Fort Walton Beach, Florida

Infobox Settlement
official_name = Fort Walton Beach, Florida
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nickname = The Emerald Coast
settlement_type = City
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mapsize = 250x200px
map_caption = Location in Okaloosa County and the state of Florida


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subdivision_type = Country
subdivision_name = flag|United States
subdivision_type1 = State
subdivision_name1 = flag|Florida
subdivision_type2 = County
subdivision_name2 = noflag|Okaloosa
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leader_title = Mayor
leader_name = Mike Anderson
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area_total_km2 = 21.3
area_land_km2 = 19.3
area_water_km2 = 2.0
area_total_sq_mi = 8.2
area_land_sq_mi = 7.4
area_water_sq_mi = 0.8
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population_as_of = 2005
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population_total = 19,992
population_density_km2 = 1035.9
population_density_sq_mi = 2683.0
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timezone = CST
utc_offset = -6
timezone_DST = CDT
utc_offset_DST = -5
latd = 30 |latm = 25 |lats = 13 |latNS = N
longd = 86 |longm = 37 |longs = 0 |longEW = W
elevation_footnotes =
elevation_m = 2
elevation_ft = 7
postal_code_type = ZIP codes
postal_code = 32547-32549
area_code = 850
blank_name = FIPS code
blank_info = 12-24475GR|2
blank1_name = GNIS feature ID
blank1_info = 0282710GR|3
website = http://www.fwb.org
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Fort Walton Beach is a city in Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of 2004, the population estimate for Fort Walton Beach, Florida is 19,992 recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau. [http://www.census.gov/popest/cities/tables/SUB-EST2004-04-12.xls]

Fort Walton Beach is a year round fishing and beach resort. Its busiest time of the year is during the summer, with spring break being another busy time when thousands of people flock to the Emerald Coast.

History

Prehistoric settlement of the Fort Walton Beach is attributed to the mound building "Fort Walton Culture" that flourished from approximately 1100~1550 AD. This culture appeared to come about due to contact with the major Mississippian centers to the north and west. It was the most complex in the north west Florida region. The Fort Walton peoples put in to practice mound building, intensive agriculture, made pottery in a variety of vessel shapes and had a hierarchial settlement patterns that reflected other Mississippian societies.

The first Europeans to step foot into what is now Okaloosa County and the Fort Walton Beach area were members of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's party, who traveled by boat from what is now Panama City Beach, Florida in 1528 to Texas "Then we set out to sea again, coasting towards the River of Palms. Every day our thirst and hunger increased because our supplies were giving out, as well as the water supply, for the pouches we had made from the legs of our horses soon became rotten and useless. From time to time we would enter some inlet or cove that reached very far inland, but we found them all shallow and dangerous, and so we navigated through them for thirty days, meeting sometimes Indians who fished and were poor and wretched people"."

The area is described at "Baixa de Baca" in a Spanish map dated 1566. In later English and French maps the area of was noted as "Baya Santa Rosa" or "Bay St. Rose". A number of Spanish artifacts, including a portion of brigantine leather armor, are housed in the Indian Temple Mound Museum.

Contrary to popular belief, there is no documentary evidence of pirates using the area as a base of operations. Piracy was rampant in the Gulf of Mexico from pirates working out of Hispaniola, the Caribbean, and the Florida Keys. Notable raids occurred in 1683 and 1687 against the Spanish fort at San Marcos de Apalachee (by French and English buccaneers), a 1712 raid against Port Dauphin (now Alabama) by English pirates from Martinique, and the actions of the late 18th century adventurer William Augustus Bowles who was based out of Apalachicola. Bowles was never referred to as "Billy Bowlegs" in period documentation; his Creek name was "Eastajoca".

During the era of Spanish and English colonization, the area of what was to become Fort Walton Beach was noted in several journals but no worthwhile presence was established.

Early settlers of Walton County, Florida were the first to establish permanent settlements in what is now Fort Walton Beach (the area was originally named "Anderson"). One of the first settlers was John Anderson who received land plots in 1838. The name "Anderson" is noted on maps from 1838 to 1884. It wasn't until 1911 that the name "Camp Walton" appeared on Florida maps.

In 1861, Camp Walton was a confederate military camp made up of the 1st Florida Regiment, which consisted of men from the Walton County Militia. At this time, Okaloosa County did not yet exist. Walton County received its name from Col. George Walton, who served as an aid under Andrew Jackson and whose father, George Walton Sr., is the 56th signer of the Declaration of Independence. As a result of Col. Walton's influence in the politics of northwest Florida, his name was honored by establishing Walton County.

