McKissack Ponds


The McKissack Ponds are five small ponds in the city limits of Carrabelle, Franklin County, Florida, just west – to – of the Carrabelle–Thompson Airport, on the north and south sides of Airport Road. The McKissack Ponds are owned by Franklin County.

History

Locations

is a coastal inland rural town, contiguous to St. George Sound, just west of St. James Island, on the Gulf of Mexico's northeastern coast – sometimes referred to as "the Forgotton Coast" – in the Panhandle. The ponds are south of the Carrabelle River and west of U.S. Route 98 in an area called Carrabelle Beach, which was known before World War II as McKissack Beach. From another perspective, the ponds are due north of the southern tip of Dog Island.
Under a United States Public Land Survey System, originally defined by the General Land Office, McKissack Ponds are located in:
Tallahassee meridian.

1977 USGS designation

The United States Geological Survey Board on Geographic Names, in its mission to standardize geographic features, formally rendered a decision to recognize McKissack Ponds December 8, 1977.
According to the USGS, The largest McKissack Pond is located southwest of the Carrabelle village center.

Namesake

McKissack is the surname of a family, long-time residents of the area, the first Floridian generation being William Crawford McKissack, a pharmacist and real estate developer who – with his wife, Mae Pickett – moved from Shorterville to Carrabelle in 1903, and, for more than 50 years, in Carrabelle, operated a drugstore on Main Street – "The W.C. McKissack Drug Store." W.C. McKissack was often called "Doc" McKissack, though, he was not a medical doctor. McKissack had purchased about 3,000 acres in the Carrabelle area. One of his grandsons, Luke McKissack was a notable civil rights lawyer in Los Angeles. One of his greatgrandaughters is Lana McKissack '', a film actress and producer, who, since 2012, has been married to Nathan John Moore, Jr., also an actor and producer.

Maps