ST. JOHNS COUNTY, Fla. — It's almost time to party. In 2021, Florida will celebrate 200 years of being part of the United States, and St. Johns County will celebrate its 200th birthday because it was one of the first two counties in Florida.
1821 was "a big year for Florida," historian Susan Parker said.
That's when Florida said "goodbye" to being a colony and adios to Spain, and hello to being a U.S. territory. It would take another 24 years to be a state in 1845.
In 1821, Spain transferred Florida to the U.S., but why?
"For one thing, Spain didn't really need Florida anymore," Parker said. "Florida was really a drain on the budget, and they were pressured by the U.S. to give it up."
She also noted that people in the Florida colony were not really happy with the transfer.
"They had been part of Spanish Florida since birth and they felt they were Spanish citizens," Parker said.
When Florida became part of the U.S., "the counties were formed. There really hadn't been counties prior to that," she said.
"So they took the old Spanish colony of East Florida and made it St. Johns County and the old Spanish colony of West Florida and made it Escambia County," Parker said.
That's where Pensacola is in the panhandle.
At that time, St. Johns county was giant.
"At one time, St. Johns County ranged from the St. Mary's River in Fernandina to Key West and over to the Apalachicola River," Parker explained, "so it was a huge territory."
So now, St. Johns County, St. Augustine and Florida are party planning, in a sense. St. Johns County commissioners are considering the party budget.
"I don't want to do an expensive extravaganza at the taxpayers cost," St. Johns County Commissioner Jimmy Johns said Tuesday at a commission meeting.
St. Augustine Mayor Tracy Upchurch said the city's staff is discussing cultural events and possible festivals. He said that the 2021 festivities will not be on the scale as what the city saw is 2015 for the commemoration of the city's founding.