High on a hill above the East Bank...

where the Apalachicola River begins its winding journey to the Gulf of Mexico, is the charming city of Chattahoochee, Florida. Thousands of years ago its strategic location on high ground at the confluence of the Flint and Chattahoochee rivers established it as an important Native American trade center. As Florida’s river gateway to the Gulf of Mexico, its rich and colorful history spans centuries and includes the location of a major ceremonial mound complex, a river crossing on the original Old Spanish Trail, a late 1700s observatory and weather station, a British outpost, a Federal arsenal, connection to a major railroad junction, a Confederate training facility, a Freedman’s Bureau, Florida’s first penitentiary and first hospital for the mentally ill.