Stories of Walton County
Sam Story - Chief of the Euchee Peoples
Sam Story was Chief of the Euchee Indians in Walton County, Florida. Some believe he was also called “Timpoochee Kinard.” Others believe that “Timpoochee” was a title used by many tribal groups to identify the role of a warrior. Chief Story and his people occupied lands on and to the west of the Choctawhatchee River. He was a great friend to Colonel Neill McKinnon, an influential Scottish settler who migrated to the area. Story's Landing on Bruce Creek is where the chief had his village. Resources to suggest that Chief Sam Story has the distinction of being among the first and original Native Americans of Euchee lineage whose homeland had always been in the Florida Panhandle.
When white settlers started coming to the area new problems began. The newcomers burned the land and hunted deer out of season. This was very offensive to Native Americans like Sam and his people. He was horrified to hear of a doe shot with her young ones while nursing. Story, a man of peace, finally tired of all the conflict and decided to move his people far away from all the bad and wasteful settlers.
Chief Sam Story notified his Scottish friends that he was about to take a journey to seek out a new homeland for his people. In 1832 he put his son in charge of the tribe, and left with five other warriors and one of his sons. Their journey led to the East Coast of Florida, and then down into the Everglades.
It was a very long time until they returned, and the people had feared that the chief had died. But, he returned saying that they found no land as pleasing as the Choctawhatchee Bay area, but had made up their mind to move anyway. Chief Sam Story was very ill because of the hardships of the journey. Chief Sam Story died just before his tribe moved, and is buried south of the fork of Bruce Creek and the Choctawhatchee River.
Chief Story’s son prepared the remaining Euchee for their trip. The tribe may have had as many as 500 people. We believe a few of these people hid in the swamps and did not go with the larger group because they didn’t want to leave their home. Those who left organized canoes and sailboats and sailed until they were out of sight. There is no written account of what ever happened to them, but it is said that they settled in the Everglades.
Some believe that they eventually became part of the Seminoles. There were Euchee/Yuchi people all over the southeast, and another large band under Euchee Billy lived at Spring Garden in Volusia County. Most believe the Euchee people were absorbed into the Creek nations. But we do know that these native peoples had their own distinct language and considered themselves separate from the Creeks. Historians continue to research the Euchee peoples, some of whom also were taken to Oklahoma on the “Trail of Tears” in the 1830s.
Near the end of the 19th century, the State of Florida decided to have an Indian representative from Dade County to represent the Seminoles in Tallahassee. Although the Indians didn't get a chance to have a voting member, they still sent a representative. This delegate claimed to be the grandson of Sam Story, and the son of Sleeping Fire, who was Sam's youngest son. A headstone was erected in the forest near the confluence of the Choctawhatchee River and its tributaries in Walton County, FL.
Pensacola's Escape Artist
On July 14, 1827, Thomas Jones, official mail carrier for West Florida, was enroute from Alaqua (County Seat of Walton County) to Pensacola with bags full of mail.
While he was on the trail, he was approached by two men, one of whom had a gun and the other a knife. The man with the gun shot at Jones, missing his head by less than an inch, and the other stabbed at him, but only ripped his clothes. Jones managed to escape, went to the nearest town, and reported the incident.
Soon after, a local ruffian named Martin Hutto was identified as one of the attackers. He was arrested and transported to the only jail in the territory, the one in Pensacola.
In 1813, a map maker by the name of Vincente Pintado created a new Pensacola map which showed a “Public Prison.” This jail, also located at Alcaniz and Intendencia streets, was not the same one as previously mentioned. However, in 1827, it was recorded in a newspaper as being in deplorable condition. Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone when it was discovered that Hutto had escaped.
In November, Hutto voluntarily turned himself in, anticipating an acquittal when the judge came into town later that month and held court. Unfortunately, Judge Brackenridge did not come for his November hearings, so Hutto had to wait until May of 1828. Fearing that Hutto would escape again, he was held in the jail at the Army camp known as Cantonment Clinch (located on Bayou Chico).
Hutto escaped from the army jail on Jan. 23, 1828, but was quickly recaptured and stood trial on May 7, 1828. He was convicted by the jury and held in the Pensacola jail while awaiting sentence. On May 15, Hutto again escaped. Hutto was recaptured and returned to Pensacola in October 1828 where Judge Brackenridge sentenced Hutto to two years.
On March 27, 1829, Hutto escaped for the fourth and last time – this time also from the Pensacola jail, never to be heard from again. The city fathers finally realized that they needed to address the problem of the old jail.
resource for the story: http://pensacolapolice.com/about-ppd/history-of-pensacola-police/
While he was on the trail, he was approached by two men, one of whom had a gun and the other a knife. The man with the gun shot at Jones, missing his head by less than an inch, and the other stabbed at him, but only ripped his clothes. Jones managed to escape, went to the nearest town, and reported the incident.
Soon after, a local ruffian named Martin Hutto was identified as one of the attackers. He was arrested and transported to the only jail in the territory, the one in Pensacola.
