By DOTTY NIST
With 10 years left to go until Walton County’s bicentennial, this year’s gathering to celebrate the county’s Dec. 29 birthday was hosted by Brenda Rees on Eastern Lake.
The theme for the 2014 event was Walton County’s borders. Rees, a native Walton Countian and historian, explained that counties were established when borders for Florida were set in 1821. This was at the time that Florida was transferred from the ownership of Spain and became a United States territory.
Initially two Florida counties were created, Escambia and St. Johns, Rees told the group. Over the next few years, more counties were established, with Walton and Leon becoming counties in 1824, she said. Walton County was the eighth county to be created in Florida, carved out of Escambia County and Jackson County.
Rees said the main thought she wanted to emphasize was that Walton County was not Destin and that “nothing in Walton County has ever been in Destin…since the earth was formed.” This has been a matter of confusion for some.
Historic maps of Florida were on display at the annual event, and foods served represented the countries that have held what is now Florida over the years, England, Spain, and, of course, the United States.
The tradition of the sunset toast overlooking Eastern Lake continued, accompanied by the recitation of Edgar Allan Poe’s poem Octavia. The poem had been written to the daughter of Walton County’s namesake George Walton, Jr., when Octavia was 16 and Poe was 18. George Walton, Jr., served as secretary of the territory of West Florida from 1821 to 1826 and later as acting governor for the state of Florida.
Octavia, who became Octavia Walton Le Vert, was extremely renowned as a socialite, world traveler, and writer during the mid-nineteenth century.
Rees co-authored a historical work, T.T. Wentworth, Jr. Museum 55th Anniversary. T.T. Wentworth, Jr., a historian and historical artifact collector, was Rees’ late uncle. Wentworth founded the Pensacola museum bearing his name, which has been described as a “treasure trove” of artifacts from West Florida’s heritage.
