Santa Rosa County Courthouse

Santa Rosa County was created in 1842 and named for Santa Rosa Island, site of the naval live oaks reserve (now part of Gulf Islands National Seashore) and, later, some fierce battles of the early Civil War. The Spanish had named the island for Santa Rosa de Viterbo, a Catholic saint.

The county seat, Milton, was originally called Scratch Ankle and Hardscrabble. The identity of the namesake Milton is disputed; although John Milton was Florida’s governor during the Civil War era, the late historian M. Luther King writes that the town was founded well before then. King’s book on Santa Rosa County includes views of two different courthouses, the older of which dates from 1877 and which replaced an earlier wooden building. The present courthouse dates from the 1920's.