hisAnna's stories reveal details about Camp Walton / Ft. Walton Beach, Grayton Beach, Mary Esther, DeFuniak Springs and other historical venues that many don't know or have forgotten. What a wonderful beach resort on the sound. Many of these pictures and notes are not included in other publications. The Smiths were certainly early resort pioneers in this resort driven beach community.
Anna Smith as a student at Palmer College/Academy. Walton led Florida in educational facilities and cultural opportunities. The Smith family was attracted to Walton County by the Florida Chautauqua. They moved permanently in 1903. Anna's father, P. W. Smith, visited Grayton Beach in 1899 with his uncle L. I. Smith, owner of the Gulfview Hotel who hired the Staffs and Gerlachs to work for him. Her brother's house "The Smith House" was originally across the street from The Red Bar. Tuff Smith was a renowned Pompano fisherman at Grayton Beach. The Smith family also owned one of the longest working dairy farms in Florida from 1906 - to 1949 "Wiscasett" on the Freeport Road or 331.