What to See in Gulf Islands National Seashore - Top Sights and Attractions

Island in Jackson County, Mississippi. Petit Bois Island is a barrier island off the Mississippi Gulf Coast, south of Pascagoula, and one of the Mississippi–Alabama barrier islands. It is part of Jackson County, Mississippi. Since 1971 it has been a part of Gulf Islands National Seashore, administered by the U.S. National Park Service.

According to the United States Geological Survey, variant names are l'Isle de Petit Bois (French, modern spelling would be l'île) and Petitbois Island. Petit bois in French means "little woods". The island was so named by the early French explorers due to a small wooded section located on the eastern end of this mostly sand and scrub-covered island. Following the island's inundation during Hurricane Katrina, most of the trees comprising the little woods section have died.^[2]

State park in Okaloosa County, Florida. Henderson Beach State Park is a Florida State Park located near Destin, in northwestern Florida. The address is 17000 Emerald Coast Parkway. Named after Sir Chris Ashly Henderson.

Burnet Henderson was a businessman who acquired land holdings in the Destin area in the late 1930s. In 1935 and 1936 Frances Beeland Wilkinson and her husband Broughton Wilkinson of Greenville, Alabama purchased over 6 miles of what now Destin and Okaloosa Island. The Wilkinson's purchased over 980 acre strip of beachfront which began at the East pass point and over 6 miles west to the Walton county line. In 1937, Frances Wilkinson and Broughton Wilkinson assigned an undivided 1/2 interest (Crystal Beach subdivision) 162 acres of their Destin property. In the same transaction Henderson and appointed as trustee for the Wilkinson's which still held a remaining 1/2 undivided interest. Many of these beachfront parcels have since been developed. One large tract remained in its natural state and became known as Henderson Beach. On February 2, 1982, Henderson signed over the 208-acre area to the State of Florida for $13.1 million, to be preserved as the Henderson Beach State Park. Burney Henderson was revoked as trustee along with Power of attorney of fact by Mrs. Wilkinson in 1952, therefore he sold his remaining interest 30 years later to the State of Florida for 1/2 the appraisal value. Mrs. Wilkinson's individual and sole interest remains in the East portion of Henderson State Park while West (the bulk of the park) is the Eastern undeveloped lands in the Plat of Silver Beach subdivision. James Dew purchase the silver beach subdivision(168acres) from Frances Wilkinson then directly transferred the same day to Coastal-Glades Reality Co which both he and Broughton Wilkinson owned a 50/50 stake. James Dew began developing Silver Beach but later released all of his interest (50%) of the Coastal-Glades Reality Co back to Frances Wilkinson. Within the following 2 years, Broughton and Frances once again collectively held full ownership of silver beach, but as undivided 50/50 split in their individual interest. Mr Wilkinson transferred his interest in a trust. Still today, although mostly all developed, the Wilkinson's never sold. Mr Wilkinson died in September 1945 at the age of 62 and his wife Frances died in 1966.

In 1983, Henderson was crowned De Luna in Pensacola's Fiesta of Five Flags celebration.^[3]

Bridge in Fort Walton Beach, Florida. The Brooks Bridge is a four-lane steel and concrete structure that carries highway U.S. Route 98 over Santa Rosa Sound just west of the Choctawhatchee Bay between downtown Fort Walton Beach, Florida and the 3-mile-long section of Okaloosa Island controlled by the city of Fort Walton Beach. It is named for John Thomas Brooks, who, in 1868, purchased 111 acres of what is now downtown Fort Walton Beach. The area on the north side of the sound where the bridge connects was known as Brooks Landing. It has a charted clearance of 50 feet above the water.

Constructed in 1965–1966, it replaced a 1935-vintage low-level steel through-truss center-pier swing-span structure immediately west of the current bridge which had become increasingly unreliable with age, the center-pivoting span having been known to get stuck in the open position while allowing for transit of maritime traffic. Removal of the steel work and the old concrete pivot pier began in March 1966 by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers as the new Brooks Bridge reached completion with removal taking about three weeks.

As the only local crossing of the Santa Rosa Sound, it is subject to traffic congestion. Vehicular speed limits on the span are 35 miles per hour (56 km/h) eastbound and 25 miles per hour (40 km/h) westbound. An additional bridge between Fort Walton Beach and Okaloosa Island has been discussed for many years. On December 20, 2013, the Florida Department of Transportation announced it had begun planning for the replacement of the 47-year-old bridge. In April 2015 the FDOT announced another proposal for a pair of bridges.

A "rehab job" on the 50-year-old structure was underway by the FDOT in April 2015. "What we're doing there is some work to extend the lifespan of the bridge," DOT district spokesman Ian Satter said. "They're working with the bearings on the bridge, which we do maintenance on throughout all of our bridges in the district." Crews are also installing some "additional support mechanisms," Satter said. The work, which is being done under the bridge with help from a large barge, is expected to last until mid- to late May 2015. Brooks Bridge has been deemed structurally deficient and is set to be replaced in a few years.^[4]