so how does a state park actually become a state park obviously
every park's history is different but the story of camp helen state park in walton county
florida is as winding as the sandy oak canopy trail that traces along her salt marsh shores
although the 180 acre camp helen state park is a relatively young addition to florida's park system
the land well as you might guess the land has been around for a while prehistoric middens and
mounds indicate that humans inhabited this area more than 4 000 years ago
park ranger clayton ironwolf not only has the most amazing name in the world he's also been here for
part of those 4 000 years ancient history here at camp helen state park starts back about 700 a.d
the native peoples that would have called this land here at camp helen state park
their home they saw it as a great resource for them as far as the proximity to fresh
water with powell lake being right here the gulf of mexico and all the marine life that
was out there the animals that would come to the water made a great spot for them to hunt
in 1928 a gentleman by the name of robert hicks acquired the land his company hicks and mccaskill
investment company of defuniak springs florida planned to build a retirement complex here
overlooking the gulf of mexico and lake powell one of the largest coastal dune lakes in the world
if you don't know what a coastal dune lake is you're probably new here hicks started his vision
by constructing a sturdy wooden lodge loaded with many exceptional materials and touches including
logged beams from south america and granite from the ship ballast that once sailed across the
atlantic from spain the construction of it started immediately but wasn't finished until 1932.
by the time the construction was done mr hicks had passed away so miss hicks along with her
daughter margaret they moved down to the property permanently she sold the property that they have
up in virginia and moved down here full time year round but mystics realized that she was going to
have to have some source of income other than just living off of her savings so that's when she had
the little four little cinderblock cottages built here which we refer to as the rainbow cottages
and she would rent those out to passing travelers as they would come up here given the fact that
during that era if you were heading east on what's now highway 98 you were wanting to go any farther
you weren't going to be able to make it because there was no bridge here at inlet beach
so you would have got stuck at this point it would have been a long journey that where you would have
had to cut back to the north and then go further east to make your way over to the panama city area
each tiny home slept two to four people and was equipped with a kitchen
and bathroom today these cottages remain among nine buildings here in camp helen state park
that are now listed on the national register of historic places
in 1945 a company known as avondale mills purchased the estate a cotton
mill and fabric manufacturer avondale mills was founded in 1897 by braxton bragg comer
avondale operated plants throughout alabama and it provided many unusual benefits to employees at the
time including housing medical care schools community centers and recreation facilities
comer enjoyed naming his businesses and properties after the strong matriarchs in his family
so he dubbed this property camp helen named after his son fletcher's wife
but this wasn't actually the first camp helen avondale's original camp helen was located at
hog island sound on what is now tyndall air force base about 30 miles to the east
the camp had been operated in the summers for avondale employees but in 1941 comer's land was
requisitioned by the u.s government for military use in world war ii so he purchased margaret
hicks's home and land to establish a brand new employee vacation retreat right here in
walton county this new camp helen on lake powell opened to employees in 1946 by the 50s comer had
added permanent duplexes a recreation hall and a fishing pier that ran right out into the gulf
the majority of the pier was destroyed in 1975 during hurricane eloise
the pilings that are still up out there is an iconic image of this whole entire area as well
as camp helen state park lots of people have had their wedding photos taken out there family
reunion photos it's just an image that's locked in people's heads and one of the most recent
video shoots that took place out there was with luke bryant it continues to be a real
drawing point to everybody that wants to come down to this area and check it out
every summer avondale mills employees were offered a week at camp helen where they could bring their
families to enjoy boating fishing sunbathing shuffleboard volleyball and even basketball
meals were served three times a day in the dining hall and in the evenings guests retired to the
recreation hall for dancing music and bingo in 1987 avondale mills discontinued its use of camp
helen as a vacation facility and the state of florida purchased the entire property in 1996.
a year later camp helen state park was officially added to florida's park system
today camp helen state park is open for the public to enjoy every single day of the year from 8 am
until sunset margaret hicks's beloved log lodge is now home to interesting artifacts from camp
helen's long meandering legacy her rainbow cottages are no longer available for rent
you can only imagine what astronomical nightly rates these tiny homes would command on airbnb
but although the accommodations have changed the amenities and activities here are pretty much
precisely what our predecessors enjoyed including swimming picnics hiking beach combing fishing and
well just spending some time with family and friends fortunately some things never change