Milton: Scratch Ankle to Canoe Capital

Milton, the seat of Santa Rosa County in the western Florida Panhandle, is among the oldest cities in the state, established as a trading post on the Blackwater River in eighteen twenty-five and incorporated in eighteen forty-four, one year before Florida achieved statehood. Its early nickname was Scratch Ankle, a reference to the thorny brambles that once lined the riverbanks. The origin of the name Milton is disputed; one account says it comes from milltown, reflecting the lumber mills that drove the local economy and used the Blackwater River as their transportation artery. Today Milton markets itself as the Canoe Capital of Florida, drawing paddlers to the clear, cypress-dark waters of the Blackwater and Coldwater Creek.