Milton is a city in and the county seat of Santa Rosa County, Florida, located in the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area, also known as the Pensacola Metropolitan Area. Milton is located in the geographic center of Santa Rosa County, it is bordered by Pace to the west, and Navarre to the South. As of April 1, 2020, the population of Milton was 10,197. The town was incorporated in 1844 and is home to Naval Air Station Whiting Field. Milton is part of the Pensacola–Ferry Pass–Brent Metropolitan Statistical Area. Etymology Milton was known by various names during its development. Most notable were "Hell-Town" (muggy, inhospitable land covered with briars, mosquitoes, thorns, snakes) "Jernigan's Landing", "Scratch Ankle" (due to the briars that grew along the riverbank), and "Hard Scrabble." According to Florida historian Allen Morris, "Just which Milton was honored by the final name is a dispute. Some say it is a contraction of an earlier Milltown; others that it was Milton Amos, pioneer and ancestor of the present Amos family; still others that it was John Milton—not the English poet, but the Civil War governor of Florida." History Milton was settled in the early 1800s as a small village centered on the lumber industry. The settlement originally was known as Scratch Ankle because of the briars and bramble that grew in the area. Another name was Jernigan's Landing after Benjamin Jernigan (died April 1847), who built a water-powered saw mill at what is now Locklin Lake between 1828 and 1830. Other names were Lumberton, Black Water, and Hard Scrabble, but by 1839, it was being referred to as Milltown. Milton was incorporated as a town in 1844, one year before the Territory of Florida joined the United States as the 27th state. During the Civil War, much of Milton was burned by Confederate forces retreating from the Union capture of Pensacola in May 2-4 of 1862. The Confederates intended to prevent the town's industries from falling into Union hands. After the Southern forces evacuated the Union troops had a small garrison in nearby Bagdad where they had a base for expeditions in the surrounding area. Many Milton residents fled to Alabama. Naval Air Station Whiting Field was constructed during World War II with the help of many German prisoners of war who were housed in a camp on the site. The station was commissioned on July 16, 1943, by Rear