In 1813, a map maker by the name of Vincente Pintado created a new Pensacola map which showed a “Public Prison.” This jail, also located at Alcaniz and Intendencia streets, was not the same one as previously mentioned. However, in 1827, it was recorded in a newspaper as being in deplorable condition. Therefore, it was no surprise to anyone when it was discovered that Hutto had escaped.
In November, Hutto voluntarily turned himself in, anticipating an acquittal when the judge came into town later that month and held court. Unfortunately, Judge Brackenridge did not come for his November hearings, so Hutto had to wait until May of 1828. Fearing that Hutto would escape again, he was held in the jail at the Army camp known as Cantonment Clinch (located on Bayou Chico).
Hutto escaped from the army jail on Jan. 23, 1828, but was quickly recaptured and stood trial on May 7, 1828. He was convicted by the jury and held in the Pensacola jail while awaiting sentence. On May 15, Hutto again escaped. Hutto was recaptured and returned to Pensacola in October 1828 where Judge Brackenridge sentenced Hutto to two years.
On March 27, 1829, Hutto escaped for the fourth and last time – this time also from the Pensacola jail, never to be heard from again. The city fathers finally realized that they needed to address the problem of the old jail.
resource for the story: http://pensacolapolice.com/about-ppd/history-of-pensacola-police/
The McCaskill's
"Florida is still the land of Enchantment, and her appeal today is more than ever before. Millions throughout the nation are fed up on Metropolitan life. They hunger for a little vine-covered home, where life is worth living.
~ The McCaskill Company, DeFuniak Springs, Florida
J. J. McCaskill (father of R. E. L. McCaskill - vast real estate holder and developer) was born on his father’s (Kenneth McCaskill) farm in the historic old Scotch settlement near Knox Hill, Walton County, on November 23rd, 1846, and spent his boyhood on the old homestead. While a young boy, he walked several miles every day to attend school taught by Walton County’s pioneer teacher, Mr. Newton. He had a happy way of relating the boyish escapades incident to his school days at Mr. Newton’s, but never failed to end the anecdote by praising the man who did so much to mould the character of the boys and girls entrusted to his care.
When the war came, Mr. McCaskill had to put aside his books and take up a larger share of the farm work. The older brothers had gone to the front to fight for Home and Country. The Father, then an old man, had to be always on duty as a home guard, protecting loved ones from the robbers and marauders that plagued and harassed the Knox Hill settlement.
Those who lived through the trying duties of that trying time relate many stories of the bravery shown by the young boys of the community, and in all of them John McCaskill was a leading spirit.
As a boy and man he had ever with him the saving grace of humor and his Step-mother said that “no matter what troubles came, we could not stay blue long. John always saw the funny side, and he was a great hand to cheer us up.”
After the war, his family suffered, as did all other families throughout the South. He set himself to work on the farm with grim determination to make a living for the family, and there he remained until he was twenty-four.
His inability to return to school after the war, was a grievous disappointment. After a hard day’s work in the field he would bring home pine knots and after supper was over he would lie in front of a huge kitchen fireplace and study until late in the night. He early formed the habit of carrying about with him a small memorandum book, and when he would hear a new word he put it down and then never rested until he had learned the meaning and made it his. He continued this practice in all his later experience through life.
When twenty-four years old he married Elizabeth Flournoy and rented a farm near the little town of Summerville where they lived for a few years. He was a natural leader of men; ambitious and aggressive. It is small wonder then that at this stage of his career he decided to leave slow procession of farm life, and cast his lot in the more exciting game of active business. The timber industries of the country were then coming to the front and he first tried logging. Later he established a mercantile business in Argyle. Following this he moved to Freeport on Choctawhatchee Bay putting his all into a saw mill and mercantile business at that place. This business prospered. It prospered beyond the measure usually allotted to ventures of this kind. He lacked capital, but he put into his business an unbridled energy and a dauntless courage that few men ever equal and none surpass.
He was ever a busy man and kept in intimate touch with even the smallest details of his affairs. He knew all his employees by name; knew their qualifications and limitations, and when they were sick or in trouble of any kind, he was always there at the right time with the helping hand and purse, and the words that cheered and comforted.
Mr. McCaskill invested his earning and profits principally in lands and real estate in Pensacola, and DeFuniak. He was President of the first National Bank of DeFuniak; President of the J. J. McCaskill company; Vice President of the West Florida Naval Stores Co., and besides his holdings in these enterprises, his personal estate is estimated at four hundred thousand dollars.
He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and belonged to the Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias, and Woodmen of the World.
Like Abou Ben Adhem, Mr. McCaskill was one who loved his fellow men, and his fellow men loved him. As in the beginning of this, I want to say again that his friends were high and low; rich and poor. Wealth and prosperity came to him only to enlarge his vision. The friends of his early struggles in boyhood and young manhood were still his friends at the end of the journey. He counted it a privilege to walk any distance to shake the hand of an old friend. He never forgot a face or a name, ad for each one he met there was a cheery word, a hearty handshake and a sunny smile.
