[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 162 (2016), Part 4]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page 4645]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




  COMMEMORATING THE CENTENNIAL ANNIVERSARY OF THE CITY OF CRESTVIEW, 
                                FLORIDA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF MILLER

                               of florida

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, April 19, 2016

  Mr. MILLER of Florida. Mr. Speaker, I rise to commemorate the 
Centennial Anniversary of the City of Crestview, located in the Florida 
Panhandle.
   Situated on the peak of a long woodland range between the Yellow and 
Shoal rivers and one of the highest points in the state, Crest View, or 
Crestview as it would soon be combined, first earned its place on the 
map as a railroad depot. Outgrowing neighboring communities in both 
size and population, with a school, four general stores, and post 
office, where its first citizen Hamner F. ``Doc'' Powell served as 
shipping clerk and railroad agent, Crestview reached a population of 
100 in 1889. With a growing community, Crestview's early residents soon 
built a congregational church, where members of the community could 
practice their faith, as well as a drug store, hotel, and numerous 
small businesses. During this time, industry in the area experienced a 
boom, particularly the turpentine and lumber industry, which brought 
jobs and prosperity to the area.
   Although the Crestview community continued to grow, the city did not 
formally incorporate until April 11, 1916, when a group of citizens 
gathered at the congregational church to vote on the question of 
incorporating the Town of Crestview. With Crestview's residents voting 
in favor of incorporation, the newly formed Crestview Town Council met 
for the first time on April 18, 1916, with the city's first Mayor W.R. 
White presiding over the meeting. The previous year, following the 
creation of Okaloosa County in 1915, Florida State Representative 
William Mapoles, known as ``The Father of Okaloosa County,'' moved to 
Crestview from Laurel Hill and became the driving force behind the 
movement to eventually establish Crestview as the county seat in 1917.
   Throughout the one hundred years to follow, businesses flourished, 
and Crestview became Okaloosa County's largest municipality and the 
only municipality between Pensacola and Tallahassee with a Sister City 
(Noirmoutier-en-l'Ile, France). Crestview also became a major 
transportation hub and has also long been home to servicemembers and 
veterans. Crestview's citizens make every effort to ensure that those 
who wear the uniform are thanked for their service and sacrifice. In 
fact, Crestview opened its first recreation center for enlisted 
servicemembers in 1941. Home to tens of thousands, as the northern 
gateway to the Department of Defense's largest and most dynamic Air 
Force Installation in the United States--Eglin Air Force Base, the 
Crestview-area family expanded when it welcomed 6,000 new residents to 
the community upon the arrival of the U.S. Army's 7th Special Forces 
Group.
   There is no question that the residents of Crestview are a resilient 
people, and even through the most challenging of times, they have 
united as a community to develop and maintain its place as a key area 
for business in the State of Florida and throughout the entire Gulf 
Coast region.
   Mr. Speaker, on behalf of the United States Congress, it gives me 
great pleasure to commemorate the Centennial Anniversary of Crestview, 
Florida. My wife Vicki joins me in congratulating all of those who have 
been fortunate to call Crestview home throughout the last century, and 
we wish them and the city continued success.

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