Fort Walton Beach, often referred to by the initialism FWB, is a city in southern Okaloosa County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, Fort Walton Beach had a population of 20,922. It is a principal city of the Crestview−Fort Walton Beach−Destin, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area.
Fort Walton Beach is a year-round fishing and beach resort community. Its busiest time of the year is the summer, causing a boost to the local economy because of tourism.
History
Prehistoric settlement of Fort Walton Beach is attributed to the mound building "Fort Walton Culture" that flourished from approximately 1100–1550 CE. It is believed that this culture evolved out of the Weeden Island culture. Fort Walton also appeared to come about due to contact with the major Mississippian centers to the north and west. It was the most complex in the north-west Florida region. The Fort Walton peoples put into practice mound building and intensive agriculture, made pottery in a variety of vessel shapes, and had hierarchical settlement patterns that reflected other Mississippian societies.
The first Europeans to set foot in what is now Okaloosa County and the Fort Walton Beach area were members of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca's party, who traveled by boat from what is now Panama City Beach, Florida, in 1528 to Texas: Then we set out to sea again, coasting towards the River of Palms. Every day our thirst and hunger increased because our supplies were giving out, as well as the water supply, for the pouches we had made from the legs of our horses soon became rotten and useless. From time to time we would enter some inlet or cove that reached very far inland, but we found them all shallow and dangerous, and so we navigated through them for thirty days, meeting sometimes Indians who fished and were poor and wretched people.
The area is described at "40 deaths a day" in a Spanish map dated 1566. In later English and French maps the area was noted as "Baya Santa Rosa" or "Bay St. Rose". A number of Spanish artifacts, including a portion of brigantine leather armor, are housed in the Indian Temple Mound Museum.
Contrary to popular belief, there is no documentary evidence of pirates using the area as a base of operations. Piracy was rampant in the Gulf of Mexico from pirates working out of Hispaniola, the Caribbean, and the Florida Keys. Notable raids occurred in 1683 and 1687 against the Spanish fort at San Marcos de Apalachee (by French and English buccaneers), a 1712 raid against Port Dauphin (now Alabama) by English pirates from Martinique, and the actions of the late 18th-century adventurer William Augustus Bowles, who was based in Apalachicola. Bowles was never referred to as "Billy Bowlegs" in period documentation; his Creek name was "Estajoca".
During the era of Spanish and English colonization, the area of what was to become Fort Walton Beach was noted in several journals but no worthwhile presence was established.
Early settlers of Walton County, Florida, were the first to establish permanent settlements in what is now Fort Walton Beach (the area was originally named "Anderson"). Two of the first settlers were John Anderson and Andrew A. Alvarez, who received land plots in 1838. The name "Anderson" is noted on maps from 1838 to 1884. It was not until 1911 that the name "Camp Walton" appeared on Florida maps.
In 1861, Camp Walton was a Confederate Army camp, a fortified post, made up of the "Walton Guards", an independent Company of Florida Volunteer Infantry from Walton County. At this time, Okaloosa County did not yet exist. Walton County received its name from Col. George Walton, who served as secretary of West Florida during Andrew Jackson's governorship (1821–1822) and whose father, George Walton Sr., was the 56th signatory of the Declaration of Independence. He is also the namesake of Walton County.Roberts, Robert B., "Encyclopedia of Historic Forts", Macmillan Publishing Company, New York, London, 1988, Library of Congress card number 86-28494, , page 212.
Camp Walton was located between the Indian Temple Mound, now known as the Heritage Park and Cultural Center, and the Santa Rosa Sound, its mission was to protect the "Narrows" from Union ships. Although the "Walton Guards" did not see much action, they did keep busy by digging up prehistoric Indian remains buried in the Indian Temple Mound and displaying them at camp. The post was abandoned in August 1862, and the "Walton Guards" were assigned to reinforce the 1st Florida Infantry Regiment, with duty in the Western Theatre on the Tennessee front.
On April 11, 1879, John Thomas Brooks purchased at a public auction in Milton, Florida, in Section 24, Township 2, Range 24 of Santa Rosa County, a portion of the property of Henry Penny whose heirs had failed to pay the taxes on the estate.Santa Rosa County, Florida Deed Book "C", pages 465, 466, R. R. Sheppard, County Clerk, to J. T. Brooks, Milton, Florida, recorded December 14, 1883. This parcel on the Santa Rosa Sound became what is now downtown Fort Walton Beach.
The United States Post Office changed the official name on their cancellations from Camp Walton to Fort Walton on March 1, 1932.
The 1940 census counted 90 residents in Fort Walton.Hutchinson, Leonard Patrick. "History of the Playground Area of Northwest Florida". Great Outdoors Publishing. St. Petersburg, Florida, 1st ed., 1961, no Library of Congress card number, no ISBN, page 83. Fort Walton was incorporated by a state senate bill effective June 16, 1941.Hutchinson, page 85.
