Century, FL

Century sits in northeastern Escambia County where the Florida Panhandle's pine country meets the Escambia River floodplain. Its story is tied to the Alger-Sullivan Lumber Company, which established a sawmill community here in 1901, the first year of the twentieth century, hence the name. The post office opened that same year. A planned residential district still hints at the company-town layout, when the community included a hotel, hospital, commissary, schools, churches, and worker housing. The town was incorporated in 1945 as South Flomaton and took the Century name in 1979.

ATTREbyabe / CC BY-SA 3.0

Today, Century is part of the Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent metro, but it has a distinct north-county rhythm. Jefferson Street carries the older business district, and Hudson's Grocery, now home to Mama Ruth's Café, ties food and conversation to the town's commercial past. Showalter Park gives residents a place for splash-pad afternoons, ball games, playground time, and community gatherings. Escambia County schools serve area children, while Century Correctional Institution remains a major employer. The surrounding floodplain, pine woods, and long highway connections make the town feel like a working crossroads at the edge of the river country.