CRESTVIEW — Hub City heritage and pride were on display Saturday during Crestview’s Centennial Celebration.
PHOTOS: View photos from the centennial events >>
More than 200 people listened at Courthouse Terrace as speakers reflected on Crestview’s small-village roots, and praised its progress and growth as Okaloosa County’s largest city.
VIDEO: See the events and watch the groundbreaking for the new courthouse >>
RAILROAD TOWN TO BIG CITY
Mayor David Cadle set the scene in his opening remarks, which called back to April 11, 1916, when the city was officially established.
“Imagine, if you will, just 100 years (ago), when a small village began to grow up around arrival of the railroad,” Cadle said. “The people who settled here were industrious and hard-working folks, and soon they were building homes and churches.
“And on Main Street a hotel sprang up, and a bank, and along with them were several drinking establishments, where the purported favorite beverage was whiskey. Those establishments had many patrons, and even their second floors of their buildings were quite busy.”
The passing of years brought innovation — “As time went by, the dirt roads slowly were being replaced by pavement, and the city continued to grow,” Cadle said — and the 7th Special Forces’ relocation from Fort Bragg, N.C., to Eglin Air force Base in Northwest Florida brought an influx of new residents.
Now, the Hub City is Okaloosa’s largest city, and “the undisputed county seat of Okaloosa County,” Cadle said.
‘WHAT A GREAT DAY’
Jubilation filled downtown Crestview as speaker after speaker approached the podium with praise for the city and anticipation for a new courthouse to replace a mold-laden 1950s structure.
Among them:
●Sen. Don Gaetz read a commemoration from Florida’s Senate and House of Representatives.
“For 100 years, the city of Crestview has been home to pioneers, founders of businesses, civic leaders and citizens who have made this community one of the finest places in America to live, worship, work, raise families, and retire,” Gaetz read. “…The people of Crestview have opened their homes and their hearts to thousands of new residents from across the world who have come here for good jobs, good schools, good weather and good neighbors.
“From its earliest history as a small village to its pre-eminence today as Okaloosa County’s largest city, Crestview has become a center for prosperous commerce, warm hospitality and strong values.”
●Commissioner Wayne Harris read a commemoration from Congressman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who congratulated “all those who have been fortunate to call Crestview home throughout the last century, and we wish them and the city continued success,” Harris read.
“What a great day for Crestview, and what a great day for Okaloosa County,” Harris said.
●Circuit Judge Michael Flowers spoke about Crestview’s new, almost 70,000-square-foot courthouse that will have Old South or antebellum architecture. “Aren’t we blessed and fortunate that we will be able to conduct justice where it’s always been conducted, where it belongs, in the county seat of Crestview?” he said.
●Commissioner Carolyn Ketchel also praised the new courthouse’s design. “I think we’ll really be pleased with what we see on our Main Street,” she said, adding the structure will be “a centerpiece for our community for years to come.”
●Commissioner Nathan Boyles said the current courthouse is due for retirement. It “has served our county well, but it is a sick building and it is no longer adequate to the task,” he said. “… In its place will rise a building that the citizens of this county can be proud of, a building that will serve as an adequate home for the rule of law, preserving our American values for future generations.
CREATING A COUNTY
Historical re-enactor James Moore — portraying Rep. William Mapoles, who is credited with founding Okaloosa County — explained, in period clothes, Okaloosa’s origin.
“Let’s look back and understand that when I got elected as a representative from Walton County in 1913, my constituents came to me and told me of a serious problem,” he said.
“You see, (with) the configuration of Walton County and Santa Rosa, it was hard for them to get to the courthouse. You see, if you lived down in Camp Walton, and you needed to go to the courthouse, it was a series of difficult problems.”
Mapoles, a Laurel Hill newspaperman, tried to sway fellow legislators to create a new county, historian N. Allen Robinson wrote in a series of 1975 Okaloosa Consumer Bulletin articles.
With Walton and Holmes counties Sen. B.H. Lindsay’s backing, and a provision that voters in the affected area gave it their blessing at the polls, Mapoles’ bill passed on June 3, 1915.
On Sept. 11, 1915, it was up to the voters and, with a 4-1 margin in Walton County, and 2-1 in Santa Rosa, voters gave themselves a new county.
A BRIGHT FUTURE
Main Street was filled with energy, as a succession of three events attracted residents.
The Spanish Trail Cruisers Club’s annual Average Joe Car Show coincided with the centennial celebration, which included a groundbreaking ceremony on Okaloosa’s new courthouse.
In addition to speakers, among those attending the celebration were Circuit Judge Terry Ketchel, Sen. Greg Evers, County Commissioner Trey Goodwin, Main Street Crestview Association representative Pat Hollarn, Crestview’s city councilmen and numerous city and county employees, and local law enforcement.
Jeff Burnett, pastor of Crosspoint’s North Crestview campus, gave the invocation, and Crestview resident Juanita Payne-Galbreath sang a rendition of the “Star Spangled Banner.”
Cadle, speaking to the crowd as the American, Florida and Crestview flags waved in the wind, gave hopeful remarks for the next 100 years.
“As we celebrate the 100th anniversary of this great city, I can assure you that the future of Crestview is very bright,” he said.
Staff writer Brian Hughes also contributed to this report.
This article originally appeared on Crestview News Bulletin: Crestview celebrates 100 years with courthouse groundbreaking (VIDEO, PHOTOS)
