Walton

Formed December 29, 1824 (11^th county)

Walton County (75,306), De Funiak Springs (5,920)                

A traditional Classical Revival columned tan brick courthouse was built in 1926.  The building sits on Nelson Avenue between 5^th and 6^th streets.  Nelson Avenue is United States Highway 90 passing through the city. Warren Knight & Davis and Chandler C. Young are the architects.  The courthouse was enlarged in 2007.  The county seat’s namesake is railroad officer Fred DeFuniak.  Florida Secretary of the Territory George Walton is the county’s name source.  The county was created on December 29, 1824 from Escambia County as the 11^th county.  Alaqua, Euchee Anna, and De Funiak Springs have all been the only county seat. 

Walton County government consists of a manager, sheriff, and appraiser (executive).  It has 5 Commissioners (legislative.)  Twenty-four Circuit Court Judges serve Walton, Escambia, Okaloosa, and Santa Rosa counties and a County Court Judge, clerk, and county attorney serve Walton County (judicial.) Walton County is in the Florida panhandle on the border with Alabama and the Gulf of Mexico.  Tallahassee, Florida is east of the county.  The center of the county is 7.7 miles South-Southwest of De Funiak Springs.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Alabama and Holmes, Washington, and Bay counties the Gulf of Mexico and Okaloosa County. 

The area of the county is 1058 square miles.  It is 11 out of 67 counties in the state.  It ranks 39 out of 67 in population in the state.  It has a density of 71.2 persons per square mile making it 43 out of 67 in the state.  Walton County has 16.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 10 goes east to west through the county from Holmes County to Okaloosa County.  United States Highway 90 parallels Interstate Highway 10 from Holmes County to Okaloosa County.  United States Highway 98 follows the coastline from Bay County to Okaloosa County.  United States Highway 331 enters from Alabama in the north and terminates in the county.  The highest point in Florida, Britton Hill, is in the county.  The county shape is a rectangle with a seat facing east.  De Funiak Springs is in the east central part of the county.  De Funiak Springs is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 7.9% of the county population.  The county seat is pronounced DEE FU-NEE-AK SPRINGS.