Shalimar & Eglin Air Force Base

 
Shalimar Information
 
Shalimar is in Okaloosa County and is one of the best places to live in Florida. Living in Shalimar offers residents a suburban rural mix feel and most residents own their homes.  Many young professionals and retirees live in Shalimar as well as Active Duty Military Members as Eglin AFB is only a few miles from any area in Shalimar.  
 
Shalimar History
 
In 1931, what was to be Shalimar and its thereabouts was an elaborate scheme of amazing proportions that captured the eye of many an investor and the attention of nearly all of Northwest Florida. Port Dixie, it was called.  In A History of Okaloosa County by Henry Allen Dobson, the author referred to the Port Dixie development as “A grandiose scheme which had the ingredients of a great hoax.” It was to be an extraordinary commercial-industrial complex on Garnier’s Bayou and chartered as the Port Dixie Harbor and Terminal Company.  The optimistic venture depended on two things: the enlargement of Destin East Pass to accommodate large sea vessels and the construction of a railroad that would service the complex.  Following rampant rumors of the development’s birth and details of its far-flung facets – realty company, railroad, port, steamship lines, ship-building plant, tire plant, town site, night club – the complicated plan fell on its face. “The Corps of Engineers decided that the plans to dredge Destin East Pass to accommodate deep-water vessels was not feasible,” Dobson wrote. “It is not known for certain whether capital for the railroad was contingent upon a positive report by the Corps of Engineers on the pass proposal, or whether company was simply unable to finance the railroad. In any case, the project died, died with no obituary, no post-mortem.”
 
Port Dixie was the first of many ventures to see unexpected change in the yet-to-be-named Town of Shalimar.  When Clifford Meigs started the town in the early 1940s, he developed a community of 160 houses to be used as housing for military officers. (Note: You can view some of the floor plans for these houses here).  Said to mean “by the beautiful water,” Shalimar became the lovely home – although often only for a short time – of dozens of military and, later, civilian families. A December 31, 1944 article in the Atlanta Journal reads, “Life beyond the ragged hammocks, the flat sage grassland and the blue waters becomes remote. The little community at Shalimar is a world of its own…and always there hangs the Damocles’ sword of ‘When will overseas orders arrive?’ The peace and beauty of the little hidden home spot is made more poignant because of this constant apprehension.”
 
In the 1940s, few thought Meigs’ plan to develop military housing would be a prosperous one.  An article in the November 12, 1959, Playground News (what is now the Northwest Florida Daily News), quotes Meigs as saying, “I furnished the land and another fellow did the buildings…it was a gamble, though. People said I was crazy to build houses way out here in the woods, that the base would fold up as soon as the war was over, and I would be left with empty houses on my hands. But it didn’t work out that way, and the 160 houses I had constructed stayed rented all the time.” Meigs turned his gamble into a success.  But not until gambling of another sort prompted the issue, did Shalimar incorporate.
Florida law prevented clubs in unincorporated areas from staying open from 12 a.m. Saturday until Monday morning, according to the Playground News of 1959. That could mean trouble for the famed Shalimar Club owned by Roger Clary and described in A History of Okaloosa County as a “sumptuous” spot.  Best known for its gambling, Dobson wrote, the club’s opening “was the social event of 1947.” But because its home wasn’t incorporated, the club’s existence was threatened.  “The Fort Walton Beach places were doing a booming business on the weekends while there were rumors that the sheriff might enforce the law in Shalimar and close the place there,” Meigs told the Playground News. “The owner came to me and suggested incorporation, and while I didn’t think I had much to gain then, I agreed. With only about three other freeholders in the area, it was a simple matter to get incorporated.”  Although helped by the Town’s incorporation in 1947, the Shalimar Club and other gambling hotspots didn’t fare well for too long.  “The collapse of Okaloosa gambling was brought about by the glare of outside publicity, reform zeal from within and the direct intervention of Governor Fuller Warren. The first wind of adversity was blown in by the Tampa Tribune’s expose of gambling in Fort Walton,” Dobson wrote.
 