He was buried in the grave yard at DeFuniak and friends and relatives came from hundreds of miles to attend his funeral, and his grave was literally covered with handsome flowers. It is a splendid tribute to his worth and standing that, though he died suddenly away from home, ten of Pensacola’s most prominent citizens put aside all business cares to escort his remains to his home.
Mr. McCaskill left a wife, four sons and four daughter to mourn his loss. All the children are married. They will miss him and there are very few in Walton County who will not feel his loss.
Three score years and ten is the time allotted to man by Holy Write. Had Mr. McCaskill lived until November he would have served out his fully seventy years of usefulness. His life was an inspiration and a source of joy to his daily associates. In business affairs he was fearless and self confident. He formed his own conclusions and clung to them. He was sure of his own good intentions and had faith in his own judgment.
He stood four square to every wind that blew, and he had that in his make up that, in other times, made men with kindred spirits to his, blaze out new trails and sail their ships on untried waters. In him the elements were so mixed, that Nature could stand up and say to all the world “This was a Man”.
(Copied from a photocopy of a document lent to the Historical Society Museum by Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida. The author and the occasion of the document were not known.)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lee McCaskill "Two Unforgettable People”
Robert E. Lee McCaskill was born on June 4, 1871, near Euchee Anna, Florida. He was the oldest son of John Jette and Sara Elizabeth McCaskill, and was educated in the Old West Florida Seminary.
Florence Adele Griffin was born on June 2, 1876, in Chautauqua County, New York. She was the daughter of A. Judson Griffin and Angeline Eades Griffin, and received her education in Sherman, New York and Jacksonville, Florida.
About the year 1893 the Griffin family moved to DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Mr. Griffin being affiliated with the Florida Chautauqua Society. It was during their first winter in Florida that their daughter Florence came to DeFuniak Springs to spend Christmas Holidays with her parents at the Chautauqua Hotel. Robert came to DeFuniak from Freeport to attend a Chautauqua performance. He stayed at the Chautauqua Hotel and it was there that he met Florence Griffin. On September 18, 1895, Robert E. Lee McCaskill and Florence Griffin were married in the First Methodist Church, DeFuniak Springs. Following the wedding, a reception was held at the Chautauqua Hotel. (Mr. and Mrs. Griffin decided to remain in Florida and they purchased and lived in the Chautauqua Hotel.)
The Robert McCaskill’s made their home in Freeport, Florida, for many, many years, during which time their four children were born - Harold Judson, Margaret Elizabeth, Angeline Lucille and Evelyn Juanita.
“Bob” McCaskill was associated with his father in the lumber and turpentine business. They owned and operated the “commissary”, commonly known as a “Mercantile Store.” Their holdings included ample land for sale for raising poultry, as well as growing fruits, vegetables and pecan trees, and for the sportsman, there was waterfront property available. They later moved to DeFuniak Springs, where there were more advantages for a growing family, particularly, that of their schooling. “Bob” McCaskill continued in his business operations. They lived in DeFuniak Springs most of their lives, with brief resident sojourns in Pensacola and Chicago. DeFuniak Springs, however, was always home and headquarters.
Mr. “R. E. L.”, as he was sometimes called by his friends, became one of the leading developers and landowners in West Florida, placing on sale land holdings accumulated by him and his father.
An opportunist by nature, and his zest for living, made for him many warm friends from all walks of life. His charitable deeds were unpublished; the loyalty to his friends was a tradition. He loved his family, his community, and was always very generous in assisting and contributing to the needs of the people in Walton County. He supported his church, helped “Palmer College“ survive when the church school could not support itself with just tuition as its source of income.
Following are a few of the highlights of Mr. McCaskill’s colorful and successful business career:
Mr. Robert E. Lee McCaskill began developing acreage on Choctawhatchee Bay, the Bayous, Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico waterfronts. He owned and controlled some 200,000 acres of land in Walton, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Escambia Counties.
Mr. McCaskill “started” the town of Valparaiso with John B. Perrine as Advertising Manager. Mr. Perrine came originally from Valpariso, Indiana and suggested the new town on the West Florida coast be named Valparaiso. Thus it was. Mr. James E. Plew purchased Valparaiso, continued its growth; and his sons-in-law, Mr. Chuck Ruckle and Mr. Merryman continued its successful development through many, many years.
The first landing field which is known now as “Eglin Field” was given to the government for such a field by Mr. “Bob” McCaskill.
A flourishing Health Club, “Postl’s Health Club” (patterned after a health club in Chicago by the same name) was built and later sold by Mr. McCaskill to the U. S. Government, to be used as Eglin Field’s first Officers Club.
From about 1925 - 1930 Mr. McCaskill had real estate offices in Chicago, Illinois, in the Tribune Building. From there he operated a chauffer-driven automobile (seven passenger), offering round trip excursions to DeFuniak, with accommodations at the Walton Hotel, paid for by the McCaskill Co., bringing persons interested in visiting West Florida, “land of health, happiness and prosperity.”
