More than 50 years ago, Eglin served as a primitive, but welcoming landing place for more than 20,000 refugees of the Vietnamese communist victory in Saigon.
On a humid April day in 1837, a Creek man walked into the tiny settlement of Lumbertown to trade for ammunition. He didn’t know he was walking into a powder keg. What began as a wary exchange ended in a roadside slaughter—sparking a brutal, “eye-for-an-eye” bush war that would terrorize the Florida Panhandle for decades. This is the forgotten story of the Creek Indian Crisis, a conflict of scalpings, famine, and ethnic cleansing that redefined the Emerald Coast.
On this day in 1917 the votes were finalized in Crestview was the winner of the county seat contest in Okaloosa county. Here’s how it went down
On April 1, 1862, soldiers of the Union Army fired their cannons at the Walton Guards on the temple mound of Camp Walton and caused them to flee all the way to Boggy Bayou. Here’s how it went down.
VIDEO: Retired Air Force Pilot Howard Hill talks about his five years in a Vietnamese Prisoner of War Camp. He tells the harrowing story of his shoot down and capture by communist north Vietnamese militias, his grueling five-year imprisonment in a Hanoi camp for captured Americans, and his release back to his loving wife and family in the United States.
The 86th anniversary of a tragic event takes place on New Year’s Day, 2023. It’s also the reason Eglin Air Force Base is Named Eglin Air Force Base.
Explore the rich history of Okaloosa and Walton Counties’ people and places – from Crestview, Niceville, and Fort Walton to Freeport and Eglin AFB. We have the stories and documents to help you learn more about the Florida Panhandle’s hidden history!
Pro Communi Bono
St. Francis De Sales, Ora Pro Nobis!
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