Northeast Florida

First Coast Northeast Florida
Region
Left to right from top: United States Post Office, Custom House, and Courthouse in Fernandina Beach, Lightner Museum in St. Augustine, Hemming Park in Jacksonville, Downtown Jacksonville skyline, Jacksonville Beach Pier, the Bronson-Mulholland House in Palatka.
Northeast Florida counties
Country	United States
State	Florida
Largest city	Jacksonville
Cities	Fernandina Beach Jacksonville Beach Palatka Palm Coast St. Augustine Yulee
Counties	Baker Clay Duval Flagler Nassau Putnam St. Johns

Florida's First Coast, or simply the First Coast, is a region of the U.S. state of Florida, located on the Atlantic coast of North Florida. The First Coast refers to the same general area as the "directional" region of Northeast Florida. It roughly comprises the five counties surrounding Jacksonville: Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns, largely corresponding to the Jacksonville metropolitan area, and may include other nearby areas such as Putnam and Flagler counties in Florida and Camden County, Georgia. The name originated in a marketing campaign in the 1980s, and has since emerged as one of Florida's best known vernacular regions.

As its name suggests, the First Coast was the first area of Florida colonized by Europeans, but as with several other of Florida's vernacular regions, a popular identity covering the whole area originated with the tourism industry before being adopted by the community at large. The concept of the First Coast was developed for the Jacksonville Chamber of Commerce by the William Cook Advertising Agency in 1983. Jacksonville already had other nicknames, but local officials wanted a comprehensive marketing campaign for the entire metropolitan area – Duval, Baker, Clay, Nassau and St. Johns counties – to better promote the region without overshadowing the identities of the particular localities involved. 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.