Early history of NPB 2006v
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Introduction
Chapteri................................................................p . 10
Native American Life in Jupiter/North Palm Beach
(750 A.D. - 1861)
ChapterII...............................................................p . 5
Kelsey City Beginnings (1924-1955)
North Palm Beach History (8/13/56 - 2005)
ChapterIII.............................................................p .16
Early Palm Beach County Settlers (1835 - 1923
)
Demographics of North Palm Beach........................p-18
References...........................................................p.20
Introduction
I wrote this history with the hope that North Palm Beach residents will I I take
this pamphlet home and refer to it with pride. Our Village traditions include
nclude
an annual Heritage Day outdoor celebration, Christmas hay ride to view
private home Christmas lights, lighting the Village Hall Christmas tree and
d
burying a time capsule every 25 years. Our boundary includes J.D.
MacArthur Beach State Park with its four habitats: estuary,hammock,
dune and rocky reef.
I included two pages of Florida Native American incidents early Lake Park
and Florida history, and significant dates of Palm Beach County events
because many of these occurrences affected our earl Village ge formation.
To save space, North Palm Beach and Palm Beach Count will
County be
abbreviated "NPB" and "PBC" in the followingpages. This author p g or would
like to acknowledge the help of the followingpeople: Charles O'
Melia, p p Melia, Jack
Schwencke, Dorothy Gooding, Nancy Moore, Lulu McLaren -Nelson, Ted
Brown, Sr., John Morsut and J
Chapter I
South Florida's Native American History (750 A.D.-1661)
A Florida Atlantic University archeologist's teams speculated that the North
rth
American middens uncovered in Jupiter date from between 5000 B.C.-750
A.D. These local Indians left no carvings and only crude shards. The total
population of Florida Indians was estimated to be between 100,000 -
900,000. Their middens contained sting rays spines which the sharpened
p y p ed
into fishing spears and shark teeth which they used as carving tools (10).
(#1 ... insert photo of Indian map)
750 A.D... Carbon dating of earliest Indian artifacts around Jupiter Inlet.
1521 A.D... Ponce de Leon christened his newt discovered peninsula,
. Y p ,
Florida, named after the Spanish words for PASCUA FLORIDA(Passover
Feast of the Flowers) (6).
1513 A.D... Ponce de Leon crossed from the Bahamas into the mouth of
the
St. Johns River and claimed Florida for Spain. A week later he sailed
south
and entered the Jupiter Inlet where he was met by hostile Florida Native
Americans. These unfriendly Indians robbed his shipof provisions. Th
p e
explorer left Jupiter very discouraged after only a few weeks (10).
The first pioneers who settled in Florida from Spain were farmers, ,cattle
ranchers, Dominican, Franciscan and Jesuit missionarypriests. Th
p e ships
that carried these emigrants also carried the stock that later roamed Florida
as wild horses, cattle and hogs (10). Florida, not Texas had the first
cowmen. According to local historian Judge Bailey, the Florida ranchers
preferred to call themselves "cowmen", not cowboYs(16).
Timucua, Apalachee, Ais, Tekesta (the town of Tequesta is name '
q d after this
tribe) and Calusa native Americans lived in Florida at this time. Te
kesta
middens were uncovered at John D. MacArthur Park.
1513-1763... First Spanish period in Florida.
1764-1783 ... British ruled Florida.
1780 ... First migration of YAMASSEE Indians to Florida. These Indians are
the ones we now call Seminoles. Seminole means "runawa "
y (10).
K
1819-1845...Ft. Lauderdale and Ft. Pierce settled.
1821-1876 ... Early Florida statehood.
1835 ... About 1700 Union soldiers marched into Riverbend Park located
about 2 miles west of 195 off Indiantown Road in Jupiter) and were defeat
. p ) ed
within two weeks by only 700 black Seminole and Seminole Native
Americans. The black Seminoles were former southern slaves who
escaped and joined the Florida tribe. The Seminolesp laced their muskets
in hidden notches in oak trees near the Riverbend stream. Union s
fired in the direction troops
of the noise from crying babies. Sadly, the Indian
mothers had to smother their babies to stifle their sound.
Next, the Indians vanished into the swamp. Reinforcements arrived and
U.S. troops surrounded a small number of Seminoles holed up on
HungryLand Slough Island along the Bee Line highway. As the troops p kept
watch, hoping to starve the Indians out, the number of Seminole campfires
dwindled each night until extinguished. When the soldiers rowed their
canoes to the island, all they found was one single, elderly black Seminole
woman who had kept the fires alive so that her escape. people could e. She
p p
had starved to death when the last fire went out.
This land is now a passive park managed b the Cit of West Palm
Y Y Beach.
Riverbend Park is both a battleground and a sacred Indian burial mound.
General Jesup fled and later returned to this area. Heromised
p the
Seminoles a truce. The Indians took him at his word and believed him, lay
down their weapons, surrendered, were surrounded betrayed and d taken
prisoner. Later they were sent on the "trail of tears" march across the
continental United States to settle on a barren Oklahoma reservation.
