Walton County was named for Colonel George Walton, Jr., secretary of the Florida Territory who the son of George Walton, a signer of the Declaration of Independence. Settled by Scots who migrated from the backcountry of the Carolinas. The original settlements were in the Euchee Valley, near the landing on the Choctawhatchee River that was maintained by an Indian named Sam Story. These settlers founded one of the first Presbyterian churches in Northwest Florida. It is still an operating parish and has a historical cemetery. This is an ongoing project that focuses on the people, places, and history of Walton County Florida, the land above the bay.