HomeMy WebLinkAboutVicennial Celebration - The Village Newsletter Dec. 1976 (20 year Birthday)THE VTLLAGE HEWSLETTEE
DECEMBE' 1976
THE VILLAGE OF NORTH PALM BEACH - 1956-1976 VICENNIAL CELEBRATION. HAPPY
BIRTHDAY NORTH PALM BEACH! A few facts about the area that is now the Village
of North Palm Beach -- back in the early 1920's the area where our Village
now stands was included in the lands purchased by Harry S. Kelsey, President
of Easl. C6ast Finance Cempany. At that time the area was referred to as the
"World's Winter Playground." The East Coast Finance Company went bankrupt
during the 1929 depression and Tesdem, Inc a Sir Harry Oakes Corporation,
bought their holdings. The area passed suceessfully through the hands of
Ralph Stoikin and insurance magnate, John D. MacArthur. In 1955 the Ross.
Brothers firm purchased four square miles from MacArthur intrests. This was
swamp land bordered on the north by an unused country club, on the east by
U. S. 1, on the south by a trickle of water known only to natives of the area
as the Earrnan River, and on the west by more undeveloped acreage.
The Village of North Palm Beach was organized under Chapter 31481, Laws of
Florida, Act of the Florida Legislature at Tallahassee the 24th day of October
1956. Shortly after that the developer built a Village Hall, hired a Village
Manager, appointed a Council and instituted police and fire protection before
it had a single resident. It was ready for action before a home or building
,p1ot was offered to the public! Not long after residential construction had
started, North Palm Beach was well on its way to becoming one of the most
etalked aboutjaanned communities in the country. On January 21, 1958 the
Village was honored by the National Association of Home Builders of Chicago
as an award winning planned community. North Palm Beach has continued to
make greatTrogress in the last twenty years and is looked up to as an out-
standing residential community and commercial location,
lha.Village has .a fine-Recrq4tion.Depar went which offers programs in athletics,
crdfts, fine arts and -the performing arts, a nationally recognized Public
Safety Pepartment :Which combines police, fire and emergency medical services.
We 'are tortOnate to have exceptionally low crime and fire loss rates. The
Villaget*Tned North Palm Beach Country Club with its 18-hole golf course, 10
tennis courts and 50 meter swimming pool is a fine facility which offers sport,
dining And entertainment to Village residents. The Village. Library from its
liwthle beginnings in the Oakes mansion, has expanded so that today it is the
finest in the area, housing 26,000 volumes and currently undergoing an expansion
project to include a new children's room. The Department of Public Services,
which encompasses traditional public works, sanitation and building inspection
services, has grown from being housed in two small buildings in Anchorage Park
to its present facility on Prosperity Farms Road and has seen the development
of over 5,000 housing units. The Village now has over 200 dedicated men and
women employed to provide a very high level of service and who help to make our
Village slogan, "Best Place to Live Under the Sun", a reality.