Booker T. Washington of the Tuskegee Institute and Julius Rosenwald, philanthropist and president of Sears Roebuck, built state-of-the art schools for African- American children across the South. The effort has been called the most important initiative to advance black education in the early 20th century. Attending a Rosenwald School put a student at the vanguard […]
Author: DianeMerkel
Movie Theaters in DeFuniak Springs
The Murray Theatre was built in 1921 and later became the Ritz Theater. “Requiem for a Heavyweight” was distributed in 1962, so this photograph is most likely from that era. The theater is still on Baldwin Avenue and is called the Chautauqua Theater. It is used for theatrical performances. The following timeline is based on […]
House Party at Grayton Beach, 1953
This photograph from the summer of 1953, which is courtesy of Perry Ammons Correll, was likely taken at “Wickhaven,” the Grayton Beach house then owned by the Wickersham family. The house has since been moved to the southwest corner of DeFuniak Street and Hotz Avenue and was known for many years as Washaway House. The […]
812 Circle Drive, DeFuniak Springs
An advertisement appeared in the DeFuniak Springs Herald on August 24, 2017, congratulating “Alex Alexander, sales associate with Naylor Realty & Associates, on the sale of the home located at 812 Circle Drive.” The ad continued: “The new owner plans to do a total restoration on one of the most important historic homes located on […]
Sunbright Manor, DeFuniak Springs
Construction on the house known as Sunbright Manor started about 1886, and it was completed around 1890. The original owner was J. T. Sherman of Brodhead, Wisconsin, who used it as a winter residence for his family. The exterior of the home is primarily white with black trim, and it has an octagonal tower, two […]
The New York House, DeFuniak Springs
The following item appeared in The Breeze newspaper on July 13, 1911: A Friend of ours, Gone. Mr. J. C. Scott, one of the pioneer northern settlers of DeFuniak, passed away at his summer home in Chautauqua, N. Y., on the 30th of last month from a stroke of paralysis which attacked him on the […]
The Great Fire of 1898
Local photographer T. Hope Cawthon took the photo above on Saturday, September 17, 1898, from the post office, which was then between the train depot (now the Walton County Heritage Museum) and the Hotel Chautauqua (now the Gulf Power building). The photograph shows the train tracks running parallel to Baldwin Avenue between Seventh and Eighth […]
A Wesley Wedding in Point Washington
Marie Louise “Mickey” Wesley and Kenneth Robert “Bob” Swinford were married at the Wesley House (now part of Eden Gardens State Park in Point Washington) on December 19, 1938. In this photograph, the bride, wearing a dark top with a corsage, and her groom were flanked by her parents who owned the house, William Henry […]
The Honeymoon Route to the Gulf
On July 6, 2011, the following item appeared in The Breeze newspaper, which was published in DeFuniak Springs: The following telegram which was sent to the DeFuniak delegates at Moultrie last Friday created no little amusement when read by Mr. Storrs, in his argument before the committee: “All the world loves a lover” as the […]