DeFuniak Springs in Walton County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Dream Cottage
The Florida Chautauqua Resort/Campus
Photographed by Brandon D Cross
1. Dream Cottage Marker
Inscription.
Dream Cottage. The Florida Chautauqua Resort/Campus. This cottage was built in 1885 for Wallace Bruce who later became the longest-serving president of the Florida Chautauqua Association. In 1889, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison called on the Florida Chautauqua president to serve as US consul general to Edinburgh, Scotland. Bruce left this house for five years of service overseas where he erected a statue of President Abraham Lincoln in a nearby Edinburgh cemetery. This was the first time an American president's statue was erected on foreign soil. The event inspired a friendship between Bruce and Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of the late U.S. president. When Bruce returned to the Florida Chautauqua presidency in 1893, he continued to live in this house until he suffered a stroke in 1906. In 1907, he moved into the renovated Chautauqua Art Department on Circle Drive where he died in 1914. , , Bruce's prestigious career as author, lecturer, poet, orator and consul general provided him a unique network of famous friends, entertainers and international leaders who he influenced to participate in many of the Florida Chautauqua assemblies.
This cottage was built in 1885 for Wallace Bruce who later became the longest-serving president of the Florida Chautauqua Association. In 1889, U.S. President Benjamin Harrison called on the Florida Chautauqua president to serve as US consul general to Edinburgh, Scotland. Bruce left this house for five years of service overseas where he erected a statue of President Abraham Lincoln in a nearby Edinburgh cemetery. This was the first time an American president's statue was erected on foreign soil. The event inspired a friendship between Bruce and Robert Todd Lincoln, the son of the late U.S. president. When Bruce returned to the Florida Chautauqua presidency in 1893, he continued to live in this house until he suffered a stroke in 1906. In 1907, he moved into the renovated Chautauqua Art Department on Circle Drive where he died in 1914.
Bruce's prestigious career as author, lecturer, poet, orator and consul general provided him a unique network of famous friends, entertainers and international leaders who he influenced to participate in many of the Florida Chautauqua assemblies.
Location. 30° 42.855′ N, 86° 6.761′ W. Marker is in DeFuniak Springs, Florida, in Walton County. It is on Circle Drive 0.1 miles west of George Street, on the right when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 404 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 April 8, 2025. It was originally submitted on April 7, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. This page has been viewed 251 times since then and 51 times this year. Photos:1, 2, 3. submitted on April 7, 2025, by Brandon D Cross of Flagler Beach, Florida. • Andrew Ruppenstein was the editor who published this page.
