Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Gulf Cemetery was established circa 1910 when the town of Santa Rosa was established on Hogtown Bayou. The town’s first families began to bury their loved ones at this site, the area’s highest elevation with a view of the Gulf of Mexico. The cemetery was formally established as a U.S. Government parcel on June 17, 1914, when President Woodrow Wilson signed patent 414345, which authorized the sale of 40 acres of land to the Gulf Cemetery Association. Gulf Cemetery and the Alango Cemetery in St. Louis County, Minnesota, are the only two U.S. patented cemeteries still in operation east of the Mississippi River. Gulf Cemetery has faced numerous obstacles since its establishment. It was sold in error three times for delinquent property taxes and, more recently, was threatened by private development. Originally the cemetery was subdivided by various religious denominations but now the grounds are interdenominational. The cemetery contains the remains of many veterans, as well as those of pioneer families, some marked by wooden crosses and weathered monuments, who were instrumental in the founding of the South Walton community. The cemetery’s long tradition of volunteer care and preservation is still in place.