The DeFuniak Library is the oldest continuously operating library within its original structure in Florida, never having closed since it officially opened on December 20, 1887 as a new addition to the Florida Chautauqua resort and campus. Its founding began in 1886, when local women formed the Aid Society to welcome visitors to the grounds for the annual Florida Chautauqua Assembly, but the group soon turned to forming and sustaining a public library and changed its name to the Ladies Library Association. The library was originally named The DeFuniak Library after Frederick DeFuniak, an official with the L and N Railroad Company for which the City of DeFuniak Springs was later named. An addition was completed in 1894 after members of the Ladies Library Association realized library services had quickly outgrown the small quarters. Alice Fellows became the first salaried librarian of The DeFuniak Library in 1896 and served until 1926. In 1910, the library was one of only two Florida libraries awarded a famed and coveted Carnegie grant, but its leaders had to decline because the City, officially incorporated in 1903, was required to provide additional funds for the library's upkeep and could not commit to that condition at the time. Although the assemblies ended in 1928 and the grounds no longer functioned as a campus by 1935, the City of DeFuniak Springs continued to operate the library. Its name was changed in 1975 to the Walton-DeFuniak Library.