Story by DOTTY NIST
“We really are Satsuma Land,” Walton County native and historian Brenda Rees told her guests at the Dec. 29 anniversary celebration of the 1824 founding of Walton County.
Satsumas, one of the most cold-tolerant citruses, were the theme for this year’s celebration at Rees’ home on Eastern Lake.
Growing and eating the tangerine-like fruit has been a long tradition in Walton County, as evidenced by Rees’ remarks.
Served at the event was tasty satsuma punch made from fruit that had come from trees grown by Rees’ mother Gloria and her husband Sonny Hollingsworth in DeFuniak Springs. Also to be enjoyed were fresh satsuma sections and satsuma pound cake.
Rees noted that Walton County pioneer L.I. Smith, Sonny’s great uncle, had a “fabulous” satsuma orchard. Smith and his family are known for the dairy farm that operated from 1906 to 1945 in DeFuniak Springs, recognized as the oldest working dairy in Florida, which included satsuma trees and used a “Satsumaland” logo on its company letterhead.
Rees also referenced a paper on written in 1996 by Pensacola State College professor Dr. Brian R. Rucker for the Gulf Coast Historical Review. Rucker wrote, “…at one time West Florida was the center of a dynamic citrus boom. From approximately 1920 to 1940 entrepreneurs widely cultivated satsuma oranges, and the region even became known as ‘Satsumaland.'”
The celebration included the tradition of a sunset toast overlooking Eastern Lake and the recital of the poem “Octavia,” written by Edgar Allan Poe in honor of Octavia Walton Le Vert, famous daughter of Walton County namesake George Walton, Jr.
Rees noted that the celebration would continue for eight more years for the countdown to Walton County’s 200th birthday.