John Gorrie Museum State Park

About John Gorrie Museum State Park

A young doctor named John Gorrie moved to Apalachicola, a small town of about 1,000 people in a rural area near the Mississippi River, in the early 19th century. Gorries was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 18th and early 20th centuries and moved to the city with his family.

He became a pioneer in air conditioning and refrigeration, invented a machine for making ice cream and received the first US patent for mechanical cooling in 1851. Concern for his yellow fever patients motivated Gorrie to invent a method to cool their rooms. He invented a cooling system for the city of Apalachicola with a temperature control similar to today's refrigerators. Located in the John Gorries Museum and State Park on the University of Florida campus, the museum displays exhibits documenting the important role of Apalacola in Florida's economic development in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

The customs office was opened in 1821, and when the young doctor John Gorrie arrived in 1833, Apalachicola flourished as the third largest port on the Gulf, hosting ships carrying cotton from Europe and New England. During his time as a resident, Gorries was responsible for building Florida's first public hospital and establishing a public school system. It was home to more than 1,000 inhabitants and a population of over 2,500 people.

But the most important work was in medicine: during a yellow fever outbreak, Gorrie's concern for patients with the disease prompted him to develop a method for cooling their rooms. He invented an ice-making machine, laying the foundation for the development of the first cooling system in the United States and the invention of modern refrigerators. After several years of marketing his invention and experiencing the far-reaching effects of his discovery, he died of tuberculosis in 1855.

The arrival of the railroad in the 1850s influenced the city's economic growth and the development of its industrial base, but its shrinking economy was further destroyed by a blockade that closed off the port during the Civil War. The economy remained in depression until after the war, when a thriving timber industry developed, reviving its income. It was the peak of a timber boom until the 1930s, when the floodplains along the Apalachicola River were cleared of cypresses.

Faced with economic collapse, Apalachicola began to capitalize on readily available natural resources, building a railroad and opening the John Gorriere Museum and State Park in the 1930s.

The fishing industry flourished, with Apalachicola leading the state's oyster production and serving as the main supplier of crab, shrimp and fish. The bay has been a source of sponges and seafood since the early days of settlement, and canned fish became the main industry of the town.

The Apalachicola River is a breeding ground for many marine animals, and the conservation of the river has become an important national issue, as the economic stability of a city depends on the protection of its system. Today, Apalacola has more than 1,000 species of crabs, shrimps, oysters, crabs and shrimps, with daily catches tied to the pier.