A group of cars sits parked on open sand. A cook-out is going on the beach. Four young women stand together at the water's edge. Two couples who taught at Washington High School pose for the camera. Those are the captions on four photographs credited to the George Washington School Museum that ran in The Port St. Joe Star this fall, and all of them were taken at Money Bayou.
This Saturday, November 14, the St. Joseph Historical Society unveils a Florida State Historical Marker for that beach. Most people who drive the roads past the Cape think of this coastline as state park land, beach houses and rental decks. Money Bayou adds an earlier layer. Long before any of that, Port St. Joe owned a piece of this shoreline. The founders were five men from town, and the photos are credited to a museum in town. The dedication day starts in a school gymnasium in North Port St. Joe before it heads out to the water.
Five Port St. Joe Names and 31 Acres
The Star reports that Money Bayou Beach was founded in 1951 by five Black entrepreneurs from Port St. Joe: Damon Peters Sr., Raymond A. Driesbach Sr., Dr. Francis M. Hall, Damon Peters Jr. and Nathan Peters Sr. They pooled their money and paid $30,000 for a 31-acre site. Their goal was a safe place for Black beachgoers during segregation. A record in the State Archives of Florida's Florida Memory collection lists the same five buyers and says they bought Money Bayou from Alfred P. Andersen and ran it as a beach for African Americans.
The Star's account puts the purchase in perspective with one line:
"At its founding, Money Bayou Beach was one of only four Black-owned beaches on Florida's Gulf Coast."
The whole Gulf Coast of Florida had four of them, and one belonged to a group of neighbors from Port St. Joe. That makes Money Bayou more than a footnote to Cape history. From its founding until the early 1970s, it was a Gulf beach owned by Black residents of Port St. Joe and built for Black families.
What Stood on the Sand
According to The Star, the destination was incorporated in 1953 and grew into a working resort with:
- Cottages, some privately owned and some for rent
- A dance hall
- A café
- Live entertainment from nationally known Black performers, including Joe Tex, Sam & Dave and "Moms" Mabley
The paper reports that Black vacationers came to Money Bayou from communities across the Southeast. Visitors traveling from that far are how a 31-acre beach outside Port St. Joe ended up booking Sam & Dave.
The photographs show the everyday side of the place. The State Archives holds a picture of Leroy and Wilhemina Webster at the beach from around 1950, catalogued under "Money Beach." The museum photos printed by The Star show cars pulled onto the sand and a cook-out underway. One shows Washington High School teachers Clarence and Audrey Monette with Jessie and Vivian Bynes. In those pictures, Port St. Joe's teachers and families are spending a day at the beach that Port St. Joe owned.
The Timeline, From Shore Houses to State Marker
Money Bayou's record goes back further than the resort, and its ownership changed several times after the crowds thinned. Pulled together from The Star and the State Archives, it runs like this:
- January 1946. A photograph in the State Archives documents houses on the shore of Money Bayou.
- Circa 1950. Leroy and Wilhemina Webster are photographed at the beach.
- 1951. The five Port St. Joe founders buy the 31-acre site for $30,000.
- 1953. The destination is incorporated.
- 1961. A map of Unit 2 of the Money Bayou Subdivision is drawn. The State Archives describes the area as east of Cape San Blas Camping Resort.
- Early 1970s. The Star reports attendance falling off as public facilities integrated and Black families became more mobile.
- Late 1990s. After an earlier sale to a member of the Peters family in California, the beachfront property goes to a land developer.
- November 14, 2026. The state marker is unveiled at Money Bayou.
Step six is the turning point. Money Bayou was founded as a haven during segregation, so once public facilities integrated and families could travel more freely, fewer of them made the trip. The resort's decline came from the same changes that made it less necessary.
Why the Day Starts at Washington Gym
The dedication has two stops, and the first one is in town. According to Visit Gulf, the schedule for Saturday, November 14, is:
| Time | Location | What happens |
|---|---|---|
| 11:00 a.m. ET | Washington Gym, 414 Kenny St., Port St. Joe | Historical marker ceremony |
| 1:00 p.m. ET | Money Bayou | Marker unveiling and dedication |
The event is free and is presented by the St. Joseph Historical Society. The Star's earlier notice spells the street "Kenney."
Starting at the gym ties the event to the school whose museum keeps the photographs. The gym belonged to George Washington High School. Visit Gulf says the school started in a wooden building around 1940, moved to a larger facility on Kenny Street and opened in a concrete building in 1952, one year after the founders bought Money Bayou. The Star has reported that the historically segregated high school was partly torn down in 1970. The gym survived and has stayed a gathering place for meetings, celebrations and summer camps.
A 2023 Star story on the gym's murals says one mural shows David Jones, who coached basketball at the school during desegregation and whose name is on the preserved gym. The George Washington School Museum, listed by Visit Gulf at 303 Peters St., is the source credited for the Money Bayou photographs The Star published.
The school community, the museum and the founders all come from the same part of town. Holding the ceremony there first keeps the history tied to where it came from. The unveiling then carries it out to the beach.
Getting From the Gym to the Bayou
The two-stop format grew out of a practical problem. When the dedication was first set for Saturday, October 10, The Star reported that shuttle buses would run from Washington Gym to the beach from 1 to 4 p.m., because the beach site has no public parking. That plan also included a free picnic lunch and a keynote by Dr. Willie Tolliver. He was set to speak about the site's history and his own childhood summers there, coming over from Apalachicola. The paper describes Tolliver as board secretary of the Apalachicola River Free Settlements Cultural Collective and a board member of the North Florida African American Corridor project.
The event has since moved to November 14. For shuttle times and lunch details on the new date, The Star lists two contacts on the Historical Society's project team: Clarence Monette at 850-899-1479 and Mimi Minnick at 850-229-2279. Call before Saturday so you aren't left looking for a parking spot at the beach.
A Marker the County Paid Nothing For
The Star reports that the St. Joseph Historical Society applied to the Florida Department of State's Division of Historical Resources after the Gulf County Board of County Commissioners approved the effort. Private donations paid for the entire marker.
The beach started with private money too. Five Port St. Joe men put up $30,000 in 1951, and 75 years later private donors paid for the sign that tells the story. Saturday's ceremony starts at 11 a.m. ET at Washington Gym, and the unveiling at Money Bayou follows at 1 p.m. ET.
If Money Bayou has you curious about the history of your own stretch of Cape San Blas or Port St. Joe, The Duarte Team at Coastal Realty Group is always glad to talk, in English or Spanish. When you're ready, ask us for a free home valuation or our local market guide.