Despite such glitches, Shalimar began to build its own character, much of which came from Meigs, its founder and mayor from 1947 to 1960, when he died.  Jim Tras was Shalimar’s first elected mayor in 1965 following a short term in office by Clyde Meigs – Clifford’s brother – and a term of two to three years by Sara Tras, who was married to Clifford Meigs at the time of his death. She is currently married to Jim Tras.  Greatly responsible for Shalimar’s continuous growth, the Meigs family donated land for Choctawhatchee High School (now Meigs Middle School), Meigs Stadium and what eventually became the Shalimar Courthouse Annex. Before the annex was completed in 1947, a winery stood in its place, according to Sara Tras.  Today, the Meigs family continues to spur growth in quickly changing Shalimar. Clifford Meigs, Jr., owner of Shalimar Ventures, a commercial development firm, has built a car wash, convenience store and has other ideas “on the drawing board.”  That, he believes, would suit his father just fine.  In the 1959 Playground News interview, Shalimar’s founder said the area should not depend entirely upon Eglin for its growth. With that in mind, Meigs says of his dad, “I think that he definitely would agree with some of the other local people here that we need other industry.”  I give a lot of credit to the Air Force, but then I give a lot of credit to this area and to the beauty of the area and the water and the climate. We’re building a real large retirement base.”  Even in 1944, Shalimar’s settler had that in mind. “Pilots, returned from combat overseas, are settling at Shalimar now,” the December 31, 1944 Atlanta Journal reads. “The billeting officer gives them first preference. And I am glad they can have its peace and quietness, its unique charm…to help salve the mental wound of battle.”
 
Destin/Ft. Walton Beach (VPS) Airport which is 3.9 miles away, makes Shalimar a convenient place to live for anyone who travels frequently for business.  

Located along North Florida’s glittering Gulf Coast, Shalimar offers powdery, sugar white beaches, emerald green waters, enjoyable golf courses, and much more. Fort Walton Beach is home to family-friendly attractions such as parks, museums and aquariums, not just the calm, green waters and cool, white sand that make this northwest Florida destination a family favorite.  The busiest time of the year is the summer season, with spring break being a close second.  Thousands of people flock to the Emerald Coast during these seasons. Fort Walton Beach has a very high quality of life due to it’s great location, sound community plan, first rate schools, numerous churches, a low crime rate and excellent recreation opportunities.

Economic Factors Information Shalimar and Surrounding Areas

The economy of Shalimar is driven by two primary factors: tourism and the military. There are two major Air Force bases one of which borders Shalimar. Eglin AFB, located 1 Mile North of the Town of Shalimar, is home to the Air Force Material Command’s Air Armament Center and the 96th Air Base Wing, the 46th Test Wing, and Air Combat Command’s 33rd Fighter Wing. Eglin is geographically the largest Air Force base in the World and thus home to joint exercises, and missile and bomb testing.  There is support industry in the area that benefits from the presence of the bases, including military contractors and the service industry.  The other is Hurlburt Field, located immediately west of the Town of Mary Esther. Home to Headquarters Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC), the 1st Special Operations Wing, and the Joint Special Operations University. 

Weather Information Shalimar  

Shalimar has a very warm humid subtropical climate.  While we do experience 4 seasons here, the Fall/Spring/Winter months are very mild.  The Weather is typically hot and very humid, from late May to mid-September. Fall months, from mid-September to early December, are generally warm and less humid.  The Winter months are very short and mild, from mid-December to late February and Spring months are warm, from late February to late May.  

Shalimar and surrounding areas are very wet, averaging 69 inches of rain each year, more than any area in Florida. The wettest season is summer, and the driest autumn. Snow and freezing rain are very rare. Freezing rain occurs about once every 5–10 years. Snow occurs about once every 10–15 years.

THE MOST AMAZING REALTOR!! 

Eglin Air Force Base InformationEglin Air Force Base is a United States Air Force (USAF) base in the western Florida Panhandle, located about three miles (5 km) southwest of Valparaiso in Okaloosa County.

The host unit at Eglin is the 96th Test Wing (formerly the 96th Air Base Wing).[2][3] The 96 TW is the test and evaluation center for Air Force air-delivered weapons, navigation and guidance systems, command and control systems, and Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) systems.

Eglin AFB was established 88 years ago in 1935 as the Valparaiso Bombing and Gunnery Base. It is named in honor of Lt. Col. Frederick I. Eglin (1891–1937), who was killed in a crash of his Northrop A-17 attack aircraft on a flight from Langley to Maxwell Field, Alabama.

