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Abstract
| The Panama City (FL) Pilot [LCCN: sn88084205] began publishing in Panama City, Florida on May 30, 1907
under the editorship of George M. West. One of the founders of Panama City, West had been born in New York; had worked
for the railroad in Wisconsin, where he was admitted to the Wisconsin bar; and, had subsequently acquired a winter home
on St. Andrews Bay (FL) in Florida's panhandle. The Panama City Pilot was begun to promote the area for development,
which it did throughout its run. In 1909, when Panama City was chartered as a municipality, West married for a third
time at the age of 63. His bride, Lillian Carlisle West, was 24 and would become the paper's publisher, manager and
editor in 1917 as her husband's health declined. She continued to serve as managing editor from his death in 1926
through 1937, when she retired. Mrs. West also managed the St. Andrews Bay (FL) News [LCCN: sn96027205], acquired in
1916, and the Lynn Haven (FL) Free Press [LCCN: sn95047194], acquired in 1926. John Perry, who owned several Florida
newspapers, purchased the publishing rights to all three West newspapers in 1937. The St. Andrews Bay News was merged
with the Bay County Herald [LCCN: sn95047289], another Perry newspaper, to become the News-Herald [LCCN: sn96027206],
and the Panama City Pilot was discontinued at the end of 1941. Panama City, located in Bay County (FL), is the largest
city between Florida's capital, Tallahassee (FL), and its western-most city, Pensacola (FL). When the Panama City Pilot
began publishing in 1907, St. Andrews (FL) was incorporated, becoming the first city in what became Bay County. In 1908,
Atlanta and St. Andrews Bay Railroad (now, ca. 2008, known as the Bayline Railroad) reached Panama City, connecting Atlanta
to ports and tourist destinations on the white sand beaches of Florida's Gulf Coast. The railroad, via other railways,
linked Panama City to Tallahassee and Pensacola. Panama City was incorporated a year later in 1909. Bay County was formed on
July 1, 1913 from portions of Calhoun County (FL), Walton County (FL) and Washington County (FL).--E. Kesse, University of
Florida Digital Library Center. |
