BAKER, Fla., July 18, 2025—A new local history book is making its debut tomorrow at the Baker Block Museum.

Mystery at Green Pond: the Murder of Bud and Nancy Davis by the Blackwell Brothers is written by first-time author Ronald W. Collins of Destin.

In a robbery scheme gone terribly wrong, the book, set in 1917 to 1920, unravels the historical timeline about how Will and Bob Blackwell, assisted by Will Boyd, traveled to an area just north of what is now Wright with the intentions of robbing the elderly couple, but instead killed them and fled without the money.

Holt residents are familiar with the story because the infamous Blackwells owned a drugstore in town for a short period of time around 1915.

The whole story has intrigue, murder, manhunts, jail breaks and courtroom drama. The tale eventually ends with Okaloosa County’s first hanging, that of Bob Blackwell. Will died in prison awaiting execution and Will Boyd turned state’s evidence to save his own neck.

Collins will be at the Baker Block Museum tomorrow at 1 p.m. to discuss his book, which will be on available for purchase at that time. The museum will continue to sell the book in the Baker Mercantile Gift Shop.

For more information about the book, the museum’s summer edition of its Okaloosa Historical Quarterly  online magazine excerpted sections of the story. It can be found at bakerblockmuseum.org/magazine.