A tiny beachside community on the
Gulf of Mexico, located on the western edge of
Gulf County, Florida (29°55'22"N 85°23'9"W). Beacon Hill is in
Eastern Time, and abuts the time zone line with the city of
Mexico Beach in
Bay County, Florida (which is in
Central Time).
Beacon Hill's origins date back to the early 1800s. It got its name from the lighthouse which operated there until the 1970s. The beacon was useful to ships entering St. Joseph Bay for the deep water port of Port St. Joe, Florida.
Today, Beacon Hill is a sleepy village with fewer than 300 permanent residents, most of which work in nearby Port St. Joe (half an hour to the east) or Panama City (30-45 minutes to the west). It has rental condos for tourist accommodations, and the sugar white sands of the beaches are in Gulf County which legally permits bonfires and pets, unlike Bay County beaches to the west.