by Alana A. Carmon

St. Helena Parish is the most rural of the Florida Parishes. St. Helena has a population of over 9,600 (2000 census), yet, has no community with over a thousand residents.

Early St. Helena Parish settlers included French and Spanish colonists. At the close of the American Revolution, additional settlers emigrated from the eastern states of Georgia, Virginia, and the Carolinas. For the most part, settlements were usually made along waterways. Established in 1810, St. Helena was quite prosperous during the antebellum period. More than half of the parish’s households owned slaves, a significantly larger portion as compared with the rest of the South. Prior to the Civil War, cotton was the chief crop and mainstay of the economy. Today, St. Helena’s economy is based on forestry and the dairy and truck farming industries.

St. Helena Parish offers many interesting landmarks and tourist attractions. Some of these locations include the Old parish jail, the Florida Parish Land Office Building, Grangeville Moto Cross, Fluker’s Bluff, Merryda Downs, Chipola Motto Cross, Crown Zellerbach Land, and the International Paper Company. Montpelier Park and the Pine Grove Area Hunting Preserve are available for recreational purposes.