Fort Walton Beach, city, Okaloosa County, northwestern Florida, on the Gulf of Mexico; incorporated as Fort Walton City 1937, renamed Fort Walton Beach 1953. It is a resort center and has manufacturing industries producing electronic components and equipment, sporting goods, and motor-vehicle parts and accessories. The large Eglin Air Force Base, located nearby, is a major employer. A prehistoric Native American mound is in the city. The community grew around a fort established here during the Second Seminole War (1835-42). It is named for Colonel George Walton, a Florida territorial administrator in the 1820s. Population 20,829 (1980); 21,471 (1990); 19,973 (2000).