Mr. McCaskill referred to the beautiful Lake DeFuniak as, “the dimple of West Florida.” He was sometimes referred to as the “Baron of Northwest Florida.” But, over and beyond his well deserved recognition as a distinguished citizen of significant civic and philanthropic accomplishments, there are many tales of compassion that characterize Robert E. Lee McCaskill as a human being made beautiful by the concern he always showed for his fellow men. For example, selling a plot of land to a buyer was never the end of a deal for him. Rather, it was an opportunity to form a friendship. Once he sold a small farm to a family and visited them several times during the next few months. He noticed one day that the little daughter was drinking milk from a can of Pet Milk and asked why this was so; the farmer, who owned some hogs and chickens, replied that he could not afford a cow and that was the only milk they could get, since he lived too far from town to have milk delivered. The very next day, Mr. McCaskill sent one of his employees to an auction in Dothan and Brought the farmer back a thoroughbred Holstein cow who was who was a very good milk producer. Of course, this cow was a gift to the farmer. Truly, the milk of human kindness flowed through the McCaskill’s veins.
On September 18, 1945, Mr. and Mrs. McCaskill celebrated their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary with a large number of friends attending a reception at the “Walton Hotel” - the original wedding reception having been in that famous hotel of Chautauqua days!
Mr. Robert E. Lee McCaskill died on January 29, 1946.
Kiwanis Club Tribute to R.E.L McCaskill:
“This community has lost one of its strongest boosters and promoters. He has heralded the advantages of this section of West Florida to the remote corners of the nation. He has been known as a ’One Man Chamber of Commerce.’ The club has lost one of its most loyal and faithful members. His cheerful spirit and ready wit has been the source of enjoyment and encouragement over all West Florida and beyond those boundaries.”
Mrs. McCaskill and three daughters survived, (their only son, Harold McCaskill, died from injuries received in an automobile accident September 23, 1943.) The daughters are Mrs. Margaret Paulson of Elgin, Illinois, Mrs. Angeline Levey of Pensacola and Miss Evelyn McCaskill of Jacksonville, Florida; three granddaughters, Suzanne and Angeline McCaskill and Charlene Levey; also a daughter-in-law, Mrs. Harold McCaskill. His surviving sisters were Mrs. D. W. Burke, Mrs. W. O. Campbell and Mrs. W. I Stinson and one brother, J. J. McCaskill of Marianna, Florida.
The funeral services were held in the First Presbyterian Church, DeFuniak Springs, and burial was in Magnolia Cemetery.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. McCaskill continued to direct her late husbands once large and widespread business. She continued with the basic structures of much of the interests, church and social, as well as community life of DeFuniak Springs. During Mr. McCaskill’s lifetime, Mrs. McCaskill was a constant associate of her husband in his real estate business, through the many years of its existence. Mrs. McCaskill never forced payment from any debtors. “Foreclose? My goodness no!” - “I could never do that” said Mrs. McCaskill in an interview.
Mrs. McCaskill had many interests, even besides her responsibilities in business. She was one of the founders and was the first President of the Valparaiso Women’s Club. She was an Honorary member of the Pilot Club of DeFuniak Springs. She was presented with a Certificate of Life Membership in the women of the Presbyterian Church.
Florence Griffin McCaskill died in Pensacola, Florida, on November 23, 1975, at the age of 99 years.
The following tribute was printed in the “Christian Observer” on 01/21/1976;
“The day prior to Thanksgiving 1975 marks the occasion when a sorrowful farewell was given to Mrs. McCaskill, an illustrious and beloved member of the First Presbyterian Church of DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
In this coming June Mrs. McCaskill would have celebrated her 100th birthday and during the past century she had contributed much of her time, talents and substance to the glory of her Maker.
Involved in every fact facet of our Church’s activities, she directed her energy primarily to the Sunday School and the youth of our community; and was affectionately regarded for her visits, not only to the shut-ins but the indigents of this entire area.
The beautiful Biblical painting “The ascension of Christ’ which graces the fore of our church’s sanctuary, is one of the notable gifts attributed to her generosity.
For many decades, Mrs. McCaskill worked unstintingly in the city’s development and was instrumental in procuring for the town its first hygienic regulations. Also she was an ardent worker in the founding of a public library, guiding its growth and destiny of the Library Board of which she was an original member, relinquishing such responsibility only a few years ago. And, as a Charter Member of the women’s club, she ever actively participated in its cultural pursuits.
With a life so fruitful in service to others, her immediate family and a legion of friends can take solace in the thought ‘she is not gone who lives on in our hearts’.”
Surviving Mrs. McCaskill are three daughters; Mrs. Margaret Paulson, St. Charles, Illinois, Mrs. Angeline Levey, Pensacola, Florida, Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida and her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Harold McCaskill, DeFuniak Florida; three granddaughters, Mrs. Suzanne Padgett, Tallahassee, Florida, Mrs. Angeline Smith, Atlanta, Georgia, Mrs. Charlene Holler, Clemson, South Carolina also, twelve great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Mrs. McCaskill‘s funeral services were held in the first Presbyterian Church and she was buried in Magnolia Cemetery, DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
(Copied from a photocopy of a document lent to the Historical Society Museum by Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida. The author and the occasion of the document were not known.)
