FLASHBACK (Okaloosa): The Community of Dorcas, the mystery of the belled buzzard and more

Take a drive around Okaloosa County and you are sure to come across the names of small towns or should I say communities that don’t have much prominence on a map and without some simple signage you probably wouldn’t know they even existed.

This episode is about one of these communities, Dorcas

Just outside of the city limits of Crestview heading east on U.S. Highway 90 past the Shoal River and past the Emerald Coast Zoo, you’ll hit the intersection of County Road 393 in another not so well-known community of Deerland. Turn north and you are well on your way to the Community of Dorcas. You’ll pass the Shoal River once again and you’ll see a white sandy beach area on one of the banks, an area I’m told that locals use to or may still, gather for relaxation and socializing.

The Dorcas Baptist Church has the most signage and there’s a reason the community kind of centers around the church area. The name itself, Dorcas, has origins in the Bible mentioned in both the New Testament books of Acts and Peter as a woman known for her good works and acts of mercy.

To learn more about this community I went to a Dorcas local, who just so happens to be the Executive Director of the Baker Block museum.