Okaloosa County acquired 3-miles of Santa Rosa Island in 1950. The acquisition of Okaloosa Island culminated the efforts of U.S. Representative Robert F. Sikes, who introduced the bill authorizing the transfer. The community of Destin, the world's luckiest little fishing village, was founded by Captain Leonard Destin in 1845. It adopted the ways of its New England founder.

The creation of Destin's East Pass is one of the County's great stories. Mr. O.T. Melvin was one of the four men responsible for the freak occurrence. Heavy rains had built up pressure in the bay, at which time it was higher than the Gulf. The four men attempted to dig a small trench from the Gulf to the bay with shovels. The pressure-driven waters literally exploded through the small breach. The flood leveled a forest in the process. The old Pass, located further east, completely closed with silt within three years. Today, the Destin East Pass is maintained by periodic dredging. Mr. Melvin later regretted the changes that had occurred.