Millview, Florida

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Millview is an unincorporated community on Perdido Bay in Escambia County, Florida. It may have been settled as early as 1783, and its history is tied to the timber industry. At one time, Millview had up to six lumber mills and about 3,000 residents.

Sawmills began early in Millview; one of the first built in 1868 could produce up to 35,000 feet of lumber per day. Mills in Millview included the Wright Mill, Robinson Mill, Seminole Mill, McLane Mill, New Mill, and the Perdido Bay Lumber Company Mill. In 1880, the mills together produced 30–40 million board feet per year. The largest mill was the Perdido Bay Lumber Company mill, measuring 175 by 55 feet, with one engine, a gang saw, two circular saws, and six boilers.

After the Civil War, the Southern States Lumber Company bought much of the land in Millview and donated land for a church and a school. The Pensacola and Perdido Railroad began hauling lumber from Millview to Pensacola Bay in 1874. In 1893, Henry McLaughlin extended the Pensacola, Alabama, and Tennessee Railroad from Millview to Muscogee. In February 1913, McLaughlin formed the Pensacola, Mobile, and New Orleans Railway, which absorbed the Pensacola, Alabama, and Tennessee and the Pensacola and Perdido Railroads.

Local business owners J. B. Johnson and George Robinson ran sawmills and general stores in Millview and issued their own scrip for use in their stores. A post office operated under the name Millview from 1872 to 1935.