DeFuniak Springs in Walton County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Train Depot
The Florida Chautauqua Resort/Campus
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
1. Train Depot Marker
Inscription.
Train Depot. The Florida Chautauqua Resort/Campus. The depot served as the primary entry point for excursion trains during the Florida Chautauqua assemblies lasting from 1885 to 1928. As many as 4,000 passengers a day arrived at this station during the height of the Chautauqua era. Performing bands welcomed arriving passengers before guests advanced to the ticket gatehouse which stood next to the original depot (no longer standing) to purchase their daily pass or season ticket to be on these historic grounds. , , This is not the original structure built as a depot on or near this site. The original 1885 depot sat in the middle of what is now Circle Drive (directly in front of you:) That structure was torn down and replaced on the site of the current structure. No records today conclude whether the second structure was remodeled or replaced with the current one, but evidence shows that the structure before you was remodeled in 1910 to accommodate the enormous crowds arriving by excursion trains at the height of the Chautauqua era. , , Notable lecturers who arrived by train to these grounds included Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, American Red Cross Founder Clara Barton, National Arbor Day Founder J. Sterling Morton, Battle Hymn of the Republic Songwriter Julia Ward Howe, Vice President Thomas Marshall (Woodrow Wilson's Vice President) and American Orator and Democratic Presidential Nominee William Jennings Bryan. [Although an 1895 printed program announces that Gov. William McKinley of Ohio (who later became president of the United States) accepted an invitation to make a presentation, no records have been found indicating he attended the Assembly that year.] , , Below is one of the earliest known photographs taken of the Florida Chautauqua resort/ campus showing an arriving excursion train to the first depot (left). The building next to the depot is believed to be the ticket booth referenced in numerous promotional material published in the 1800s. Note the Hotel Chautauqua to the right of this photograph.
The depot served as the primary entry point for excursion trains during the Florida Chautauqua assemblies lasting from 1885 to 1928. As many as 4,000 passengers a day arrived at this station during the height of the Chautauqua era. Performing bands welcomed arriving passengers before guests advanced to the ticket gatehouse which stood next to the original depot (no longer standing) to purchase their daily pass or season ticket to be on these historic grounds.
This is not the original structure built as a depot on or near this site. The original 1885 depot sat in the middle of what is now Circle Drive (directly in front of you:) That structure was torn down and replaced on the site of the current structure. No records today conclude whether the second structure was remodeled or replaced with the current one, but evidence shows that the structure before you was remodeled in 1910 to accommodate the enormous crowds arriving by excursion trains at the height of the Chautauqua era.
Notable lecturers who arrived by train to these grounds included Abolitionist Harriet Beecher Stowe, American Red Cross Founder Clara Barton,
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National Arbor Day Founder J. Sterling Morton, Battle Hymn of the Republic Songwriter Julia Ward Howe, Vice President Thomas Marshall (Woodrow Wilson's Vice President) and American Orator and Democratic Presidential Nominee William Jennings Bryan. [Although an 1895 printed program announces that Gov. William McKinley of Ohio (who later became president of the United States) accepted an invitation to make a presentation, no records have been found indicating he attended the Assembly that year.]
Below is one of the earliest known photographs taken of the Florida Chautauqua resort/ campus showing an arriving excursion train to the first depot (left). The building next to the depot is believed to be the ticket booth referenced in numerous promotional material published in the 1800s. Note the Hotel Chautauqua to the right of this photograph.
Erected by Florida Department of State and the City of DeFuniak Springs. (Marker Number #1.)
86° 6.834′ W. Marker is in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in Walton County. It is on Circle Drive west of South 7th Street, on the left when traveling west. Located across the street from the Walton County Heritage Museum (Train Depot). Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 1140 Circle Drive, Defuniak Springs FL 32435, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is on the Florida Panhandle. It is also in the American South, specifically in the Deep South, and on the Gulf Coast. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
Credits. This page was last revised on August 1, 2025. It was originally submitted on March 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 169 times since then and 22 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on March 31, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.
