Sweare: How a railroad and a land promoter built — and a vanished town remained near Laurel Hill

A recent episode of Flashback, a podcast produced by the Okaloosa County Public Information Office, traces the rise and decline of a small North Okaloosa community spelled S V E A and known locally as Sweare, host Nick Tomachek said. Ann Spann, executive director of the Baker Block Museum, told the show that the town’s origin is closely tied to the Yellow River Railroad and a land commissioner named Eric Von Axelson.

The episode matters because the story of Sweare — once home to a depot, stores, a cotton gin and a school — illustrates how rail lines and land promotion shaped early settlement in what became Okaloosa County. The Baker Block Museum provided archival clippings that anchor several of the account’s claims, including a 1901 Pensacola Daily News report of outside investors buying land at Sweare.

"Well, to to talk about the history of Sweare, you really have to go back to the railroad," Spann said on the podcast, describing the Yellow River…