~ The McCaskill Company, DeFuniak Springs, Florida
J. J. McCaskill (father of R. E. L. McCaskill - vast real estate holder and developer) was born on his father’s (Kenneth McCaskill) farm in the historic old Scotch settlement near Knox Hill, Walton County, on November 23rd, 1846, and spent his boyhood on the old homestead. While a young boy, he walked several miles every day to attend school taught by Walton County’s pioneer teacher, Mr. Newton. He had a happy way of relating the boyish escapades incident to his school days at Mr. Newton’s, but never failed to end the anecdote by praising the man who did so much to mould the character of the boys and girls entrusted to his care.
When the war came, Mr. McCaskill had to put aside his books and take up a larger share of the farm work. The older brothers had gone to the front to fight for Home and Country. The Father, then an old man, had to be always on duty as a home guard, protecting loved ones from the robbers and marauders that plagued and harassed the Knox Hill settlement.
Those who lived through the trying duties of that trying time relate many stories of the bravery shown by the young boys of the community, and in all of them John McCaskill was a leading spirit.
As a boy and man he had ever with him the saving grace of humor and his Step-mother said that “no matter what troubles came, we could not stay blue long. John always saw the funny side, and he was a great hand to cheer us up.”
After the war, his family suffered, as did all other families throughout the South. He set himself to work on the farm with grim determination to make a living for the family, and there he remained until he was twenty-four.
His inability to return to school after the war, was a grievous disappointment. After a hard day’s work in the field he would bring home pine knots and after supper was over he would lie in front of a huge kitchen fireplace and study until late in the night. He early formed the habit of carrying about with him a small memorandum book, and when he would hear a new word he put it down and then never rested until he had learned the meaning and made it his. He continued this practice in all his later experience through life.
When twenty-four years old he married Elizabeth Flournoy and rented a farm near the little town of Summerville where they lived for a few years. He was a natural leader of men; ambitious and aggressive. It is small wonder then that at this stage of his career he decided to leave slow procession of farm life, and cast his lot in the more exciting game of active business. The timber industries of the country were then coming to the front and he first tried logging. Later he established a mercantile business in Argyle. Following this he moved to Freeport on Choctawhatchee Bay putting his all into a saw mill and mercantile business at that place. This business prospered. It prospered beyond the measure usually allotted to ventures of this kind. He lacked capital, but he put into his business an unbridled energy and a dauntless courage that few men ever equal and none surpass.
He was ever a busy man and kept in intimate touch with even the smallest details of his affairs. He knew all his employees by name; knew their qualifications and limitations, and when they were sick or in trouble of any kind, he was always there at the right time with the helping hand and purse, and the words that cheered and comforted.
Mr. McCaskill invested his earning and profits principally in lands and real estate in Pensacola, and DeFuniak. He was President of the first National Bank of DeFuniak; President of the J. J. McCaskill company; Vice President of the West Florida Naval Stores Co., and besides his holdings in these enterprises, his personal estate is estimated at four hundred thousand dollars.
He was a member of the Presbyterian Church, and belonged to the Order of Elks, Knights of Pythias, and Woodmen of the World.
Like Abou Ben Adhem, Mr. McCaskill was one who loved his fellow men, and his fellow men loved him. As in the beginning of this, I want to say again that his friends were high and low; rich and poor. Wealth and prosperity came to him only to enlarge his vision. The friends of his early struggles in boyhood and young manhood were still his friends at the end of the journey. He counted it a privilege to walk any distance to shake the hand of an old friend. He never forgot a face or a name, ad for each one he met there was a cheery word, a hearty handshake and a sunny smile.
He was buried in the grave yard at DeFuniak and friends and relatives came from hundreds of miles to attend his funeral, and his grave was literally covered with handsome flowers. It is a splendid tribute to his worth and standing that, though he died suddenly away from home, ten of Pensacola’s most prominent citizens put aside all business cares to escort his remains to his home.
Mr. McCaskill left a wife, four sons and four daughter to mourn his loss. All the children are married. They will miss him and there are very few in Walton County who will not feel his loss.
Three score years and ten is the time allotted to man by Holy Write. Had Mr. McCaskill lived until November he would have served out his fully seventy years of usefulness. His life was an inspiration and a source of joy to his daily associates. In business affairs he was fearless and self confident. He formed his own conclusions and clung to them. He was sure of his own good intentions and had faith in his own judgment.
He stood four square to every wind that blew, and he had that in his make up that, in other times, made men with kindred spirits to his, blaze out new trails and sail their ships on untried waters. In him the elements were so mixed, that Nature could stand up and say to all the world “This was a Man”.
(Copied from a photocopy of a document lent to the Historical Society Museum by Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida. The author and the occasion of the document were not known.)
Mr. and Mrs. Robert E. Lee McCaskill "Two Unforgettable People”
Robert E. Lee McCaskill was born on June 4, 1871, near Euchee Anna, Florida. He was the oldest son of John Jette and Sara Elizabeth McCaskill, and was educated in the Old West Florida Seminary.
