06/13/2026
in 1915, Okaloosa County was founded by the Florida Legislature. The name comes from a steamboat that brought passengers up and down the Blackwater River from Milton to Pensacola. The word Okaloosa is a Choctaw word meaning ‘black water’.
Photo Credit: (River) Overton, Robert M. View of people canoeing at the Blackwater River State Park - Okaloosa County, Florida. 20th century. State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory.
Okaloosa Board of County Commissioners
Florida State Parks