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Niceville was known as Boggy in early daysBy EMMA GOGGIN ^ ^ 3 3By EMMA GOGGIN Daily News Bureau NICEVILLE—The names of towns, their histories are fascinating subjects.Niceville, in the 1880’s, was known as Boggy named for Boggy Bayou on which it is located, the latter deriving its name from a great peat deposit at the mouth of Juniper Creek which flows into that bayou.Boggy was a small settlement during the Civil War (1861-65) when a grist mill was established by John Nathey and his father, to serve the farms in the sparsely settled community. Parts of the grist mill still stand on the Eglin AFB golf course adjoining Niceville.In the 1880’s Boggy had only a half-dozen families living in the vicinity, among them, the Natheys, Parish family, Armstrongs, Allens, the J.P. Edge family, Mattie Spence; some years later the G.B. Anchors. Claude Meigs, Chuffy Jones, Burl Spence, Mrs. Cebelle Meigs, Jim Moore, J. Reynolds family, L.L. Shaw and the Edward Freiwald family.There was a general store in the area and a sawmill in addition to the grist mill. The general store was located on Bayshore Drive and the sawmill operated by the Spences was located on the site now occupied by the Spence Trailer Park. They also had a small general store In connection with the sawmill.A boat service from Pensacola, once a week, served Boggy in the delivery of foodstuffs and supplies. Valparaiso residents rowed across Boggy Bayou to get their supplies whenever the shipmentcame in.Money was scarce and payment was made in the form of metal tokens which were redeemed at Spence’s sawmill store. In the early days the economy was based primarily on timber cutting, fishing and agriculture.In March of 1890 when John C. Perrine and his ship’s master, Captain Fozzard first landed on the north side of New Point Comfort in Valparaiso, they visited Boggy.In an article, which appeared in a special Valparaiso edition of Farm and Livestock Record published in Jacksonville, autumn of 1921, Perrine wrote:“We sailed up the Choctawhatchee river for 50 miles, visited Freeport, Alaqua, Portland and explored all the bays, bayous and lakes accessible from the big Bay and finally came to the town of Boggy, then a fishing settlement of a score or more of houses on what was then termed Boggy Bayou.“Opposite Boggy, later called Valparaiso and then Niceville, and across Boggy Bayou we camped for three days. We landed on the north side of New Point Comfort in Sunset Bay, where the water was so deep that we stepped ashore from our boat easily. A good sized ship could load or unload at this point, without a dock.”“Words cannot describe the loveliness of the location of our three-day camp. Great clusters of wild honeysuckle bloomed in abundance and their beauty and fragrance cannot be described. Each cluster of blossoms was as large as a peck measure. Bright yellow jasmine grew on every side and a dozen varieties of lovely blossoms were in abundance that had never been seen before.’’“I determined in those three never to be forgotten days in March 1890 to some day make my home in what I then knew was the real “Vale of Paradise.” In 1919, the Valparaiso Development Company was established by John C. Perrine, who bought thousands of acres of land in the area and proceeded to establish the neighboring city of Valparaiso, planning a community for the influx of thousands of people. Nevertheless, development was slow and efforts to promote the area failed for lack of a solid economic base to sustain a large population.It was during this period that Boggy, stimulated by the dreams of its neighboring community, changed its name to Valparaiso and later to Niceville.In early 1919, a stock farm consisting of over 1,280 acres was established in the Rocky Bayou-Niceville areas, and Japanese sugar cane was grown on several hundred acre s of ground.The first post office in the Boggy Bavou-Valparaiso area was in Niceville and the late Edward Freiwald built the first theater which was patronized by people from “distant” points considered so in the horse and buggy days—De Funiak Springs, Crest-view, Freeport, Fort Walton Beach and other adjoining communities.Freiwald also operated the first boat, “Miss Paradise,” for the transporting of people across Boggy Bayou, from Niceville to Valparaiso and vice versa. The fare was five cents. Some years later, he sold the boat to C. W. Ruckel Sr., who changed its name to “Pair-of-Dice.”In July 1919, the Valparaiso Hotel, corner of Bayshore Drive and Armstrong Avenue, across the street from the present Niceville Post Office, was completed at a total cost of $7,500, “without equipment.”The hostelry, destroyed by fire in 1962, boasted of 14 rooms with electric lights, running water and baths. The Edward Freiwalds and their four children lived in room No. 1 for some time, before they moved to their own home at 490 Bayshore Drive, Niceville.The Spence Brothers opened their fish enterprise during the early 1900’s, and now are considered one of Florida’s largest seafood packers.A newspaper, “Valparaiso-Messenger” with “news from the Vale of Paradise” made its appearance in the Niceville-Valparaiso communities in the early spring of 1919. It was published monthly by the Valparaiso Development Company. Subscription price was $1.00 a year, “payable in advance.”An article appearing on the front page of the April 1919 issue. “Developments on Choctawhatchee Bay,” reads; “The Valparaiso Development Company has about 250 acres of ground prepared for the planting of Japanese Cane, over 100 acres plowed and ready to plant. The Company has saved hundreds of thousands of cane seeds. They grew and saved over 300,000 on ground just south of the city. Louis Smith saved 80,000; over 250,000 on the Carter place and 125,000 on the Patterson Farm north.“The cane are about 3 feet long, and are placed in the ground end to end. The sprouts come from the joints. From 300 to 500 gallons of syrup are made from each acre.”“This Company has also started a stock farm on which it will raise Duroc hogs. This farm consists of over 1280 acres and they are starting with 128 brood shows and several full blood boards. This stock farm adjoins Valparaiso and the Rocky Bayou farm, with all its buildings and equipment as a part of the farm. This splendid farm of about 300 acres is all under fence, and we understand that over ten thousand dollars have already been spent on it.”BOGGY’S FIRST HOSTELRY—The Valparaiso Hotel on the corner of Bayshore Drive and Armstrong Avenue in 1919 boasted 14 rooms with electric lights, running water and baths. One of Niceville’s old landmarks, it was destroyed by fire in 1962.? £HWY 85—This road from Niceville-Valparaiso to Crestview in 1919 wasdescribed as “a fine hard road.” Man in white shirt standing alongside of the car, is the late Jesse Cayson, who was convicted in the 1940 slaying of Sheriff Ray Wilson’s father. Other three men in the picture are identified, from left, as John B. Perrine, William L. McCullom and Merle Potter.
Newspaper Details
Fort Walton Beach Playground Sunday News
Fort Walton Beach, Florida, US
Sun, Aug 31, 1969
Page 11
Full Page
Clipped by
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USA 01 Jun 2025
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