World’s Luckiest Fishing Village

Destin’s history dates back to the seventh century A.D. Artifacts confirm American Indians lived here, surviving off the abundant seafood in area waters. Spanish explorers visited some 900 years later, and divers are still finding wreckage of old ships in area waters.

Destin traces its immediate history to a fisherman, Leonard Destin, who moved here from New London, Conn., and settled in Northwest Florida about 1845. For decades, he and his descendants fished and navigated the only channel passage to the Gulf of Mexico between Panama City and Pensacola, known as Destin’s East Pass.

Fisherman of Leonard Destin’s era fished close to the shores with seine nets from small boats called yawls, which they operated with oars. The oldest seine fishing boat still in existence is The Primrose, a 1920s era boat now restored and on display at Destin’s History and Fishing Museum. A trip through the museum reveals the evolution of fishing in the Destin area, from methods used by its earliest Indian inhabitants to seine nets, the introduction of rods and reels, and eventually to the largest charter fishing fleet in the State of Florida.

In 2004, Destin celebrated its 20th anniversary as an incorporated municipality. No longer a small fishing village, first-time visitors are still discovering what brings people back to Destin’s harbor and shores year after year... the beautiful white sandy beaches, emerald green waters, friendly atmosphere, supreme dining, and, of course, fishing in the “World’s Luckiest Fishing Village.”