The 1st Florida regiments camp was located in front of the Indian Temple Mound, which is now known as the Heritage Park and Cultural Center, and their mission was to protect the "Narrows" from Union ships. Although the 1st Florida Regiment did not see much action, they did keep busy by digging up prehistoric Indian remains buried in the Indian Temple Mound and displaying them at camp.

Geography

Fort Walton Beach is located at coor dms|30|25|13|N|86|37|0|W (30.420199, -86.616727).GR|1

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 21.3 km² (8.2 mi²). 19.3 km² (7.4 mi²) of it is land and 2.0 km² (0.8 mi²) of it (9.26%) is water.

Transportation

Nearby Northwest Florida Regional Airport (airport code VPS) serves Fort Walton Beach, as well as Valparaiso, Florida. Airlines that currently serve Northwest Florida Regional Airport are American Airlines Eagle, DayJet, Delta Air Lines, Delta Connection, Continental Express, Continental Connection, Northwest Airlines and US Airways. They provide non-stop service to Atlanta, Charlotte, Chicago O'Hare, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, Dallas Ft. Worth, Houston, Memphis, and Tampa. DayJet and other carriers are adding more nonstop destinations. Also the [http://rideoct.org/ Okaloosa County Transit] provides public transportation throughout the county.

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 19,973 people [ [http://factfinder.census.gov/servlet/QTTable?_bm=n&_lang=en&qr_name=DEC_2000_PL_U_QTPL&ds_name=DEC_2000_PL_U&geo_id=16000US1224475 Fort Walton Beach city, Florida - QT-PL. Race, Hispanic or Latino, and Age: 2000 ] ] , 8,460 households, and 5,419 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,036.5/km² (2,683.0/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 78.84% White, 13.34% African American, 0.45% Native American, 2.72% Asian, 0.08% Pacific Islander, 1.22% from other races, and 3.36% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 4.04% of the population.

There were 8,460 households out of which 26% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.3% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.9% were non-families. 28.5% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.6% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.33 and the average family size was 2.85. [PDFlink|http://censtats.census.gov/data/FL/1601224475.pdf|38.8 KiB ]

In the city the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 8.9% from 18 to 24, 29.3% from 25 to 44, 23.1% from 45 to 64, and 16.3% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 96.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.5 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $40,153, and the median income for a family was $45,791. Males had a median income of $29,709 versus $21,641 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,085. About 7.3% of families and 9.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.2% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.

Notable Natives

*Brian Marshall - Bass Player for the Rock Band Creed & now Alterbridge
*Jason Elam - National Football League kicker
*Carolyn Murphy - internationally acclaimed model
*Danny Wuerffel - Heisman Trophy winner, quarterback
*E.G. Green - National Football League wide receiver, Indianapolis Colts (1998-2000)
*Richard Covey - Astronaut
*Christopher Conroy - Emmy Award winning television writer/producer http://www.natassoutheast.tv/NATAS/Emmy2000Winners.html

Economy

The economy of Fort Walton Beach is driven by two primary factors: the military, and tourism. There are two major Air Force bases which border Fort Walton Beach. Hurlburt Field which is home to Headquarters, Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the 1st Special Operations Wing, and the Joint Special Operations University. Eglin AFB is home to the Air Force Material Command's Air Armament Center, the 46th Test Wing, and Air Combat Command's 33rd Fighter Wing. Eglin is geographically one of the largest Air Force bases at 724 square miles (1,875 km²), and thus home to joint exercises, and missile and bomb testing. For example, the 'Mother of All Bombs' (MOAB) was first tested at Eglin AFB on March 11, 2003.

There is support industry in the area that benefits from the presence of the bases, including military contractors and the service industry. In Jan 2005, employment (according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics) in the area was as follows (all numbers indicate percentages of civilian labor force):

Note the lower unemployment rate, which is a consistent feature of the local economy.

The tourism industry is seasonal, with summer being the primary season, and a smaller peak season during spring break, though Panama City Beach is currently (2005) the nearest college spring break favorite. The Billy Bowlegs Pirate Festival is held annually.

References

External links

* [http://www.fwb.org/ City of Fort Walton Beach]
*
* [http://destinsharks.com/ Local Boating Events and Information]