Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee Designates Main Street Blountstown as the Florida Main Street Program of the Month

Tallahassee –

Secretary of State Laurel M. Lee announced today that Main Street Blountstown has been designated the November 2019 Florida Main Street Program of the Month. Programs are selected based on their development achievements and participation in the Florida Main Street program.

“Main Street Blountstown has made tremendous strides to help their community following Hurricane Michael’s impact last October,” said Secretary Lee. “The commitment to rebuild and rejuvenate their downtown is admirable.”

Main Street Blountstown at the 2019 North Florida Wildflower Festival

Located in Florida’s Panhandle, the city of Blountstown is a small city with a population of less than 3,000. Blountstown was established as the county seat of Calhoun County in 1880. The old county courthouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in October 1980.

Main Street Blountstown became a Florida Main Street program in 1998. Over the last 21 years, they have reported more than $8.8 million in private and public reinvestments, 35 new businesses, 143 new jobs and more than 5,000 volunteer hours.

Blountstown’s historic downtown suffered severe damage as a result of Hurricane Michael in October 2018. However, in only one year since the storm, Main Street Blountstown’s grassroots efforts raised and distributed more than $20,000 to the city and community groups to assist in hurricane recovery efforts. In addition to their grassroots fundraising efforts over the past year, Main Street Blountstown is finalizing plans for Christmas in the Square to be held December 7^th in conjunction with the City of Blountstown’s annual Christmas Parade.

“We are excited to keep moving forward,” said Main Street Blountstown President Benjamin Walden. “The continuous support of our board and community has been absolutely amazing, and I am thrilled to see what we are able to accomplish in coming years.”

For more information on Main Street Blountstown, visit facebook.com/mainstreetblountstown. For more information on the Florida Main Street program, visit floridamainstreet.com or facebook.com/FloridaMainStreet.

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About Florida Main Street                                                                                                           Florida Main Street is a program administered by the Division of Historical Resources under the Florida Department of State, which currently oversees 46 communities throughout the state. By implementing the National Main Street Center’s Four-Point Approach©, Florida Main Street encourages economic development within the context of historic preservation through the revitalization of Florida’s downtowns – the community’s heart and soul.