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In 1915 the Florida legislature created a new county in the Florida Panhandle from parts of Santa Rosa and Walton counties.
A number of names for the new county were submitted but the legislature decided to call the new county "Okaloosa." This strange sounding word is a Muskogee Indian phrase meaning "Black Water." It was a most appropriate name in view of the area's many beautiful lakes and tranquil bayous, darkened by tannin, released from the trees which flourished along the banks.