Do you think we might need a current survey?
In 1872 that part of Walton County was actually in Washington County. If that is first, then what's second. I heard a natural dune around Deer Lake, "K2" hits a pretty high mark.
Oh, it's been surveyed since along with other nearby locations. Since you like history, did you know that the first comprehensive survey of the US Gulf Coast was started on Dauphin Island around the mid 1850's. While there had been numerous surveys done along areas of the coast, they were either spotty in location or were of questionable quality. Dauphin Island was chosen as the starting point in the Gulf. At the time, the island was almost perfectly straight and they measured from Ft. Gaines to the end (which I believe was seven miles). Then they used surveying techniques to transfer that 7 mile distance along the southeast as a "benchmark." Curiously enough, this work was undertaken by A.D. Bache, who was Benjamin Franklin's grandson.
Some say there was a conspiracy involved in all this though. First, the U.S. Government began this enhanced surveying project in the South. the initial survey had been bogged down in the northeast and had inadequate funding, staffing, etc. Second, the project was started around Ft. Gaines and Ft. Morgan (i.e. the entrance to Mobile Bay). Third, it was started right around the time of the Civil War when the Union needed detailed maps of the Confederacy's shoreline.... :scratch:
Don't know if it's true, but a few Alabamians sure do.