As its name suggests, the First Coast was the first area of Florida
colonized by Europeans, at
Fort Caroline, Florida, in 1564. However, as with several other of Florida's vernacular regions, the "First Coast" identity originated in the tourism industry of the 20th Century before it was adopted within the community at large. In 1983 the
Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce commissioned the William Cook Advertising Agency to develop a new nickname and comprehensive marketing campaign for the entire
metropolitan area –
Duval,
Baker,
Clay,
Nassau, and
St. Johns counties. Jacksonville already had other nicknames, but local officials wanted a new identity to better promote the entire region without overshadowing the identities of the individual localities. The term "Florida's First Coast" was coined by William Cook staff members Kay Johnson, Bryan Cox, and Bill Jones, and was officially introduced in the "First Coast Anthem" at the 1983
Gator Bowl. The First Coast is similar to Florida's various other
"Coast" regions such as the
Space Coast and the
Gold Coast that emerged as a result of marketing campaigns.
Juan Ponce de León may have landed in this region during his first expedition in 1513, and the early French colony of
Fort Caroline was founded in present-day Jacksonville in 1564. Significantly, the First Coast includes
St. Augustine, the oldest continuously inhabited European-established city in the continental U.S., founded by the Spanish in 1565. The First Coast identity has spread to other nearby areas, being found as far south as
Flagler Beach in
Flagler County, Florida and
Palatka in
Putnam County, Florida, and as far north as
St. Mary's, Georgia. In 2013, the
Florida Times-Union noted that within the area, St. Johns County had begun to brand itself as the "Historic Coast". ==Northeast Florida==