Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, United States. It is located within the Pensacola metropolitan area. The city was first Incorporated in 1844, however certain areas such as East Milton, Point Baker, and Bagdad remain unincorporated. Milton is located in the geographic center of Santa Rosa County, and it is bordered by Pace to the west, and Navarre to the south. The population was 10,197 at the 2020 census.
Etymology
Milton was known by various names during its development. Most notable were "Hell-Town" (muggy, inhospitable land covered with briars, mosquitoes, thorns, snakes), "Jernigan's Landing", "Scratch Ankle" (due to the briars that grew along the riverbank), and "Hard Scrabble".
According to Florida historian Allen Morris, "Just which Milton was honored by the final name is a dispute. Some say it is a contraction of an earlier Milltown; others that it was Milton Amos, pioneer and ancestor of the present Amos family; still others that it was John Milton—not the English poet, but the Civil War governor of Florida."
History
Milton was settled in the early 1800s as a small village centered on the lumber industry. The settlement originally was known as Scratch Ankle because of the briars and bramble that grew in the area. Another name was Jernigan's Landing after Benjamin Jernigan (died April 1847), who built a water-powered saw mill at what is now Locklin Lake between 1828 and 1830. Other names were Lumberton, Black Water, and Hard Scrabble, but by 1839, it was being referred to as Milltown. Milton was incorporated as a town in 1844, one year before the Territory of Florida joined the United States as the 27th state. Many Milton residents fled to Alabama. Judges from Escambia County sentenced criminals to be confined to Milton, which was nicknamed "Hell Town" by its residents. An old story from the area tells of the Rough Riders passing through Milton on their "best behavior".
Naval Air Station Whiting Field was constructed during World War II with the help of many German prisoners of war who were housed in a camp on the site. The station was commissioned on July 16, 1943, by Rear Admiral George D. Murray and the widow of Captain Kenneth Whiting, after whom the station was named.
The first hospital care in Milton began in 1951, when a group of locals formed the Santa Rosa County Hospital Board. The first hospital in Milton, Santa Rosa Hospital, was located on Stewart Street and opened on December 2, 1952. Santa Rosa Hospital had multiple expansions in the 1960s, and by 1970, the hospital was far too small for Milton's growing population. Construction for a new hospital began that year, and in December 1972, the Santa Rosa Medical Center was opened.
On March 31, 1962, an F3 tornado hit the northwest side of Milton, causing 17 deaths and 100 injuries. It was Florida's deadliest tornado until February 22, 1998, when 25 people were killed in Kissimmee by another F3 tornado. It was also the deadliest tornado in 1962.
On January 21, 2025, Milton received of snow during the Gulf Coast blizzard, more than double the previous state record of that was also set in Milton in 1954.
Geography
Milton is located near the mouth of the Blackwater River.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, is land and (4.59%) is water. |source 2=XMACIS2 (mean maxima/minima 1971–2000)