Niceville, FL news and local guide

In the early 1900s homesteading families settled along the bayou, and sawmills, naval stores and the Choctawhatchee National Forest, set aside from land withdrawn from settlement in 1906, shaped the local economy. In 1909 the Pensacola Journal suggested that the name Boggy gave strangers the wrong impression, and on November 5, 1910, the town officially became Niceville; one newspaper account says the postmaster's daughter chose the new name. Niceville was part of Walton County until 1915, when it became part of newly formed Okaloosa County. In 1921 the community on the west side of Boggy Bayou incorporated separately as Valparaiso, and the two have been twin cities ever since. The old downtown's story is now told on a series of Florida historical markers, the fourth of which, for the Old Niceville High School, was dedicated in 2024. The city's annual festival, Boggy Fest, was long known as the Boggy Bayou Mullet Festival. Sources City of Niceville: Boggy, Florida City of Niceville: Boggy to Niceville Wikipedia: Niceville, Florida (citing Florida legislative records, Baker Block Museum post office records and the Ocala Star-Banner) Niceville.com: Historic markers celebrate the rich history of Niceville