The community's name was officially changed from Fort Walton to Fort Walton Beach on June 15, 1953, by agreement with the state legislature in Tallahassee, and incorporated a portion of Santa Rosa Island formerly known as Tower Beach.Fort Walton Beach, Florida, Playground News, June 18, 1953, page 1. Tower Beach, named for a tall observation tower at the site which was later destroyed by a hurricane, had been an amusement area operated from 1928 by the Island Amusement Company by future-Fort Walton Beach mayor Thomas E. Brooks,Hamilton, Percy, "Tower Beach to End Colorful, 26-Year History as Pioneer Tourist Attraction", Playground News, Thursday August 11, 1955, Volume 9, Number 80, page 1. with a boardwalk, casino, restaurant, dance pavilion, "40 modernly equipped beach cottages",Display advert, Okaloosa News-Journal, Crestview, Florida, Friday September 2, 1938, Volume 24, Number 35, page 5. and concession stands which was largely destroyed by fire on Saturday, March 7, 1942. Wartime supply restrictions prevented a reconstruction.Crestview, Florida, "Amusement Area Of Tower Beach Is Destroyed By Fire", Okaloosa News-Journal, Friday March 13, 1942, Volume 28, Number 8, page 1. This parcel of Santa Rosa Island with three miles of Gulf frontage was conveyed to Okaloosa County on July 8, 1950, in an informal ceremony at the county courthouse in Crestview, Florida. The county paid the federal government $4,000 to complete the transaction, the result of the efforts of Congressman Bob Sikes.Fort Walton, Florida, "Island Tract Turned Over To Okaloosa – Formal Transfer Completed With $4,000 Payment", Playground News, Thursday July 13, 1950, Volume 5, Number 24, page 1. The portion of Santa Rosa Island transferred is now known as Okaloosa Island. The remaining Tower Beach summer cottages were removed after the 1955 tourist season as the new Okaloosa Island Authority redeveloped the site with a new hotel and casino. The government was changed to a city manager form.
A special census conducted in 1956 listed 9,456 residents, which grew to 11,249 by 1960.Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "County Hits 61,067 – Census Reveals 11,249 Is Population for FWB", Playground News, Thursday, June 9, 1960, Volume 15, Number "19" (actually No. 20), page 1.
The last of three county-owned buildings on Okaloosa Island was torn down on May 31, 1995. The buildings had originally housed the Okaloosa Island Authority and more recently the Okaloosa County Council on Aging. The tract on the north side of Santa Rosa Boulevard was sold.Fort Walton Beach, Florida, "Today in Local History", Northwest Florida Daily News, Sunday May 31, 2015, Volume 69, Number 120, page B4.
Geography According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and , or 9.26%, is water.
Climate Fort Walton Beach experiences hot and very humid summers, generally from late May to mid-September. Autumns, from mid-September to early December, are generally warm. Winters are very short and mild, from mid-December to late February. Springs are warm, from late February to late May.
Fort Walton Beach averages of rain each year. The wettest season is summer and the driest season is autumn, although flood season continues into autumn.
Snow and freezing rain are very rare. Freezing rain occurs about once every 5 to 10 years. Snow occurs about once every 10 to 15 years. The most significant snowfall in the city's history was on January 21, 2025, during the 2025 Gulf Coast blizzard, when fell on the city. Other significant winter precipitation events that affected the city include January 1977,Roche, Cathy Steele (January 19, 1977). "Snow Misses Charlotte, But Cold's Here to Stay". The Charlotte News (Charlotte, North Carolina), via Newspapers.com. p. 1. and on January 28, 2014,Wheeler, Deborah (January 31, 2014). "Ice on the beach, but it could be worse". McClatchy-Tribune Business News. Tribune Content Agency. during the January 2014 Gulf Coast winter storm.
The Köppen climate classification subtype for this climate is humid subtropical climate (Cfa),
Transportation
Airports Nearby Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport (airport code VPS) serves Fort Walton Beach, as well as Valparaiso, Florida. Airlines that currently serve Destin-Fort Walton Beach Airport are Allegiant Airlines, American Eagle, Southwest, Delta Air Lines, and Delta Connection. They provide non-stop service to Atlanta, Cincinnati, Charlotte, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Las Vegas, Knoxville, Memphis, Oklahoma City, and St. Louis.
Okaloosa County Transit provides public transportation throughout Fort Walton Beach as well as Okaloosa County. Its main stop and transfer location is Uptown Station located on State Road 85, a little over north of US 98.
Major highways State Road 189 is a north–south highway from State Road 85 to US 98 in downtown Fort Walton Beach. State Road 85 is a north–south highway that leads north to Crestview, the Okaloosa County seat (also along Interstate 10), and ends at US 98 in downtown Fort Walton Beach. US 98 is an east–west highway, which runs through downtown Fort Walton Beach. The Brooks Bridge over the Santa Rosa Sound connects downtown Fort Walton Beach with Okaloosa Island, which is along the route of US 98. US 98 leads east to Destin and west to Pensacola.
Demographics
Racial and ethnic composition +Fort Walton Beach racial composition (Hispanics excluded from racial categories) (NH = Non-Hispanic)RacePop 2010Pop 2020% 2010% 2020White (NH)14,24513,77773.03%65.85%Black or African American (NH)2,3312,28411.95%10.92%Native American or Alaska Native (NH)104650.53%0.31%Asian (NH)6188283.17%3.96%Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)54200.28%0.10%Some other race (NH)311220.16%0.58%Two or more races/Multiracial (NH)5861,3823.00%6.61%Hispanic or Latino (any race)1,5382,4447.88%11.68%Total19,50720,922
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Fort Walton Beach had a population of 20,922. The median age was 41.5 years. 19.0% of residents were under the age of 18 and 19.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.1 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 96.5 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.