The Wesley House at Eden Gardens State Park will be fully dressed for Christmas when the Friends of Eden light the luminaries on Saturday, Dec. 5, from 5 to 8 p.m. The decorating happens weeks before that, room by room, and much of it is done by local organizations from Point Washington and the surrounding South Walton communities.
One of those sessions is Wednesday, Nov. 11. The Point Washington Medical Clinic has a room in the house this year, and its volunteer session runs from 9 a.m. to noon at the park, 181 Eden Gardens Road. According to Florida Rambler's guide, updated Oct. 16, the park has reopened after Hurricane Isaias.
The decorators are local organizations
The 1897 house has always belonged to this community. The Wesley family settled at Point Washington, then a community of sawmills and docks that shipped lumber across the bay, and lived in the house from 1897 to 1953. It stood empty for about a decade until Lois Maxon, a former New York World-Telegram reporter, bought it in 1963 for $12,500. She spent $1 million renovating it and gave it to the state park system in 1968.
Today the house gets its Christmas from local volunteers. When WJHG covered the 2024 Christmas Candlelight Open House, the station listed the groups that decorated that year:
- Coastal Seniors of South Walton
- Daughters of the American Revolution West Florida Chapter
- Friends of Eden
- Green Thumb Garden Club
- Historic Point Washington Association
- Ladies of Impact 100
- Master Gardeners of Walton County
- Point Washington Medical Clinic
- Seaside Kids
- Seaside and South Walton High School Community Garden
Several of those names come from close to the house. The Historic Point Washington Association and the Point Washington Medical Clinic carry the name of the old sawmill settlement the Wesleys helped build, and the clinic is back on this year's schedule. Its invitation on the 30A.com event listing reads:
"Christmas is taking over the Wesley House, and the Clinic has the honor of decorating one of its beautiful rooms. We'd love your help bringing our space to life and adding a little extra Christmas magic!"
The sign-up link is on that listing. The timing fits the house's schedule: Florida State Parks lists the Wesley House as closed to tours on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, so a Wednesday-morning session doesn't compete with tour groups moving through the rooms.
What a single room becomes
Because each room has its own decorator, the house reads as a series of separate rooms more than one unified look. In 2014, the Walton Sun described themes that included "Candy Cane Lane" in the entry, "Wooded Wonderland" on the sun porch, "Dreaming of a White Christmas" in the dining room, a Victorian tea in the library, a garden party in the parlor, and handmade Victorian decorations in the children's room. In 2023, WJHG reported a "Victorian Christmas" theme for the season.
Those themes belonged to earlier years. The rooms change as the decorators change, and this year's rooms will be revealed when the house opens on the evening of Dec. 5. The setting suits period decorating: the house holds a collection of antiques, some from the 1790s, gathered during Maxon's ownership.
For anyone who wants to help beyond the clinic's room, the Friends of Eden is the park's volunteer support group. It takes inquiries at [email protected] and lists grounds work among its regular tasks.
The garden runs on the same calendar
The camellias start their season during the same weeks the house is being decorated, and they have a history much like the house's. The Friends of Eden camellia catalog counts more than 340 camellia plants in the park, many of them planted by Lois Maxon before she donated the property in 1968. Over the 50-plus years since then, some varieties have been lost and others added, and the Friends are working to identify plants whose labels have faded or fallen off.
The sasanquas bloom first. According to the Friends, they start opening at Eden in mid-October, so the earliest flowers are already out. The broader camellia bloom starts in late November and runs through the winter. The catalog names 'Kick-Off' and 'High Hat' as early bloomers, along with a variety called 'Virgie's Eden.' Florida Rambler puts the peak for camellias and azaleas at January through March, with some flowers from October through May.
A November walk on the 163 acres along Tucker Bayou can follow the same stops the Friends' Living Shoreline Trail uses on its 18-stop route:
- The Camellia Garden. Start here for the sasanquas that are already open. The state park map also marks a Hidden Garden and an Azalea Garden.
- The Wedding Tree. This live oak is estimated to be about 600 years old and takes its name from the many couples who have married beneath it.
- The kissing trees. A hickory and a slash pine have grown together into a single trunk.
- The Reflection Pond. It holds water lilies and koi, and the heritage rose garden is close by.
The weeks between now and the luminaries
| Date | What happens at Eden Gardens |
|---|---|
| Now | Sasanqua camellias are in bloom |
| Wednesday, Nov. 11, 9 a.m. to noon | Point Washington Medical Clinic volunteers decorate their Wesley House room |
| Late November | The broader camellia bloom begins |
| Saturday, Dec. 5, 5 to 8 p.m. | Christmas Luminaries: lit paths, the decorated house, live music, cookies and hot drinks at the Pavilion |
On ordinary days, Florida State Parks lists the park as open from 8 a.m. until sunset. Entry is $4 per vehicle for up to eight people, or $2 for pedestrians and bicyclists. Wesley House tours start hourly from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday through Monday, and cost $4 per adult and $2 per child under 12. Tours last about 30 to 45 minutes.
The 2024 Christmas evening at Eden Gardens was free, and the Friends of Eden asked for donations to support the park. WJHG reported that year that extra parking was available at Bay Elementary, a tram ran visitors in, and the back gate on Gilmore was open for people who preferred walking to waiting. Those details were for 2024, so check the Friends of Eden events page for this year's arrangements before Dec. 5.
At Beach Escapes Coastal Living, we're glad the Wesley House still gets its Christmas from Point Washington and South Walton groups. If you're thinking about a home near Eden Gardens and Tucker Bayou, we'd be happy to schedule a consultation and talk through this side of 30A.
