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Northwest Florida / Bay County / Lynn Haven

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Lynn Haven

Lynn Haven is its own city on North Bay, founded in 1911 as a colony for Union Civil War veterans and still centered on Ohio Avenue.

Lynn Haven

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Dates vary from year to year; current dates are on This Week.

Its own city just north of Panama City, with its own city hall and high school.

Lynn Haven is a small city with its own city hall, police and parks, about 15 minutes up State Road 77 from downtown Panama City. Weeks here run on ballgames, concerts in the park and errands on Highway 77, with the Gulf a half-hour drive away.

Where it is

SR 77 is the main street. Through downtown it's Ohio Avenue, and to the south it becomes Lynn Haven Parkway on the way into Panama City. Heading north, SR 77 crosses North Bay to Southport. City Hall is at 825 Ohio Avenue.

A town built for veterans

Lynn Haven began in 1911 as a colony for Union veterans, promoted by W.H. Lynn of the National Tribune, the Grand Army of the Republic's newspaper. The first land went on sale January 11, 1911: a town lot plus five acres outside town for $150. The city incorporated in 1913. Its landmark is the Union Soldiers Monument at 8th Street and Georgia Avenue, a bronze soldier set forty feet up and facing north. Veterans paid for it from their pension checks, and it was dedicated on Lincoln's birthday in 1921.

Homes

The blocks around Ohio Avenue sit on a grid of numbered streets. Newer subdivisions, among them Mowat Highlands, Timbers Crossing and Camryn's Crossing, spread across the south side of town, near A. Crawford Mosley High School.

Everyday life and local favorites

Sharon Sheffield Park, in the middle of town on Ohio Avenue, is the town green: a shaded playground, walking paths and an amphitheater that hosts the spring and fall concert series, the MLK Festival, Trunk or Treat, farmers' markets and Art in the Park. The Lynn Haven Sports Complex on Recreation Drive has five baseball and softball fields, indoor and outdoor basketball and pickleball, and covered batting cages. Dogs get the Bark Park at A.L. Kinsaul Park. For lunch, Simply Seafood & Oyster Bar is on Ohio Avenue.

Getting around

Downtown Panama City is about 15 minutes south, and HCA Florida Gulf Coast Hospital about 10. The airport is about 25 minutes away. Pier Park and the Gulf are about 30 minutes over the Hathaway Bridge, and Rosemary Beach about 45.

Before you buy

Inside city limits, the City of Lynn Haven handles permits, zoning and city services. Zoned schools depend on the street address. Check it with the Bay District Schools zone lookup.

Explore nearby

City of Lynn Haven, Bay County

18,695 · 2020 Census · U.S. Census