**** Note **** Note **** This
cache is located on the Eglin AFB reservation. Hunters and or wild
life may be in this area as well as military personal conducting
maneuvers. It is possible unexploded ordinance could be in the area
so be aware of your surroundings. A permit granting you legal
access to the Eglin AFB Reservation is required to seek and find
ANY cache on Eglin AFB Reservation!!! You must have this permit and
it must be in your possession. The Jackson Guard will check. For
$12 (as of 2010) you get an outstanding map and a year-long
Recreational Permit. The yearly permits are valid from Oct 1 thru
Sept 30 each year. You can get your permit from the "Jackson Guard"
either in person or by mail (send a copy of your driver's license).
Address: Eglin AFB Natural Resources Office 107 Hwy 85 North
Niceville, FL 32578 Phone: (850) 882-4164 Coords: N 30° 31.49' W
86° 29.57' (or go to cache BENCHMARK BONANZA @ GCKC1A Hrs: Mon-Thu
0700-1630, Fri 0700-1800, Sat 0730-1230, Closed Sunday.
4-H Camp
Timpoochee was established as the first residential 4-H camping
facility in Florida in 1926. It was one of the first 4-H
residential camps in the nation. District agent J. Lee Smith
was looking for a permanent place where 4-Hers in northwest Florida
could camp. They would need sleeping cabins for protection from
weather and insects, as well as a storage space for equipment and
supplies.
Mr. Smith discussed his idea for the camp with his friend and
financier, James Pace. Mr. Pace donated an ideal location at Stake
Point on the Choctawhatchee Bay. It was a high bluff covered with
hardwood trees and a beach with a sloping sand bottom. The area had
been used as a campground by Native Americans, and pottery shards
were found along the beach.
4-H members at 4-H Camp Timpoochee enjoy a meal in the old
dining hall on August 2, 1935. Excerpted from the UF/IFAS History Photo
Archive.
Former State 4-H Leader Woodrow Brown wrote the following
about the effort to build the camp, “Everyone was asked to
pitch in. Business people in surrounding counties contributed
lumber, roofing and nails to build the facilities. Even in those
hard times, people gave generously in the best interest of 4-H
young people.”
The first fundraising for Camp Timpoochee was done by 4-H boys
and girls. In 1927, one hundred and two chickens donated by one
hundred and three Escambia County 4-Hers, were loaded onto a train
as it stopped in several towns in northwest Florida. These
chickens were sold on the railroad track in Marianna for nearly
$500, quite a sum at that time. Records tell us that 4-Hers in
Washington, Bay, Walton and Santa Rosa counties raised $1,311 in
1928 for the camp, and an additional $1,500 was contributed by
other friends of the program.
In the 1930s, 4-Hers were asked to name the camp. A 4-Her from
Santa Rosa County, Rusty Grundin, suggested the name
“Timpoochee.” The camp was named for Chief Timpoochee
Kinard, Chief of the Euchee tribe. The son of a Scotsman and a
Euchee Native American woman, the chief was known as “Sam
Story.” The Euchee tribe befriended the white settlers who
first entered northwest Florida, but eventually left the area as
settlement changed the area forever. It is said that Chief
Timpoochee Kinard died of a broken heart from watching the wanton
destruction of the land he loved. 4-Hers suggested the name to
honor the chief and his courageous people.
Over the years, 4-H Camp Timpoochee has provided educational
camping experiences for thousands of 4-H boys and girls. There have
been many improvements made to the cabins and facilities over the
years. In 1984, the Florida 4-H Foundation kicked off a capital
renewal effort, resulting in the construction of new cabins. In
1986, the Choctawhatchee Electrical Cooperative erected the
pavilion. In 1995, Hurricane Opal caused over $100,000 in damage to
the camp, and took 15 feet of the shoreline. The camp was rebuilt
with the support of federal funds, which replenished the beach area
and restored damaged buildings. The St. Joe Paper Company
provides support for programs and facilities. Fred Barber left
$10,000 through his will to the camp which was used to fund program
equipment. A marine center was dedicated in 1998 with funds donated
by the Dupont Company.
Among the four 4-H camps in use in Florida today, Camp
Timpoochee is unique because of its facilities for horses and its
location on the bay, which provides an excellent area for marine
study.
Our church, Niceville UMC, currently uses this
facility for their annual fellowship picnic each September.
In 2005, after devastating Hurricane Katrina hit the Mississippi
and Louisiana Gulf Coast, Camp Timpoochee opened it's facilities to
help shelter and house the kids and staff of the Desire Street Ministries, run by
Okaloosa's own Danny Wuerffel.
Click here
to visit 4-H Camp Timpoochee's web page.
