Reprinted from The Morning News, Savannah, Georgia, August 12, 1894, page 11. AFTER SPANISH GOLD. To Renew the Search for Pirates’ Treasure. Deposits Supposed to Exist in Florida, Near Pensacola—Fate Interrupted a Search—Efforts to Form a Syndicate of Moneyed Men to Renew the Investigation—Capital Needed. From the New York Advertiser….
Category: DeFuniak Springs
How DeFuniak Springs Acquired Its Name
By Anna Reardon, Staff Writer, DeFuniak Springs Herald-Breeze, December 28, 1972, Page 1Published by the Genealogical Society of Okaloosa County, Volume XIX, Number 66, Winter 1995, Pages 52-53. The man for whom the town of DeFuniak Springs was named, was a Frenchman, according to his grandson, Colonel William Q. DeFuniak…
Drive-in Theaters in Walton County
Highway 90 Drive-in in DeFuniak Springs Trail Drive-in in DeFuniak Springs Starlite Drive-in in Paxton/Laurel Hill If you have any information about these movie drive-ins, please write to DianeMerkel@cox.net.
Stuart Knox Gillis
Stuart Knox Gillis, seventh son and eleventh child of John and Christian McIntosh Gillis, was born at Knox Hill, Walton County, Florida on July 28, 1866. He, like his older brothers, attended school at the Old Knox Hill Academy. As did many of his Gillis kin, Knox Gillis taught school in his younger…
David Donaldson
In a story called, “David Donaldson (left) My Great Grandfather” it states, in part: “Benjamin [Donaldson] served three years in the Confederate Army, was captured by the Yankees and finally joined up with the Union forces at Barrancas in Pensacola. Ben was a blacksmith and his young son Dave worked…
Hygeia Coca-Cola Bottling Plant
In June 1903, L. G. Crosby became the sole owner of the new Pensacola Coca-Cola franchise. In September of that year, he produced the first bottle of Coca-Cola in the Pensacola plant. By 1924, Crosby had succeeded in running his competitors out of business and had the only bottling plant…
The Florida House
Camillus F. Hinesley owned The Florida House from 1914 until 1928. It was located on the northeast corner of Nelson Avenue and Eighth Street, across from what is now the Hotel DeFuniak. The hotel was renamed The Florida Hotel and continued in operation until 1962 when it was consumed by…
Hotel Chautauqua
The Hotel Chautauqua was built in time for the first Florida Chautauqua Assembly in 1885. It was located on the site that was until recently occupied by Gulf Power on Circle Drive. The photograph above was taken by G. Willard Shear in 1887. Note the fence on the lakeside, which…
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…
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…