Santa Rosa County was created in 1842. It was named after Santa Rosa Island, Florida. Santa Rosa County can be divided into three distinct sections: South Santa Rosa, Central Santa Rosa, and North Santa Rosa. The sections are centered on the main east/west roads that pass through the county.
South Santa Rosa County comprises the area from Holley and Navarre in the east to Gulf Breeze at the western end of the Gulf Breeze Peninsula (Fairpoint Peninsula) and along U.S. Highway 98. A section of Santa Rosa Island, containing the unincorporated community of Navarre Beach, is also part of South Santa Rosa County.
Major bodies of water including Santa Rosa Sound, Pensacola Bay and East Bay strongly influence the housing and life style of citizens in the southern part of the county.
This fast-growing region serves primarily as “bedroom communities” for Pensacola to the west and Hurlburt Field, Fort Walton Beach, and Eglin Air Force Base to the east. Central Santa Rosa County is the area north of the bays and south of the extensive forests separating it from North Santa Rosa.
The central section developed along “The Old Spanish Trail” that ran from St. Augustine on the Atlantic Ocean all the way to New Orleans, and further points west. Today, U.S. Highway 90 closely parallels the old trail. The county seat, Milton is located where the trail crosses the Blackwater River.
To the west of Milton, the fast-growing community of Pace has turned the west-central part of the county into one large “bedroom community” for people who work in the industries here and in Santa Rosa County, to the west. Interstate 10 also passes through this section of the county. Northern Santa Rosa County is forest and farming country.
The only town in the north is Jay. Most development has been along I-4 which runs through the northern sections of Santa Rosa, Santa Rosa, and Okaloosa counties. A large oil and natural gas field around Jay produced a great deal of oil, and made many farmers millionaires in the 1970s and 1980s, but the field has been depleted and is producing little oil today. The citizens have, for the most part, returned to farming and forestry for their livelihoods.
State Road 87 traverses the county from north to south, between US Highway 98 and the border with Santa Rosa County, Alabama near Brewton, where it connects with State Route 41. This road is a primary emergency evacuation route for the county during hurricanes.
Florida is known as the Sunshine State for a reason. With so many home buyers coming to live in FL, finding affordable Florida mortgage funding is going to be required for those looking to get a loan on a home in Santa Rosa County. With so many loan options available out there, the process of analyzing them can be tedious.
As a Santa Rosa County resident, you can rest confident that USDA Mortgage Source will extend you the best loan solution for your individual situation. USDA Mortgage Source has many mortgage options for Santa Rosa County at our disposal. 100% first time homebuyer, USDA, FHA, VA. There are many locations that qualify for the USDA Rural Development housing loan, which is a 100% financing home loan mortgage available throughout Santa Rosa County.