Anna's story reveals details about Camp Walton / Ft. Walton Beach that many don't know or have forgotten. What a wonderful beach camp on the sound. Many of these pictures and notes are not included in other publications. The Smiths were certainly early resort pioneers in this resort driven beach community.
As a historic and well known resort area on the Emerald Coast, more exposure to Ft. Walton Beach's past is important. Its beautiful and strategic location attracted early natives, explorers, the best entrepreneurs and daring individuals. The high elevation of this area protected early native peoples and provided strategic harbors and sites for the military over many years. The beautiful dunes and sand satisfied a sophisticated and demanding beach crowd. Boating and fishing were long part of Ft. Walton Beach's legacy and livelihood.
Anna’s Stories – Camp Walton – Brenda Rees – Shaping Florida
© Brenda Rees All Rights Reserved
Transcript from handwritten paper by Anna Smith Hollingsworth Reardon (33 pages)
Typed by Brenda Rees – Shaping Florida 5-28-2009
From Anna’s papers left with her son Sonny Hollingsworth and presented to me.
(Sonny is married to my mother, Gloria.)
“Lewis Irvin Smith (1845-1932)
Anna Durinda Brown Smith (1843-1929)
As recalled by Anna Smith Reardon
DeFuniak Springs, Fla.
9-10-78
…page 15 ...Uncle and Auntie soon bought and found a summer home near the Gulf of Mexico. It was (and still is) in Camp Walton (now Fort Walton Beach,) facing the sound and just west of the Sheraton Marina Inn. They spent their summers there for several years. Uncle bought a
Page 16 nice cabin cruiser, or launch, and named it the “Anna.” He built a boat house near the front of his house, he never learned to operate the boat, but persuaded his friends, Mr. and Mrs. E.S. Buck, to move from DeFuniak Springs to Camp Walton. Mr. Buck bought or built a water front home nearby, for his family, which included a son, Ralph and a daughter Mabel (now Mrs. Mabel Buchanan who still lives in Ft. Walton Beach.) Mr. Buck built a general store over the water, to the west of the boat house. He dispensed gasoline to boats, sold all kinds of merchandise, and for many years was the village post master, with the post office in one corner of the store. On the days Uncle and Auntie chose to take a boat ride, Mr. Buck was the pilot and engineer. One favorite trip
Page 17 was to Camp Pinchot to visit Mr. and Mrs. I.F. Eldridge (Mr. Eldridge was the National Forester.) Another was to the Elce Studios, where a brother and two sisters painted in oils, had hand painted china for sale, as well as hand carved wooden articles. On most trips, Uncle bought hand painted china for Auntie and for friends. He commissioned one of the artists to paint two oil paintings. I have one.
I’m fairly sure that Uncle had a financial interest in the “Brooks House,” one of the earliest hotels in Camp Walton. I recall it as an unpainted two-story frame building. My family often visited Uncle and Auntie at Camp Walton, and we took meals at the “Brooks House” occasionally. A recent history of the area calls this the “Brooks Hotel” but I don’t
Page 18 recall ever hearing it called by that name. It was located about where the Sheraton Marina Inn is now.
Uncle was not entirely satisfied with the location of his house, so soon disposed of it and bought the “Gulfview Hotel” and the house just west of it. I don’t recall who ran the hotel at that time, or whether it was being operated. I do remember that Uncle L.I. entered into an agreement with the Staff and Gerlach families, whereby they came from Indiana to operate the hotel. Uncle and Auntie spent their summers in the cottage next door and took their meals at the hotel. One summer, I remember that my parents and I, with my sister and brother, Kenneth, stayed for two weeks at the hotel. Other summers we stayed at the cottage and took our meals at the
Page 19 hotel. Uncle and Auntie were very hospitable, one summer, the vacation group included a friend of the family, Miss Steptoe Campbell of King William, Va. My older brothers took their vacations with Uncle and Auntie, as well as many others.
When we were there, Papa would row us to a swimming spot west of Camp Walton, called “the shallows.” This was usually before breakfast. Also, at least once a day we went by row boat or launch to Santa Rosa Island where we walked across and bathed in the gulf. The island was entirely uninhabited and without litter of any kind.
I remember the day the Staffs and Gerlachs arrived from Indiana on one of the passenger boats that traveled from Pensacola to Freeport. After that, we enjoyed
Page 20 bountiful meals of good German cooking. Miss Agnes Gerlach often made twenty pies in the morning. She did most of the baking, but I believe Mrs. Staff, her sister, made the bread. Miss Frances Gerlach ran a store built over the water. Mr. Staff had a fine garden, fished, and raised pigs and cows, thus providing most of the food for the hotel. They were a musical family, and often joined the guests in singing and playing musical instruments at night.
In the early years, travel to Camp Walton was by boat from Freeport. Sometimes we came home by way of Pensacola, traveling by train for the last lap. I can recall trips on the “Captain Fritz,” a stern wheeler, the “Charles E. Cessna,” a side wheeler, the “Eugene,” a double deck gasoline
Page 21 powered boat, and possibly others. The “Ruth” was the mail launch for many years, and took passengers, but it was small, so we never traveled on it.
Within a few years the Staffs and Gerlachs had bought the hotel. Meanwhile, Uncle had loaned money to Mr. Charles Shipley, who ran “The Cedars,” a hotel at Mary Esther, a few miles west of Camp Walton. Uncle and Auntie had wearied of the summer crowds at Camp Walton, so built their final vacation home on Santa Rosa Sound at Mary Esther. When we visited there, we usually had our meals at “The Cedars,” and sometimes they were prepared in a small house in the yard by a cook. Auntie didn’t like the odor of cooking food in the house, so the completely equipped kitchen was
Page 22 seldom, if ever used. The house had a basement and a furnace, two bath rooms and two large, wide porches.
All these years, Uncle and Auntie returned to their “Wiscasset” home in DeFuniak Springs for the winter months. When the roads became passable, one of my brothers or my grandfather would furnish transportation for them back and forth to Mary Esther. Uncle and Grand-dad bought at least two cars together (a Maxwell and a Dodge), but Uncle never learned to drive. (I recall that I was terribly embarrassed because much of Uncle and Auntie’s luggage was wrapped in newspaper and tied with string, though they owned elegant leather luggage.) ...
End of this installation of Anna’s Stories – Camp Walton – Brenda Rees – Shaping Florida
See the other blogs by Brenda Rees – Shaping Florida to learn about the Real History of the Real Florida. (I'm working on transferring all of Anna's Stories to new blog site)
HOW DID I END UP WITH ANNA'S STORIES AND PICTURES?
Anna Smith was also known as Anna Reardon, News reporter and historian. Her only son, Sonny Hollingsworth, is married to my mother. That is how I came by these pictures and stories. They were cleaning out attic in DeFuniak one day and found this box of her hand written notes and pictures.
I have enjoyed reading your Aunt's stories of Camp Walton. Thanks for posting these. If you have more stories as well as pictures, would love to read more. I have always enjoyed exploring the early history of our area. Jim Garrett
ReplyDeleteThank you so much for posting these interesting stories. Adam Gerlach was my great grandfather. My family and I spent many vacations in the summer staying in Nell and Eddie Staff's boathouse over the water. I can remember going up to the Gulfview to visit Uncle Theo, Aunt Molly, Aunt Aggie and Uncle Joe. Any link to long dead relatives is always wonderful to explore. Thanks again. Vivian Ashley
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