Oriole Beach, Florida facts for kids

Oriole Beach is a small community in Santa Rosa County, Florida. It's not officially a city or town, but a "census-designated place." This means it's a special area the government counts for population. Oriole Beach sits right on the Santa Rosa Sound, a beautiful body of water. It's located east of Gulf Breeze on the Fairpoint Peninsula. You can find it about three miles north of Pensacola Beach. In 2020, about 1,679 people lived here. Oriole Beach is part of the larger Pensacola area.

About Oriole Beach

The main road that goes through Oriole Beach is U.S. Route 98. This road runs from east to west along the peninsula.

Oriole Beach started as a place where people from Pensacola would go for fishing trips. They stayed in small beach cottages. Some of these original cottages, made of cement blocks, are still standing today.

Permanent homes were built along Bay Street. This street follows an old Native American trail. Later, it became a logging road. This road was used to cut down live oak trees. These strong trees were used to build ships for the Union Navy during the American Civil War in the 1860s.

Part of the land where these trees grew is now the Naval Live Oaks Reservation. You can still see some of these old live oak trees growing there.

People of Oriole Beach

In 2010, about 1,420 people lived in Oriole Beach. By 2020, the population grew to 1,679.

From 2011 to 2015, there were 582 homes in the area. The average income for families in Oriole Beach was about $52,208 during that time.

Community History

In 1985, the people living in Oriole Beach formed a group called a homeowners' association. This group helped build a new boat ramp for people to use. They also helped create a bicycle path.

This bicycle path is part of the W.D. Childers trail. This trail is about 28 miles long and goes around the Fairpoint Peninsula.

Oriole Beach has its own school, Oriole Beach Elementary School. It is part of the Santa Rosa County School District.

Hurricane Ivan's Impact

In November 2004, a very strong storm called Hurricane Ivan hit the area. It made landfall about 30 miles east of Oriole Beach.

The storm brought a huge tidal surge, which is like a giant wave, that was 12 feet high. The winds were also very strong, blowing over 120 miles per hour.

Some homes on Bay Street were destroyed because the street is only about 7 feet above sea level. The high water from the storm covered these homes.

Most of the damage from the hurricane was cleaned up by Santa Rosa County. They received money from the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to help with this. By 2007, almost all the damaged buildings and pine trees were removed.

Modern Improvements

In February 2007, Bay Street was made wider and a bit higher by the county. This helps protect it from future storms.

New homes built in Oriole Beach now have to connect to a special sewer system. Before Hurricane Ivan, many homes used septic tanks. The new rule helps keep the environment cleaner.

The nearby city of Gulf Breeze provides sewer and natural gas services to Oriole Beach. Drinking water comes from a private water system. This system uses two large tanks that get water from local wells.

See also

In Spanish: Oriole Beach para niños