Portable shower-restroom trailer combination rentals in Apalachicola, Florida.

Construction began on Apalachicola’s African American Museum

Apalachicola broke ground on its African American Museum beside Holy Family Senior Center on September 9, 2025. The one-story, 2,000-square-foot building is designed with exhibition lighting, storage and offices, plus a breezeway connecting it to the center. It is intended to preserve local photographs, artifacts and oral histories collected by the North Florida African American Corridor project.

The shared parcel makes access around the senior center part of the construction picture: deliveries, equipment and any portable restroom trailer have to stay clear of its entrance. The city’s December 2025 update projected a fall 2026 opening. At a September 22, 2026 workshop, commissioners said they were concerned the museum might miss a December 1 completion date and directed the city attorney to write to the contractor and design firm. The minutes did not give a replacement opening date.

Leslie Street got new pipe and road repairs

Leslie Street had been closed since September 2020, when a cavity opened beneath the roadway after Hurricane Sally. Once construction began in September 2024, crews uncovered terra-cotta stormwater pipe and brick manholes. The city’s change orders replaced the pipe with concrete, repaired the manholes and added curbing and final work.

Apalachicola had been awarded $610,169.30 through the state’s Small County Outreach Program, but the city manager told The Apalachicola Times the final cost came in around $470,000. The completed work resurfaced the street, addressed underground drainage and added road signs; a ribbon cutting marked its reopening on March 31, 2025. City grant records later documented reimbursement and closeout.

Apalachicola declared an emergency during its June 2025 water crisis

Apalachicola’s June 2025 water emergency followed months of trouble with odor and discoloration. Hurricane Helene’s winds had knocked the aerator and scrubber off the city’s Fifth Street water tower, equipment used to treat the water. A citywide precautionary boil-water notice took effect June 10 as the city worked through unstable chlorine levels and continued flushing the lines.

The response reached beyond the treatment plant. Water tankers and ice were available at several locations, and the city arranged 24-hour shower and laundry facilities at 192 Coach Wagoner Boulevard, alongside tanker and ice distribution.

The emergency declaration ran through June 27. The next day, after the distribution system had been flushed, chlorine residuals stabilized and bacterial samples met state requirements, the city rescinded the boil-water notice.

A December fire destroyed a home on Morris Cannon Drive

Neighbors called Natasha Jones at work around 4:30 p.m. on December 23, 2024, after smoke began pouring from the kitchen-side wall of her home on Morris Cannon Drive. They tried to reach a small fire through a back window, but heavy smoke made it difficult to see inside. The flames ultimately destroyed the house; Jones and her three sons were not injured.

Apalachicola firefighters stayed on scene from 4:51 until about 9:30 p.m. and used the 5,000 gallons carried in their tanker before connecting to a hydrant at Magnolia Cemetery. That supply route temporarily closed Bluff Road, and Eastpoint firefighters joined the response. Firefighters returned around 11 p.m. to extinguish smoldering areas.