Walton TDC wants a Tractor Museum. What will it cost?

A Man with A Dream and a Unique Hobby

Dr. Shepherd was a “local” (of Walton County) and the “good doctor” who specialized in cardiology.  He answered a professional call to save lives and invest in his community – and his legacy for impacting Walton County will most likely continue through tourism development and the “World’s Most Unique Tractor Museum.” In 1974, Dr. Shepherd began a very unusual pastime.  He did not collect baseball cards or stamps – no, he began collecting actual (full-sized) tractors. Shepherd had a passion for tractors – antique tractors.  He began collecting them one by one, then restoring each.  Dr. Shepherd began his collection, and when he had finished, he had accumulated a total of  “8 barns full” of mostly John Deere and Caterpillar tractors.  Shepherd worked tirelessly to restore these treasures, and today his collection is valued at an estimated $5.25 Million.

A Dream that a Tractor Would Plow the Way Forward for North Walton and Young Farmers

In 2025, Dr. Shepherd passed away, leaving the DeFuniak Springs community with a great loss. Joe Johnson, a longtime friend of Dr. Shepherd, told Mid Bay News that they had been talking for over 10 years about Dr. Shepherd’s unique antique collection and his plan for it.  Shepherd’s wish was to make his tractor collection a means of enriching the lives of students interested in farming.  Joe Johnson has carried on this dream and has a vision for ensuring economic growth and, more importantly, for enriching the lives of students involved in Future Farmers of America (FFA). Over the past months, Johnson has made presentations to the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) and, most recently, to the Tourism Development Council (TDC) this week. The TDC, after hearing the vision for the Walton (County) Tractor Museum and seeing a short presentation by Kim Falconer, former senior executive and marketing professional, voted to change a recent decision for redirecting allocated marketing dollars ($600,000) to, in turn, support the purchase of the $1.5 restored tractor collection from the Shepherd estate.  Because the TDC is an appointed advisory committee of the BCC, the TDC makes recommendations that the BCC considers, and then makes the final determination on whether to make the purchase.

Why Would the BCC Consider a Tractor Museum?

In the presentation to the TDC, there were three primary reasons to support the Tractor Museum’s vision.  The first is the draw this size of museum will bring to North Walton.  Johnson said that Dr. Shepherd’s vision over the last 10 years was to make this collection available to the public, especially for those interested in the history of farming.  Johnson added, “Dr. Shepherd had significant interest from non-local buyers, and has received substantial offers for purchasing the tractor collection as close as Bay County.  But Shepherd wanted the collection to remain in Walton County.”  This museum, according to proponents of the Tractor Museum, will likely be the largest tractor museum in the world, and certainly the most unique. 

The second significant benefit will be support for farming in northwest Florida, the South, and the U.S. Johnson is concerned that, since the 1980s, farming has been in decline, and the “attack on farming” has escalated into a “crisis in farming.”  Because we all eat and farming is essential for living, outsourcing food production to other countries is a concern.  With the help of the FFA and understanding the significance of farming for America, Johnson says we are in trouble “if we do not get ‘a first generation of farmers.'”  The benefits that will come to students in FFA because of the development of the Tractor Museum and the proposed adjacent arena will bring experiential learning full circle.

Tourism Development Recommends Purchase of Tractor Collection

But of greater interest to the TDC and leaders in Walton County would be whether the Tractor Museum brings tourism income into the county.  The TDC seems to think so, including BCC Chair Brad Drake, who voted with all other council members unanimously (7-0) to recommend using the allotted $600,000 (originally intended for marketing) toward the purchase of the Shephard Tractor Collection.  The TDC appeared supportive of a “cornerstone attraction” or the key “product” in the north end of the county that would attract a percentage of the 5 million visitors from the South of the county, while on a beach getaway to the north end of the county for an authentic encounter with farming.

According to Johnson, the vision for the Tractor Museum and an adjoining arena for events has been in discussion and in planning stages for over 10 years.  Progress has been slower than some would like. Still, there is an opportunity to bring revenue to the county with a priceless piece of American history and a non-profit organization that seeks to promote future generations and young farmers by supporting authentic and local “farm to table.”

Local Farmer Supports Economic Development and Tractor Museum

Summer Adams, a local farmer and owner of the largest persimmon orchard in Florida, spoke in support of acquiring the tractor collection and the museum, with a focus on exposing young and old alike to the fundamentals of farming.  She spoke in support of ‘farming tourism’ where people from all over (including local schools) come to experience what appears to be a dying industry.  Adams said to the TDC, “Whenever you buy this tractor collection, you are developing tourism, and then you’re going to have people [local businesses] that are going to open up more Air BnBs.  Hotels will [then] come.  And I agree with Kim [Falconer] that this is what we [Walton County] need – more ‘product.’”  Adams supported the need to have a “product” that attracts the public and is a draw for the interest of families on vacation or just driving on I-10.  Adams added that there are families who live within 30 minutes of the proposed location of the Tractor Museum that have never been to a farm or never been “close up to a cow.  [They] have no idea that an onion grows in the ground.  [There are] adults whenever I go to the Seaside Farmer’s Market, and I leave the roots on [the onion,] and they’re like, ‘Oh!, Wow! 

[indicating that they didn’t know how an onion grew.]

BCC Will Be Asked for Essential Support Based on TDC Recommendation

Johnson will make a presentation to the BCC when the formal “ask” for $600,000 to purchase the Shepherd tractor collection is made.  At $1.5 million, there is still money needed to acquire the collection.  The properties for the museum and the arena have already been procured, and, according to Johnson, they have an 80-acre conservation easement.  The clock, however, is ticking, and the tractors need to be relocated (to a permanent home) by October 2028. 

In her presentation to the TDC, Falconer stated that, “We have over 5 million visitors coming to South Walton County – just 1 percent of those visitors to North Walton County would really drive some success for North Walton in terms of tourism.  We don’t need to create demand here in Walton County.  We just need something that is going to attract those visitors north…It’s already been laid out by your [Tourism Department] consultants, [Jones, Lang, LaSalle Incorporated] JLL.  JL, in the December meetings, specifically discussed North Walton County and said it does not need marketing right now.  It needs ‘product’ and the products are there.  We have farms.  The solution, we feel, would be the tractor museum as an anchor to draw all these current products that are in DeFuniak, that are in North Walton County…and drive some of that visitation north.”