Holmes County (Florida)

Holmes County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2010 census, the population was 19,927. Its county seat is Bonifay.HistoryHolmes County was created in 1848.The county's namesake is a point of debate. Holmes Creek - the county's eastern boundary - bore that name before the county was created, but it was originally named Weekaywehatchee (a Creek Indian name meaning "spring creek"). One claim is that the county was named for Thomas J. Holmes, who came from North Carolina to settle in the area about 1830. Another is that it is named after Holmes, an American Indian chief who settled in the area with his band of Red Stick Creek Indians after 1814. He was subsequently killed in 1818 by a raiding party sent by Andrew Jackson during the First Seminole War.Holmes County has had four county seats in its history. The first was Hewett's Bluff (later renamed Bear Pen, then Cerro Gordo), then Pittman's Ferry, then Westville, and finally Bonifay. Bonifay has been the county seat since 1905.Historic placesHistoric places in the county include: Keith Cabin in Pittman Waits Mansion, BonifayVortex Spring, Northern Ponce de Leon