Florence Adele Griffin was born on June 2, 1876, in Chautauqua County, New York. She was the daughter of A. Judson Griffin and Angeline Eades Griffin, and received her education in Sherman, New York and Jacksonville, Florida.
About the year 1893 the Griffin family moved to DeFuniak Springs, Florida, Mr. Griffin being affiliated with the Florida Chautauqua Society. It was during their first winter in Florida that their daughter Florence came to DeFuniak Springs to spend Christmas Holidays with her parents at the Chautauqua Hotel. Robert came to DeFuniak from Freeport to attend a Chautauqua performance. He stayed at the Chautauqua Hotel and it was there that he met Florence Griffin. On September 18, 1895, Robert E. Lee McCaskill and Florence Griffin were married in the First Methodist Church, DeFuniak Springs. Following the wedding, a reception was held at the Chautauqua Hotel. (Mr. and Mrs. Griffin decided to remain in Florida and they purchased and lived in the Chautauqua Hotel.)
The Robert McCaskill’s made their home in Freeport, Florida, for many, many years, during which time their four children were born - Harold Judson, Margaret Elizabeth, Angeline Lucille and Evelyn Juanita.
“Bob” McCaskill was associated with his father in the lumber and turpentine business. They owned and operated the “commissary”, commonly known as a “Mercantile Store.” Their holdings included ample land for sale for raising poultry, as well as growing fruits, vegetables and pecan trees, and for the sportsman, there was waterfront property available. They later moved to DeFuniak Springs, where there were more advantages for a growing family, particularly, that of their schooling. “Bob” McCaskill continued in his business operations. They lived in DeFuniak Springs most of their lives, with brief resident sojourns in Pensacola and Chicago. DeFuniak Springs, however, was always home and headquarters.
Mr. “R. E. L.”, as he was sometimes called by his friends, became one of the leading developers and landowners in West Florida, placing on sale land holdings accumulated by him and his father.
An opportunist by nature, and his zest for living, made for him many warm friends from all walks of life. His charitable deeds were unpublished; the loyalty to his friends was a tradition. He loved his family, his community, and was always very generous in assisting and contributing to the needs of the people in Walton County. He supported his church, helped “Palmer College“ survive when the church school could not support itself with just tuition as its source of income.
Following are a few of the highlights of Mr. McCaskill’s colorful and successful business career:
Mr. Robert E. Lee McCaskill began developing acreage on Choctawhatchee Bay, the Bayous, Inlet and the Gulf of Mexico waterfronts. He owned and controlled some 200,000 acres of land in Walton, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa and Escambia Counties.
Mr. McCaskill “started” the town of Valparaiso with John B. Perrine as Advertising Manager. Mr. Perrine came originally from Valpariso, Indiana and suggested the new town on the West Florida coast be named Valparaiso. Thus it was. Mr. James E. Plew purchased Valparaiso, continued its growth; and his sons-in-law, Mr. Chuck Ruckle and Mr. Merryman continued its successful development through many, many years.
The first landing field which is known now as “Eglin Field” was given to the government for such a field by Mr. “Bob” McCaskill.
A flourishing Health Club, “Postl’s Health Club” (patterned after a health club in Chicago by the same name) was built and later sold by Mr. McCaskill to the U. S. Government, to be used as Eglin Field’s first Officers Club.
From about 1925 - 1930 Mr. McCaskill had real estate offices in Chicago, Illinois, in the Tribune Building. From there he operated a chauffer-driven automobile (seven passenger), offering round trip excursions to DeFuniak, with accommodations at the Walton Hotel, paid for by the McCaskill Co., bringing persons interested in visiting West Florida, “land of health, happiness and prosperity.”
Mr. McCaskill referred to the beautiful Lake DeFuniak as, “the dimple of West Florida.” He was sometimes referred to as the “Baron of Northwest Florida.” But, over and beyond his well deserved recognition as a distinguished citizen of significant civic and philanthropic accomplishments, there are many tales of compassion that characterize Robert E. Lee McCaskill as a human being made beautiful by the concern he always showed for his fellow men. For example, selling a plot of land to a buyer was never the end of a deal for him. Rather, it was an opportunity to form a friendship. Once he sold a small farm to a family and visited them several times during the next few months. He noticed one day that the little daughter was drinking milk from a can of Pet Milk and asked why this was so; the farmer, who owned some hogs and chickens, replied that he could not afford a cow and that was the only milk they could get, since he lived too far from town to have milk delivered. The very next day, Mr. McCaskill sent one of his employees to an auction in Dothan and Brought the farmer back a thoroughbred Holstein cow who was who was a very good milk producer. Of course, this cow was a gift to the farmer. Truly, the milk of human kindness flowed through the McCaskill’s veins.
On September 18, 1945, Mr. and Mrs. McCaskill celebrated their Fiftieth Wedding Anniversary with a large number of friends attending a reception at the “Walton Hotel” - the original wedding reception having been in that famous hotel of Chautauqua days!
Mr. Robert E. Lee McCaskill died on January 29, 1946.
