Posted on 12/12/2014By the Ocean Reef Editorial Team
Did you know the Sandestin Golf and Beach Resort is new? Considering the millennia of time that has passed by on this unique peninsula located in Northwest Florida, the human geographic history here can be traced back over 3,000 years. Native American artifacts have been discovered in the Destin & South Walton area that are dated to around 1000 BC. Spanish explorers mapped this coast back in the 1500's but it remained "uncivilized" until about the early 1800's due to the inaccessibility of the land that was sandwiched between extremely dense marshy wetlands and the open expanses of the gulf. A friendly native tribe lived here known as the Euchees who hunted and fished. They welcomed early settlers and in 1826 this land mass was incorporated into the newly formed Walton County. It was named after Col. George Walton Jr. the Territorial Governor of West Florida under President Andrew Jackson. Interestingly enough, his father George Walton Sr. was an early Governor of Georgia and had been one of the signatures on the Declaration of Independence. Farming, dairy and beef cattle were established here but this very rural area remained mostly forested with pine trees. By the late 1800's many of these trees were harvested and more were grown on plantations for their timber.
Sandestin sits on 2,400 acres of gorgeous land at the most narrow point of the peninsula which measures only one mile across from gulf to bay. It is dotted with natural lagoons and exotic coastal dune lakes. In 1930 this unique piece of property comprised 3,000 acres and was purchased by Robert Bushnell who was the Attorney General of Massachusetts at that time. He planned to use the land to raise livestock and grow crops. However during World War II a large portion of the property on the gulf side was requisitioned by the military as a top secret base to research captured German "Buzz Bomb" missiles. The nation's very first military use of American rockets were tested and launched out over the gulf from bunkers near the beach, the remnants of which can still be seen to this day. It must have been quite a sight for the few local residents at that time and those in nearby Destin to witness such a mysterious display. After World War II the property transferred in its entirety to Bushnell's sister and the Coffeen family but in the 1950s a large portion was sold to the wealthy Winthrop Rockerfeller who later became Governor of Arkansas. He planned to create an exclusive neighborhood here called Forest by the Sea. In 1960 Walt Disney learned about this land and seriously considered buying the awesome parcel for his new proposed Disney World. A few years later he selected the property near Orlando as a more centralized Florida location for tourists. Rockerfeller's political ambitions side tracked his plans for his residential enclave and in 1970 owners of the Indianapolis Speedway attempted to buy the land to build a Seaside Race Track. However they lost out to a company from Atlanta called Evans and Mitchell Industries who purchased the property a short time later. Their ownership ended soon afterwards due to financial difficulties and the entire parcel was held by Chase Manhattan Trust until it was sold to a Dutch corporation called Lakeland BV. They purchased it to establish a fabulous new planned development named Sandestin Beach Resort. They borrowed the "San" from Santa Rosa Beach, its unincorporated neighbor towards the east and Destin of course from the original. By 1974 the Links Golf Course was completed along with much of the Bayou Village, the Augusta Villages as well as a Sheraton Hotel on the bay which became known as the Bayside Inn. The enterprising Peter Bos who helped manage the resort for the Dutch corporation acquired Sandestin in 1981. He quickly sold a beachfront parcel on the gulf side to Hilton in order to help finance the deal. Hilton immediately began construction of their hotel on the beach. Soon afterwards a celebratory concert was held there with performances by the famed Beach Boys with over 12,000 fortunate participants in attendance.
During the late 70's and early 80's Augusta Village was completed along with the Sandestin Marina, Baytowne Golf Course, the high-rise Beachside Towers, The Marketplace and the iconic gulf front Elephant Walk restaurant. In 1991 the property was sold to Sime Darby Berhad, a Malaysian conglomerate who expanded the resort to include the completion of many more neighborhoods, each with its own distinct personality. In 1994 The Burnt Pines Golf Course was completed and plans were underway for the prestigious Burnt Pines neighborhood. This became the privately gated community within the gated community of Sandestin and was named after a forest fire that had burned that portion of woods a few years beforehand. Sandestin sold again in 1998 to Intrawest Corporation the owner and operator of many Five Star ski resorts. They were instrumental in completing huge portions of the original master plan which started with the opening of the Raven championship golf course, a professional Tennis Club, the Grand Sandestin and the charming, family friendly and very "Disneyesque" Village of Baytowne Wharf. In 2003 construction started on Sandestin's official Town Center known as Grand Boulevard along with a Marriott Courtyard and Residence Inn. This connected the east gate of Sandestin to the pre existing Publix Shopping Center. This was completed in late 2004 and continues to be expanded today. Local developer and entrepreneur Tom Becnel who constructed many Destin landmarks like the luxury towers at Silver Shells purchased Sandestin in 2010 and currently resides in Sandestin.
Today Sandestin is a 2,400 acre world class destination resort with over twenty-three distinct neighborhoods like Beachwalk Villas, Turnberry Villas and Tivoli as well as high rise luxury towers like Beachside I, Beachside II, Westwinds and Luau. Ocean Reef Resorts is pleased to offer a fine array of distinctive private Sandestin vacation rentals. Enjoy viewing some of these on our user friendly website to find the one that will best suit the needs of your family and friends. It is always our great pleasure to be of service to you and yours!
The Ocean Reef Editorial Team leads the market in vacation rental, real estate, and coastal lifestyle content, with decades of Destin & 30A expertise behind every story. As the area's largest locally owned and longest continually operating vacation rental company, we welcome over 200,000 guests each year and reach millions who dream of the beach. Our guides serve travelers, homeowners, and locals alike, sharing authentic knowledge you can trust-because this coast isn't just where we work, it's where our story began, and where we'll continue to welcome generations to come.
