Legend
has it that Frederick de Funiak, who immigrated from Europe
in 1861, won the right to name the town in a card game.
The New York Times published his death notice
in March 1905: “Col. Frederick De Funiak died at
his residence here today. Col. De Funiak was born in Rome,
Italy, sixty-five years ago, and was a veteran of Garibaldi’s
army. He was for a long time chief engineer of the Louisville
and Nashville Railroad, and has been connected with the
railroad building in many parts of the country.”
Two of his sons followed his footsteps albeit on different
paths. Frederick Junior had a distinguished career in
the United States Army, and Ernest was the Freight Traffic
Manager for the Louisville and Nashville Railroad in Birmingham
from 1904 until 1918. (Images
of America: DeFuniak Springs, page 14)
