The St. Joseph Peninsula extends northward from the west end of Cape San Blas.

Cape San Blas was home to a Confederate Saltworks where 150 bushels of salt a day were processed by evaporation of seawater. This halted in 1862 when a landing party from the Union ship, the USS Kingfisher, destroyed the saltworks.

Cape San Blas has had 4 lighthouses, 2 of which were destroyed by hurricanes, the 3rd eaten away by erosion and in 1883 the 4th iron frame lighthouse was constructed.