#6 Brooks Memorial Cemetery
by grandmaR
The land for this cemetery at 129 Shell Street was donated in 1939 by John Thomas Brooks who is considered to be the founder of Fort Walton Beach. The cemetery was named in his honor. Inside the cemetery is his Great Floridian plaque which includes a memorial to his wife Harriett G. Brooks.
Brooks was born in 1838 and in 1867 after being stationed in Fort Walton during the Civil War, he settled in the area with his wife and daughter. He built a log cabin along the community’s first street—Brooks Street. Brooks became the community’s de facto doctor through his Civil War service in an army hospital, frequently making his "house calls" by rowboat. He established the area’s first hotel, the Brooks House (renamed the Brooks Hotel) in 1902. Brooks gave land to the Catholic Church for its first house of worship. He died in 1917.
Many early residents of the City are buried here. Visitation Hours for the cemetery are 8:00 a.m. - 10: p.m.
The Cemetery was designated a City Historic Site on September 26, 1989. A sign on the gate (4th photo) says
"FOR SYMPATHETIC
CONSIDERATION
WALKING OF PETS AND
RIDING OF RECREATIONAL
VEHICLES IS PROHIBITED BY
CITY ORDINANCE 866
Okaloosa on Ice
by grandmaR
We saw that in the winter around Christmas, there was ice skating in the park. We didn't try it ourselves but thought the idea of outdoor ice skating in Florida was interesting. The ice skating rink, can accommodate about 100 skaters at a time, is a local holiday favorite. The season rans from mid November to just after New Years. I think you can rent skates as I wouldn't expect Floridians to own them.
But last reference I can find to this on the internet is 2006. I'm not sure if it will run this winter.
steakhouse
by doug48 about ruth's chris
ruth's chris steakhouse is located about a mile east of fort walton beach in destin. this national chain is always consistant for good prime steaks, lobster, and local seafood. if you get tired of all the seafood restaurnts on the emerald coast and crave a good steak this is the place. reservations recommended.
Historical Walking Tour
by Yaqui
Ok, I found this cool little map inside when I was visiting the Indian Temple Mound Musuem. It illustrates where each historical building are and when it they were built. Really cool I think. It doesn't cost anything to walk around yourself and to be able to get out into the fresh Ft Walton beach weather which was wonderful. It was cold then when I was visiting, but I enjoyed it anyways. So stop by there and get your self a map!
The Emerald Coast
by lilbunnygirl
Honestly, having heard stories of 'The Redneck Rivera', I expected Ft. Walton Beach to be tacky and kind of run-down, and the beach to be nothing special.
I was happy to be proven wrong! Our trip was in mid-September, so while the weather was quite nice, the beach was sparsely populated and I thought very beautiful. The dark green ocean immediately explained the area's nickname, and on my daily walks, I found several whole sand dollars, which is something I've never been lucky enough to discover before!
Twice, we saw dolphins playing very near offshore, which delighted me to no end.
There were plenty of really nice restaurants in the area, and while we didn't get up to much partying, there appeared to be quite a wide range of nightlife options.
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watercolor shopping
cash's faux pas
Looking out the window at the ladders
Sunset at Okaloosa Island
