JULIA CUNNINGHAM LLC
PORT ST JOE, FLORIDA

Julia Cunningham is the top sales producer in South Gulf County and at Coastal Realty Group, the number one real estate company in Gulf County, FL. Julia has lived on the beach on Cape San Blas for over 17 years, employed by General Electric, then American Express for the last 20 years. She has been working in real estate since 2004 on a part time basis, and, has quickly moved to the top of the leader board in Gulf County since returning to Real Estate full time last year! She is having a a fantastic time assisting others in finding their paradise in Gulf County. Julia moved to Gulf County in 1998 and has been active in contributing to the community since her arrival. She spearheaded all efforts to make the Loggerhead Trails Bike Path on Cape San Blas a reality. She was appointed by the Gulf County Commissioners to serve as a member of the Tourist Development Council on which she served for eight years. She was one of the founding members of Gulf World Marine Institute, a non-profit organization that rescues sea turtles and dolphins with the goal to return them to their natural habitat. She currently serves on the Board of Directors for this organization. Julia chaired the committee that negotiated more frequent trash pickup on Cape San Blas to keep the Cape clean and provide Saturday pick up for vacation rentals creating a more pleasant experience. Julia is a strong proponent and continues to be active for many other causes to keep Gulf County a great place to live or visit. While working for GE, Julia also owned “The Entrance”, a store which provided souviners, clothing and boat rentals, located at the entrance to the St. Joe State Park. Preston Russ, broker at Coastal Realty Group, says that he is “excited to have Julia on the team because of her business experience and her passion for Gulf County. Real Estate Sales are improving tremendously and we know that Julia will make significant contributions to the growth of Coastal Realty Group.” Julia lives on Cape San Blas sharing her passion to maintain the beauty and uniqueness of Gulf County with others. To hear how Julia has helped others, click The area never ceased to be a favorite of sportsmen and tourists. A bathing pier was a great attraction, with its springboards, high chutes, slides, trapeze rings and concession stands. A new city, renamed Port St. Joe, became incorporated in 1913, and underwent rapid growth, with new docks, a saw mill, and lucrative lumber, turpentine and sugarcane industry. During the 1920’s, Alfred DuPont and Edward Ball began accumulating property and created what is now known as the St. Joe Company. Earl Sumner Draper, a landscape architect who revolutionized urban planning in the American South, was commissioned to create the “Draper Plan” for Port St. Joe. This decline caused financial hardship for the Apalachicola Northern Railroad and as a result, it was sold in 1933 to the Alfred I. DuPont Company. DuPont purchased the railroad line which now extended from Chattahoochee to Port St. Joe with the intent of using its infrastructure to build a modern paper mill that would utilize the resources from over 200,000 acres of timber land that was purchased along with the existing rail line. DuPont died in 1935 but, as a fulfillment of his vision, the St. Joe Paper Company was founded in 1936 as part of the Alfred I. du Pont Testamentary Trust. The construction of the paper mill began in 1936 and was completed in 1938. Also completed in February of 1938 were the new St. Joe Paper Company docks. According to Henry Drake, they “were made of the latest type of sheet piling driven into the bay bottom”, and “the docks and wharves were capable of loading and unloading, simultaneously, five of the largest ocean-going boats in the Gulf of Mexico trade and still have room for a similar handling of two or more smaller and lighter draft vessels.” Petroleum products were shipped in from the oil fields of Louisiana and Texas in large tankers and barges. The petroleum was then pumped to Chattanooga, Tennessee and intermediate points via an eight-inch pipeline that was constructed during the same time the oil docks were being built. Currently the port bulkhead and surrounding land sits idle awaiting a new birth. The former major users of the port, the St. Joe Paper Mill and Box Plant, and the Arizona Chemical Company have been razed so that the land can be reclaimed for further use. Also, left behind is the essential infrastructure used to support their operations. Water, sewer, electricity and gas are in abundant supply. The AN short-line railroad that connected the Port to the main rail lines of the U.S will soon be repaired and back in service. A $750,000 state grant for an environmental and engineering study of the shipping channel, a requirement before any dredging can take place, was recently awarded to the Port St. Joe Port Authority with the St. Joe Company providing the required match of $250,000. As a result of a recent formation of a strategic development partnership with the St. Joe Company, the Port of Port St. Joe and the surrounding land and infrastructure are now positioned to once again become a thriving port. Living on the beach on Cape San Blas for over 17 years, I am uniquely qualified to help you find your piece of Paradise or even sell your property. I am confident that there is no better fit for a Realtor on the Cape or in South Gulf County! Consider this