The DeFuniak Springs Historic District is a

U.S. The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 contiguous ...

historic district A historic district or heritage district is a section of a city which contains historic building, older buildings considered valuable for historical or architectural reasons. In some countries or jurisdictions, historic districts receive legal p ...

(designated as such on August 28, 1992) located in

DeFuniak Springs DeFuniak Springs ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Walton County, Florida, United States. The population was 5,919 as of the 2020 Census, up from 5,177 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Crestview— Fort Walton Beach—Destin, Florid ...

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

. DeFuniak Springs, originally

Lake DeFuniak Lake DeFuniak is an almost perfectly circular 40 acre lake in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, United States, at the center of the DeFuniak Springs Historic District The DeFuniak Springs Historic District is a United States, U.S. Historic distric ...

, was named after Fred DeFuniak, the chief executive of the

Louisville and Nashville Railroad The Louisville and Nashville Railroad , commonly called the L&N, was a Class I railroad that operated freight and passenger services in the southeast United States. Chartered by the Commonwealth of Kentucky in 1850, the road grew into one of ...

. The district is bounded by

Nelson Nelson may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Nelson'' (1918 film), a historical film directed by Maurice Elvey * ''Nelson'' (1926 film), a historical film directed by Walter Summers * ''Nelson'' (opera), an opera by Lennox Berkeley to a lib ...

and Park Avenues and 2nd and 12th Streets. It contains 172 historic buildings and 2 objects. One such historic memorial is Florida's first stone memorial to the

Confederacy A confederation (also known as a confederacy or league) is a political union of sovereign states united for purposes of common action. Usually created by a treaty, confederations of states tend to be established for dealing with critical issu ...

. This memorial was first erected in Euchee Valley Presbyterian Church but currently resides on DeFuniak Springs' courthouse lawn. Other than the Confederacy, a huge part of the town's history includes railroads. When railroad operation began in 1882, DeFuniak Springs became a popular railroad stop, particularly for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad. This brought a lot of new people to the area. As a result of these new people coming to the area, another huge part, and perhaps the most important part, of the town's history began This was the rise of the

Chautauqua Chautauqua ( ) is an adult education and social movement in the United States that peaked in popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Cha ...

. It is believed that the Chautauqua emerged because of the influence of the

Lyceum The lyceum is a category of educational institution defined within the education system of many countries, mainly in Europe. The definition varies among countries; usually it is a type of secondary school. Basic science and some introduction to ...

Movement, the lack of educational quality in schools, and the rise of religion following the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. After its formation, the Chautauqua spread all over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

, including to DeFuniak Springs. The Florida Chautauqua continued from 1885 to 1922 and attracted thousands of visitors to the area. This eventually led to the building of the historic Chautauqua Hall of Brotherhood in 1909. This building originally included an auditorium that could seat up to 4,000 people, but the auditorium was destroyed by

Hurricane Eloise Hurricane Eloise was the most destructive tropical cyclone of the 1975 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth tropical storm, fourth hurricane, and second major hurricane of the season, Eloise formed as a tropical depression on September 13 to the ...

in 1975. This building is located at 95 Circle Drive and is listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

."DeFuniak Springs - Historic District"
''Walton County, Florida'', n.d. Other locations listed on the National Register of Historic Places include 132 Circle Drive, which is a family residence built in 1900 and owned by the prominent citizen and realtor R.E.L. McCaskill, 144 Circle Drive, which is St. Agatha's Episcopal Church that was completed in 1896, and 150 Circle Drive, which is now the Parish House of St. Agatha's Episcopal Church but originally was built in 1900 to serve as a boarding house during the Chautauqua Era.

References

External links

Walton County listings
a
National Register of Historic Places
{{DEFAULTSORT:Defuniak Springs Historic District Geography of Walton County, Florida Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Florida National Register of Historic Places in Walton County, Florida

See also

References

External links