Eglin AFB History

Both as a reaction to the Soviet atomic explosion in 1949 and in recognition that research and development had lagged in the years of lower priority to operational concerns, the Air Force, in early 1950, established the Air Research and Development Command (later Air Force Systems Command). The following year, the Air Research and Development Command established the Air Force Armament Center at Eglin, which, for the first time, brought development and testing together. After the start of the Korean War in 1950, test teams moved to the combat theater for testing in actual combat. They numbered among their accomplishments improved air-to-air tactics and improved techniques for close air support. On 1 December 1957, the Air Force combined the Air Proving Ground Command and the Air Force Armament Center to form the Air Proving Ground Center. The Center built the highly-instrumented Eglin Gulf Test Range and for the next few years, served as a major missile test center for weapons such as the BOMARC, Matador, GAM-72 “Quail,” and GAM-77 “Hound Dog.”As the Southeast Asia conflict increased emphasis on conventional weapons, the responsibilities at Eglin grew. On 1 August 1968, the Air Proving Ground Center was redesignated the Armament Development and Test Center to centralize responsibility for research, development, test and evaluation, and initial acquisition of nonnuclear munitions for the Air Force. On 1 October 1979, the Center was given division status. The Armament Division, redesignated Munitions Systems Division on 15 March 1989, placed into production the precision-guided munitions for the laser, television, and infrared guided bombs; two anti-armor weapon systems; and an improved hard target weapon used in Operation DESERT STORM during the Persian Gulf War. The Division was also responsible for developing the Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile (AMRAAM), an Air Force-led joint project with the U.S. Navy.

In addition to its development and testing mission, Eglin also served as the training site for the Son Tay Raiders in 1970, the group that made the daring attempt to rescue American POWs from a North Vietnamese prison camp. In 1975, the installation served as one of four main U.S. Vietnamese Refugee Processing Centers, where base personnel housed and processed more than 10,000 Southeast Asian refugees at the Auxiliary Field Two “Tent City.” Eglin again became an Air Force refugee resettlement center processing over 10,000 Cubans who fled to the U.S. between April and May of 1980.

On 11 July 1990, the Munitions Systems Division was redesignated the Air Force Development Test Center. During the 1990s, the Center supported test and evaluation for the development of nonnuclear Air Force armament including next generation precision-guided weapons; operational training for armament systems; and test and evaluation of command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) aerospace navigation and guidance systems.

On 1 October 1998, as part of the Air Forces’ strategic plan to guide the service into the 21st Century, the Air Force Development Test Center became the Air Force Materiel Command’s Air Armament Center (AAC). As one of AFMC’s product centers, AAC is responsible for development, acquisition, testing, and fielding all air-delivered weapons. AAC applies advanced technology, engineering, and programming efficiencies across the entire product life cycle to provide superior combat capability. The Center plans, directs, and conducts test and evaluation of U.S. and allied air armament, navigation/guidance systems, and command and control (C2) systems and supports the largest single base mobility commitment in the Air Force.

AAC accomplished its mission through three components: the Air Force Program Executive Office for Weapons with two systems wings and a systems group, the 46th Test Wing, and the 96th Air Base Wing. Recently the AAC provided our warfighters with the munitions and expeditionary combat support to dominate the enemy in Operations ALLIED FORCE, ENDURING FREEDOM, and IRAQI FREEDOM. During this time Department of Defense, the Air Force, and AFMC presented the Air Armament Center with awards in acquisition, test, and combat support.

On July 18, 2012, the Air Armament Center was deactivated as part of a consolidation effort to reduce Air Force Materiel Command’s number of centers from 12 to five. On the same day, the 46th Test Wing and 96th Air Base Wing were merged to create the 96th Test Wing. The 96 TW  houses all of Eglin’s test and support functions on the US Air Forces largest installation.

With an increasing reliance on the security of technology and networks, the 96th Cyber Test Group was activated and assigned to the 96 TW on 8 December 2017 to test and validate Air Force systems and networks for effectiveness, resiliency and interoperability.  Three squadrons 45th Test Squadron, 46thTest Squadron and 47th Cyberspace test Squadron were assigned as subordinate units, and operate at Eglin and 5 other geographic locations.

In late 2018, following the destruction of Hurricane Michael, Eglin provided support for displaced Tyndall AFB personnel and logistics to assist in base recovery.  Support provided to 1300 Tyndall personnel including Air Force Aid Society Grants to relocation/PCS assistance.  Air Force leaders made the decision to temporarily relocate the F-22 Formal Training Unit of 325th Fighter Wing (ACC) to Eglin AFB, to include F-22 Raptor and T-38 Talon aircraft.

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Shalimar & Eglin AFB Area Homes for Sale