According to the Coastal Heritage Preservation Foundation, in 1885,
Army major Charles T. Gray was the first to settle the land now known as Grayton Beach. At the time, the federal government owned most of the land so people had little reason to settle there. The soil was way too sandy to farm, and better timber was located inland. The closest settlement was approximately five miles to the north. This settlement was located at Point Washington on
Choctawhatchee Bay. In 1890, Army General William Miller and William Wilson became Gray’s neighbors. They mapped out where the newly found village’s streets and blocks would be constructed. They named the new area Grayton Beach, after Charles T. Gray. In 1913, W. H. Butler and his son Van R. Butler made the day-long trip from
DeFuniak Springs to Grayton Beach. Soon thereafter, the Butler family became the community’s leading promoter. In 1926, a major hurricane swept through the area creating Destin’s East Pass. This storm flattened most of the dunes, which left the beach flat. At the beginning of the 1930s, Highway 98 was completed, the Highway 331 bridge was built, and the
Intracoastal Waterway was cut through
Walton County, which made Grayton Beach and South Walton (SoWal) County much easier for everyone to get to. ==Present day Grayton Beach==