Editing Walton County, Florida (section)

==History==

Walton County was organized by European Americans in 1824. It was named for Colonel George Walton Jr., secretary of the [[Florida Territory]] from 1821 to 1826. Walton, the son of [[George Walton]], a signer of the Declaration of Independence, was born August 15, 1786, in [[Augusta, Georgia|Augusta]], [[Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia]], and died March 20, 1859, in [[Petersburg, Virginia|Petersburg]], [[Virginia]].<ref>{{cite book|title=Publications of the Florida Historical Society|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WZQ-AAAAYAAJ&pg=RA2-PA34|year=1908|publisher=Florida Historical Society|page=34}}</ref>

Between 1763 and 1783 the territory that has since become Walton County was part of the colony of [[British West Florida]]. During this time British settlers permanently settled in the area, becoming the first English-speaking people to permanently reside in what is now Walton County. During this period Scottish settlers migrated from the backcountry of [[the Carolinas]] and settled in the Defuniak Springs area while English settlers, most of whom were either farmers or fishermen, settled in the southern portion of the county by the sea, settling throughout the area that has since become Santa Rosa Beach, Sandestin, Miramar Beach, Point Washington, Seaside and [[Topsail Hill Preserve State Park]] and [[Point Washington State Forest]].

While the Scottish settlers had come from a recently established Scottish-majority settlement in North Carolina, the English settlers came largely from the English regions of [[Norfolk]], [[Dorset]] and the western half of [[Sussex]]. Both the Scots village in the northern portion of the county and the English community along the coast were largely self-contained and had economies that were entirely operational without external trade, as all products in use were made within the two respective communities, and the only external trade was between the Scots in Defuniak Springs and the English farmers/fishermen by the coast. Neither community exported the goods they produced for profit, nor did they have any imported goods at all as both communities relied on self-produced subsistence agriculture.<ref name=fabel>{{Cite book|title=The Economy of British West Florida, 1763–1783|last=Fabel|first=Robin F. A.|publisher=The University of Alabama Press|year=1988|isbn=0-8173-0312-X|location=Tuscaloosa, Alabama|page=[https://archive.org/details/economyofbritish0000fabe/page/179 179]|url-access=registration|url=https://archive.org/details/economyofbritish0000fabe/page/179}}</ref><ref name=born>{{Cite book|title=Governor Johnstone and trade in British West Florida, 1764–1767|last=Born|first=John D.|publisher=Wichita State University|year=1968|oclc=ocm00455135|location=Wichita, Kansas|pages=113, 115}}</ref><ref name=johnson>{{Cite book|title=British West Florida, 1763–1783|last=Johnson|first=Cecil|publisher=Archon Books|year=1971|pages=99, 101–102}}</ref> The original settlements were in the Euchee ([[Yuchi]]) Valley, near the landing on the [[Choctawhatchee River]] that was maintained by a mixed-race Yuchi named [[Sam Story]], whose mother was Yuchi and father was an early Scots trader in the area. The white settlers founded one of the first Presbyterian churches in Northwest Florida. It is still an operating parish and has a historical cemetery.

When the Spanish regained control of Florida in 1783, roughly two-thirds of the British settlers in Pensacola left the colony to find permanent habitation elsewhere, including in [[the Bahamas]] and [[Bermuda]], however none of the English or Scottish settlers in what has since become Walton County left with them. The Spanish came to regard the English and Scottish settlers in what has since become Walton County as "stubborn" and "ungovernable" as the Spanish were unable to make them obey Spanish law. They unanimously refused to convert to Catholicism, despite the fact that Spanish law said they were only allowed to remain in Florida if they did so and the Spanish were unable to compel them to pay taxes to the local Spanish government. As settlers from the newly created [[United States of America]] began migrating into [[north Florida]] the English and Scottish settlers in what has since become Walton County became gradually absorbed into this community, which would subsequently become the majority population in [[North Florida]].<ref name=fabel/><ref name=born/><ref name=johnson/><ref>{{Cite book|title=History of Walton County|last=McKinnon|first=John Love|orig-year=1911|year=1968|edition=Reprint|publisher=The Byrd Printing Co.|pages=85–89}}</ref>

In 1860, there were roughly 573 military aged men in Walton County. Of that population, 62, or 11%, went to serve in the Union unit, the [[1st Florida Cavalry Regiment (Union)|1st Florida Cavalry Regiment]] that was mustered in on October 29, 1863.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Marsh |first1=Sharon D. |title=The 1st Florida Union Cavalry Volunteers in the Civil War : the men and the regimental history, and what that tells us about the area during the war |date=2016 |isbn=9780692793589 |edition=1st|page=320|publisher=Lulu.com }}</ref> The first [[Confederate monument]] in Florida, located at the [[Walton County Courthouse (Florida)|Walton County Courthouse]], records the names of 94 soldiers who died fighting for the Confederacy.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Civil War Confederate Monument |url=https://genealogytrails.com/fla/walton/monument.html |access-date=2024-09-03 |website=genealogytrails.com}}</ref>

In 1995, three planned communities designed by Andrés Duany and Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk of the [[Duany Plater-Zyberk & Company]] were founded. The communities, named [[Alys Beach, Florida|Alys Beach]], [[Seaside, Florida|Seaside]], and [[Rosemary Beach, Florida|Rosemary Beach]] are examples of a style of urban planning known as [[New Urbanism]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|url=https://seaside.library.nd.edu/essays/the-plan|title=The Seaside Research Portal|website=seaside.library.nd.edu|access-date=April 13, 2018|archive-date=October 27, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201027004927/https://seaside.library.nd.edu/essays/the-plan|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>[http://www.seasidefl.com/communityHistory2.asp Seaside, FL | More than a way of life, a way of living!<!-- Bot generated title -->] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110123143421/http://www.seasidefl.com/communityHistory2.asp |date=January 23, 2011 }}</ref> The final plan for Seaside was complete around 1985.<ref name=":0" />

Seaside was used as the main filming location of the 1998 film ''[[The Truman Show]]''.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Unexpected USA: Cultural hotspots|url=http://www.bbc.com/storyworks/travel/unexpected-usa/culture|access-date=October 26, 2021|website=BBC Travel|language=en|archive-date=February 5, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170205132230/http://www.bbc.com/storyworks/travel/unexpected-usa/culture|url-status=live}}</ref>