades in the future.

Eventually, Dr. Raymond left the area never to be heard from again. The old plats and plans were rolled up and stored away at the courthouse to eventually become yellow with age. Years later, the hotel caught fire and burned down as well. So "what might have been" was eventually lost for "want of a road."

Today, there is a road, a very small community and a boat ramp named Dickerson City (Main Street was renamed Dickerson City Road). But what might have become of Dr. Raymond's dream had she been able to interest more investors into recognizing the area's potential. There is only a few residents that live there now but in 1992 Carol Reinhardt was quick to state with pride, we're "not Bagdad, not Garcon Point, not Avalon Beach, we're Dickerson City!" Marie Wadsworth even stated that the phone company had them listed at the time as "Dixon City."

Even the Press Gazette saw the potential sixty-two years ago! In an article of July 3, 1958, they predicted that "with a paved road all the way to Garcon Point, this area and many other promising residential areas are accessible. A bridge across from Garcon point to Santa Rosa Peninsula in the vicinity of Gulf Breeze could make this area even more accessible!"