La Quinta Inn & Suites Fort Walton Beach

#3 Garnier Post Office - 1918

by grandmaR

Located at 107 First Street (back of the old schoolhouse), this post office building was originally located at Mooney and Garnier Post Roads. The mail came from Crestview by way of mule and buggy or to Mary Ester by boat and then overland to Garnier. Some people traveled as far as 28 miles to collect their mail from the postmaster at Garnier Post Office. Mr. Euphrates A. Mooney served as its first postmaster until his death in 1935. Then his wife, Julia, assumed his position and she reportedly would give out mail at any time of the day or night. Rural post offices such as this one were eventually phased out (after 35 years in this case) when postal carriers began delivering mail to homes.

The Garnier Post Office Museum serves to preserve and exhibit items related to the postal history of Camp Walton and Fort Walton from 1918 to1953. The museum includes numerous artifacts such as the 36 mail slot boxes of the polling station for Precinct #19. The boxes on display in the museum show the names of the people who voted here.

The original Garnier Post Office was restored by the Junior Service League of Fort Walton Beach and the City of Fort Walton Beach. In 1988, it was re-opened as an educational museum in conjunction with the Camp Walton Schoolhouse Museum.It is now owned by the City of Fort Walton Beach and is mainly used for school tours during the school year.

#19 Frances Pryor Camellia Gardens

by grandmaR

This garden is listed at 146 Brooks Street and is across from the Fort Walton Landing park. At the end of the path is the Little Chapel (#18).

The garden was set up in honor of Frances Brooks Pryor, the daughter of John T. and Harriet Brooks. She was the first baby girl born to the new settlers at Camp Walton and grew up to become an active civic leader in the community. She founded the Fort Walton Beach Camillia Society. The camillia is the official City Flower. Diana Pryor Sloat, a daughter of Mrs. Pryor provided the garden to the City.

on the beach

by doug48 about crab trap

the crab trap is a northwest florida restauant chain that specializes in crab dishes and local seafood. the fort walton beach crab trap is located on the beach at the fort walton boardwalk. this touristy restaurant and bar offers a nice view of the gulf. good seafood moderately priced.

The Construction

by keeweechic

Houses were around 15ft long and 30ft wide. Walls were often plastered with a with a sand/mud combination. Clay mixed with Spanish moss was used for filling the gaps to keep the cold out and the heat in. Wall poles were sunk into a trench and shimmed into place. The wall trenches were then filled with shells, dirt and clay to make the walls stable. Bundles of grass overlapped and tied together for the roof which was surprisingly durable however it attracted insects and so the roof probably had to be replaced annually to get rid of the insects.

fort walton beach florida

by doug48

"fort walton beach"

fort walton beach is a beach resort town located on US 98 east of pensacola beach. the area around fort walton beach was originally inhabited by the fort walton native american culture from 1100 to 1550 AD. there are indian mounds in the area with artifacts that suggest that the fort walton culture traded with native americans in the mississippi valley. in 1528 the spanish explorer alvar nunez cabeza de vaca visited the area on a exploration of the gulf coast between panama city and texas. the spanish named the area baixa de baca. the french also explored the area and named it baya santa rosa. in 1838 john anderson settled the area and in 1861 camp walton has established near present day downtown fort walton beach. camp walton was named after colonel george walton who was an aid to general andrew jackson. the town of fort walton beach was incorporated in 1941. today fort walton beach is a popular beach resort town. of interest to the tourist is it's beautiful beach, excellent off shore sport fishing, and a excellent collection of restaurants and bars.