First Coast
First Coast
Northeast Florida | |
|---|---|
Left to right from top: United States Post Office, Custom House, and Courthouse in Fernandina Beach, Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, James Weldon Johnson Park in Jacksonville, Downtown Jacksonville skyline, Jacksonville Beach Pier, the Matanzas River in Palm Coast. | |
Northeast Florida counties | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| Largest city | Jacksonville |
| Cities | Fernandina Beach Jacksonville Beach Palatka Palm Coast St. Augustine Yulee |
| Counties | Baker Clay Duval Flagler Nassau Putnam St. Johns |
Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is the Atlantic coast of North Florida in the United States. It is the same general area as the directional region of Northeast Florida. It consists roughly of the counties abutting Jacksonville: Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau, and St. Johns—and nearby Flagler County and Putnam County. The "First Coast" name originated in a marketing campaign in the 1980s, and has become part of Florida's regional vernacular. It is so named due to its history as the first European settlement in what is now the mainland United States, at Fort Caroline, Florida, in 1564.