Kiwanis Club Tribute to R.E.L McCaskill:
“This community has lost one of its strongest boosters and promoters. He has heralded the advantages of this section of West Florida to the remote corners of the nation. He has been known as a ’One Man Chamber of Commerce.’ The club has lost one of its most loyal and faithful members. His cheerful spirit and ready wit has been the source of enjoyment and encouragement over all West Florida and beyond those boundaries.”
Mrs. McCaskill and three daughters survived, (their only son, Harold McCaskill, died from injuries received in an automobile accident September 23, 1943.) The daughters are Mrs. Margaret Paulson of Elgin, Illinois, Mrs. Angeline Levey of Pensacola and Miss Evelyn McCaskill of Jacksonville, Florida; three granddaughters, Suzanne and Angeline McCaskill and Charlene Levey; also a daughter-in-law, Mrs. Harold McCaskill. His surviving sisters were Mrs. D. W. Burke, Mrs. W. O. Campbell and Mrs. W. I Stinson and one brother, J. J. McCaskill of Marianna, Florida.
The funeral services were held in the First Presbyterian Church, DeFuniak Springs, and burial was in Magnolia Cemetery.
After the death of her husband, Mrs. McCaskill continued to direct her late husbands once large and widespread business. She continued with the basic structures of much of the interests, church and social, as well as community life of DeFuniak Springs. During Mr. McCaskill’s lifetime, Mrs. McCaskill was a constant associate of her husband in his real estate business, through the many years of its existence. Mrs. McCaskill never forced payment from any debtors. “Foreclose? My goodness no!” - “I could never do that” said Mrs. McCaskill in an interview.
Mrs. McCaskill had many interests, even besides her responsibilities in business. She was one of the founders and was the first President of the Valparaiso Women’s Club. She was an Honorary member of the Pilot Club of DeFuniak Springs. She was presented with a Certificate of Life Membership in the women of the Presbyterian Church.
Florence Griffin McCaskill died in Pensacola, Florida, on November 23, 1975, at the age of 99 years.
The following tribute was printed in the “Christian Observer” on 01/21/1976;
“The day prior to Thanksgiving 1975 marks the occasion when a sorrowful farewell was given to Mrs. McCaskill, an illustrious and beloved member of the First Presbyterian Church of DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
In this coming June Mrs. McCaskill would have celebrated her 100th birthday and during the past century she had contributed much of her time, talents and substance to the glory of her Maker.
Involved in every fact facet of our Church’s activities, she directed her energy primarily to the Sunday School and the youth of our community; and was affectionately regarded for her visits, not only to the shut-ins but the indigents of this entire area.
The beautiful Biblical painting “The ascension of Christ’ which graces the fore of our church’s sanctuary, is one of the notable gifts attributed to her generosity.
For many decades, Mrs. McCaskill worked unstintingly in the city’s development and was instrumental in procuring for the town its first hygienic regulations. Also she was an ardent worker in the founding of a public library, guiding its growth and destiny of the Library Board of which she was an original member, relinquishing such responsibility only a few years ago. And, as a Charter Member of the women’s club, she ever actively participated in its cultural pursuits.
With a life so fruitful in service to others, her immediate family and a legion of friends can take solace in the thought ‘she is not gone who lives on in our hearts’.”
Surviving Mrs. McCaskill are three daughters; Mrs. Margaret Paulson, St. Charles, Illinois, Mrs. Angeline Levey, Pensacola, Florida, Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida and her daughter-in-law, Mrs. Harold McCaskill, DeFuniak Florida; three granddaughters, Mrs. Suzanne Padgett, Tallahassee, Florida, Mrs. Angeline Smith, Atlanta, Georgia, Mrs. Charlene Holler, Clemson, South Carolina also, twelve great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild.
Mrs. McCaskill‘s funeral services were held in the first Presbyterian Church and she was buried in Magnolia Cemetery, DeFuniak Springs, Florida.
(Copied from a photocopy of a document lent to the Historical Society Museum by Miss Evelyn McCaskill, Jacksonville, Florida. The author and the occasion of the document were not known.)
“Footsteps of the Padres and Conquistadores” - The Old Spanish Trail
Conceived in 1915 as the shortest route between the Atlantic and Pacific oceans, the Old Spanish Trail (OST) connecting St. Augustine, Florida and San Diego, California, took nearly fifteen years to construct at a cost of more than $80,000.000. Unlike other Southern transcontinental highways that stitched together existing roads across the continent's relatively flat and dry midsection, much of the Old Spanish Trail was forged over formerly impassable swamplands in the Southeast, including five major outlets into the Gulf. Along with these geographical impediments, the Old Spanish Trail Association (OSTA) protested that the uncooperativeness of individual states and the federal government ultimately hampered its completion. Finally opening for travel in 1929, the OSTA billed the highway as the most expensive and most highly engineered of all the transcontinental trails. As the progenitor of today's Interstate 10, the OSTA deserves recognition for boosting the first southernmost transcontinental highway.
