Palmer College was founded in DeFuniak Springs in 1907. The State of Florida had established a Normal School (from the French ecole normale) for training teachers in 1887. In 1907, the State of Florida consolidated the state colleges into three campuses and closed the DeFuniak Normal School. The Florida Presbytery… Continue reading
The Messenger was published by the State Normal School, a teachers’ college that operated in DeFuniak Springs from 1887 until 1905. After it closed, the male students were transferred to the University of Florida in Gainesville, and the female students to the Florida College for Women (now Florida State University)… Continue reading
G. Willard Shear took this studio photograph of the 1896 DeFuniak Springs Football Team. Unfortunately, the history of this team and the names of its players remain a mystery, but it may have been the Florida State Normal School team. The team played Pensacola on February 22, 1896, and won… Continue reading
The State Normal School in DeFuniak Springs opened on October 3, 1887, and had 16 students. These are said to be students at the State Normal School in DeFuniak Springs, but their identities have not been proven. Please let us know if you can identify anyone. [Source: “Students Ignore History”… Continue reading
