Many people are familiar with Alys Beach’s iconic white-walled homes, but there’s much more to this Gulf-front community than just a pretty face. Here are seven little known facts about one of 30A’s most beautiful and inspiring beach towns:

1. The husband-and-wife team who designed Alys Beach were the town’s first residents.

When they moved into their home in Alys Beach, Marieanne Khoury-Vogt and her husband and partner-in-crime, Erik Vogt, were the town’s first residents. They’ve lived there ever since, raising their two daughters and literally watching the town grow up around them.

“It’s one thing to look at plans on paper,” said Khoury-Vogt. “But living in a place that is constantly changing, where buildings are going up, you see many opportunities for design that can be seized in the moment… things you don’t necessarily see on paper.”

2. The original developers of Alys Beach bought the property on a whim.

The Stephens family has lived and vacationed here in Walton County since the 1940s. They happened to be driving along County Road 30-A in the 1970s when they saw a few cars parked along the side of the dirt road. They stopped to see what was going on, and it turned out that the 158-acre property was up for auction.

They bought it on a whim… for $1.2 million. Recently, a single lot – the last beachfront property in Alys Beach – sold for a whopping $6.7 million.

3. Almost all homes in Alys Beach feature a private courtyard.

Almost all of the of the houses in Alys Beach have elaborately designed courtyards — beautiful open-air spaces that essentially bring the outdoors into each home.

“It’s incredible how creative the designers have become,” Khoury-Vogt said.

Every courtyard includes at least one water feature — a fountain or pool or even both. Expansive porches and paved pathways are lined with vivid, bright and colorful landscaping.

“They have just become these beautifully seductive spaces that one can consider another room of the house,” she said. “I’d love to have a chance to open these up to the public so people can see all of them one day.”