History

A Local Fourth of July Weekend Tradition Finds Its Sea Legs

“Whenever two sailboats are on the water at the same time,” says Charlie Thornton, “it’s a race.  The captains may not admit it, but each wants to go faster than the other.”

Some things never change.

Last Fourth of July local sailors gathered for the legendary Rags to Riches Regatta, a Hobie Cat Race with a course between Grayton Beach and Seagrove. Seventeen captains showed up with their crew and 16-foot Hobies to negotiate the famously rowdy Gulf.

The Choctawhatchee Basin Alliance (CBA), in partnership with Visit South Walton and Northwest Florida State College, invites you to a great program of outdoor education and adventure this summer in the next round of its new ecotourism initiative.

Gulf Cemetery in Santa Rosa Beach turns 100 this year. A centennial celebration will be held at 10 a.m. on May 26, 2014 with the unveiling of a marker at a Memorial Day observance with the designation of the site as a historical landmark by the State of Florida. The public is invited to attend the ceremony at the cemetery located on State Road 393 south. 

The Memorial Day event will include keynote remarks by Rev. Don Ullrich, Colonel, retired USAF. The Historic Marker will be unveiled by Michael Zimny, Specialist with the State of Florida Historical Council.

A tour of the 40 acres at Gulf Cemetery reveals many memorials, remembrances, personal items, tombstones (some weathered with unreadable inscriptions), simple wooden crosses, photos and homemade plaques. The nearly 100-year-old resting place is just a short walk from the beach at Gulf Place.

Gulf Cemetery Association, Inc. is a non-profit organization managed by volunteers. Tax deductible donations and the sale of lots help with repairs and upkeep of the site.

You know Seaside. The pastel houses and the picket fences. Families pedaling to the ice cream shop, bike following bike following bike. It seems impossible to imagine, but long before what you see today, Seaside was just a dream. A dream of one man.

Escape To Create is honored to present Florida historian and awarded author Jack E. Davis on Wednesday, January 23rd at 4:00pm in a lecture and reception at Bud and Alley's Restaurant in Seaside. 

Ghosts, spooks, pirates and witches will be hanging out at Camp Helen State Park, Saturday, October 13th. Everyone is invited to join them for an adventuresome evening of continuous storytelling and historic re-enactment from 5:00pm – 8:30pm.
 

The seventh annual Ghost Walk and History Tour, hosted by the Friends of Camp Helen, is suitable for children. New stories, pre tour entertainment and activities are being planned for this year’s event. Costumes are encouraged and flashlights are recommended. Tickets are $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 and under.
 

Learn about SoWal history and enjoy the outdoors on a SoWal Adventure the first Saturday of every month through October, beginning on January 7, 2012. Find out about the early history of the park and local area while wandering on a guided tour around Camp Helen's restored historical buildings. Free with park admission. (850) 233-5059.

Directions: Camp Helen State Park is located west of Panama City Beach on U.S. 98 at the west end of the Phillips Inlet bridge, just east of Inlet Beach. The entrance is South of U.S. Hwy 98 just before Lake Powell.