Although the Old Spanish Trail would eventually win recognition as a trunkline highway of the South, the organization for construction of the highway under Harral Ayres’ leadership developed a stronger plan to market its romantic link to Spanish history. Spanish missions, forts, and trails had indeed historically occurred along many sections of the highway. And historic expedition routes used by De Soto, De Vaca and De Navarez, as well as lesser-known mission trails in Florida and Texas, did roughly align with the Old Spanish Trail. With these in mind, Ayres began to weave an exotic narrative of the Trail following the “footsteps of the Padres and Conquistadores.” To flesh out this history, Ayres contacted archives in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico to gain information on local Spanish heritage. This information, along with historical facts on non-Spanish settlements, was presented in the Old Spanish Trail travelogs issued from the mid-1920s until 1931.
An early campaign of the OSTA was to have the highway recognized as a military road, under the naïve belief that the federal government would pay for its construction and solve its barrier section problems. The United States’ ongoing experience in Europe during World War I, as well as Pancho Villa’s bloody incursion over the border in 1916, had awakened America to the need for dependable military roads. In reaction, numerous trails associations and good roads groups “recast their publicity and promotion to reflect importance to defense in the hope that the government would take over the road and build it.” A 1917 National Geographic article entitled “The Immediate Necessity for Military Highways” urged Americans to build a national highway system similar to that of France — a system that the author claimed saved the nation “when the Hun leaped at her throat.” Setbacks, coupled with the war in Europe, brought the project to a virtual standstill in 1918 as the association failed to even garner enough interest to hold an annual convention.
Though the travelogs painted a romanticized version of the Spanish past, employing stereotypical images of Spanish and Mexicans, including women crowned in mantillas and men draped in fringed ponchos (figure 5), they were also an early effort to get motorists interested in roadside history; a goal later realized by the WPA state guidebooks. Using this approach, Ayres in 1922 “convinced” the U.S. Bureau of Education to recognize the OST as a subject of school study, claiming that the highway had “become a national medium for study of physical geography and old history of the Southern Borderland country.” The romantic marketing of the Old Spanish Trail resulted in much press, with numerous stories regaling the highway’s Spanish past, but did little to fix its troublesome barrier sections.
Although the Old Spanish Trail would eventually win recognition as a trunkline highway of the South, the organization for construction of the highway under Harral Ayres’ leadership developed a stronger plan to market its romantic link to Spanish history. Spanish missions, forts, and trails had indeed historically occurred along many sections of the highway. And historic expedition routes used by De Soto, De Vaca and De Navarez, as well as lesser-known mission trails in Florida and Texas, did roughly align with the Old Spanish Trail. With these in mind, Ayres began to weave an exotic narrative of the Trail following the “footsteps of the Padres and Conquistadores.” To flesh out this history, Ayres contacted archives in Florida, Texas, and New Mexico to gain information on local Spanish heritage. This information, along with historical facts on non-Spanish settlements, was presented in the Old Spanish Trail travelogs issued from the mid-1920s until 1931.
An early campaign of the OSTA was to have the highway recognized as a military road, under the naïve belief that the federal government would pay for its construction and solve its barrier section problems. The United States’ ongoing experience in Europe during World War I, as well as Pancho Villa’s bloody incursion over the border in 1916, had awakened America to the need for dependable military roads. In reaction, numerous trails associations and good roads groups “recast their publicity and promotion to reflect importance to defense in the hope that the government would take over the road and build it.” A 1917 National Geographic article entitled “The Immediate Necessity for Military Highways” urged Americans to build a national highway system similar to that of France — a system that the author claimed saved the nation “when the Hun leaped at her throat.” Setbacks, coupled with the war in Europe, brought the project to a virtual standstill in 1918 as the association failed to even garner enough interest to hold an annual convention.
Though the travelogs painted a romanticized version of the Spanish past, employing stereotypical images of Spanish and Mexicans, including women crowned in mantillas and men draped in fringed ponchos (figure 5), they were also an early effort to get motorists interested in roadside history; a goal later realized by the WPA state guidebooks. Using this approach, Ayres in 1922 “convinced” the U.S. Bureau of Education to recognize the OST as a subject of school study, claiming that the highway had “become a national medium for study of physical geography and old history of the Southern Borderland country.” The romantic marketing of the Old Spanish Trail resulted in much press, with numerous stories regaling the highway’s Spanish past, but did little to fix its troublesome barrier sections.
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Despite the publication of thousands of brochures, maps, and the release of a feature-length promotional film, the completion of Interstates 8 and 10 in the late 1960s doomed the Old Spanish Trail to extinction. The new interstates, which provided a straighter and faster course across much of the Southwest, left many sections of old U.S. 90 and 80 to fade into obscurity. With commerce moving near interstate exits, the association lost most of its membership from businesses along the old route. The interstate’s emphasis on speed and efficiency removed much of the regional flavor of the Old Spanish Trail, leaving no room for quaint notions of Spanish trails and missions.
Highway 90, the Old Spanish Trail in Florida still runs across the original course for the entire width of the state and runs parallel and close to Interstate 10 for the majority of the length. This historical trail runs through Walton County with a distance that varies between 1 to 3 miles north of the interstate. resource for the story: http://www.drivetheost.com/history.html |
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