About 200 Seminoles who escaped from the Slough, hid in the
g Everglades
and became the ancestors of the 2600 Seminoles who current) live
e
between Miami and Naples in a thriving community now supported by
casino gambling, Bingo and their crafts (10).
1860 ... Jupiter lighthouse lit for the first time.
1864 ... Civil War primarily fought near Jacksonville Tallahassee and
Pensacola.
1876... Reconstruction. First railroad in Florida er began operation
p anon
1880 ... Population of Dade County (which included P.B. and Broward
Counties) is 527.
3
1889-1896 ... Celestial railroad operates between Juno and Jupiter for a totl
of 7 1/2 miles and carried freight and passengers (10). The trains backed
up because there was no way to turn the railroad cars around. (6). In the
1890's Jupiter was the transportation center and Juno was the county seat
of Dade County (10). The R.R. tracks were dismantled in 1894 because
Henry Flagler extended his Flagler East Coast RR into what is now called
Palm Beach County.
1901...The Flagler tracks crossed the Royal Poinciana north bridge into
Palm Beach so guests could register at the Breakers and Royal Poinciana
Hotels. Eventually Flaglers RR ran from Jacksonville across the eight mile
overseas bridge to Key West.
Chapter II
Kelsey City and North Palm Beach History
1894...Lake Park (then known as Silver Beach) and NPB have connecting
histories so I will be skipping back and forth between these two adjoining
communities in this chapter. There was a RR passenger station shed
where RCA Boulevard (formerly Monet Road) meets AIA. This was known
as Prairie Siding and cattle, timber and produce was shipped from this spot
(4). There was a small settlement around this siding (3).
1895 ... The first pioneer of European heritage to be on record and to live in
NPB year round was Roger, the hermit. Roger pitched a tent on Munyon
Island (then called NUCTASCHOO or Pelican Island) and lived there for
eight (8) years.
1890 ... In 1890 President Benjamin Harrison sold a fifteen acre land patent
to NATHAN PITTS for the sum of $19-47(21). This NPB pioneer built a
house on the island and moved his familyinto the house use which they lived
in for sixteen (16) years. Pitts planted limeuava avocado, cado, pears, figs and
mangoes on the island. At this time the island was known as 'Pitt s Island '
.
1901 ... In 1901 Pitts sold the property deed to "doctor"
(he was not a
medical doctor) Munyon (21). Munyon had been the owner ner of Proprietory
Medicines in Philadelphia, which he sold and later
moved to Florida to
invest in the tourist business. He built a health spa resort on Munyon
Island and called it the Hygeia Hotel. It had five stories, twenty-one rooms,
all with hot and cold water, eight of which hadriva
p to bathrooms and he
surrounded the hotel with a coquina rock seawall. He aid
and p to install an
underwater pipe from the mainland, which pumped lain water '
"Fountainp p p er into his
of Youth". Munyon claimed that the "Paw -Paw" •
„ elixir concoction
that came from his sulphur water fountain was•
a cure for insomnia,
indigestion, nervousness and fatigue. The wealth '
g y ladies who came by
boat from Palm Beach usually stayed overnight at the spa for their cure
and socializing. In 1917 the hotel burned to ther
g ound and was never
rebuilt (7).
(#2 photo of Hygeia Hotel p. 35..."Tucked..." or
pen &ink sketch)
1892 ... This is how Lake Park, former) known as '
began:
Y Kelsey City/Silver Beach,
5
A warranty deed in the form of a trust from the State of Florida wasg iven to
ALBERT SAWYER with the requirement that he improve, cultivate or sell
the land before 1907. This land included NPB. Sawyer died in 1903 and
willed the trust to his son, ALBERT. The 1907 deadline was extended to
1927(3).
1919 ... ALBERT SAWYER, Jr. sold the deed to BARTON PECK in 1915 for
$1140. Barton sold the deed to HARRY & MABEL KELSEY for $100,000.
Kelsey formed the East Coast Finance Corp. to transact land business (3).
At age 40, Harry Kelsey first came to Palm Beach County recuperate
erate
p
from pneumonia. He stayed from 1919 to 1930. Mr. Kelsey had started his
career in 1899 as a headwaiter in Hartford, Conn; next he started a fast
lunch business, and around 1904 he was president of Waldorf Systems
lunch room chain based in Boston. He accumulated stock in Waldorf,
became a successful real estate investor and by 1919 he owned assets
worth over $4 million.
In 1919 he moved to Silver Beach and bought 14 miles of oceanfront and
lakefront between Miami and Jupiter, including 100,000 acres which later
became Kelsey City/Lake Park and NPB. He purchased the Florida East
Coast Canal, which is part of the intracoastal waterway, and operated it as
a toll highway with a toll chain across the Intracoastal to stop boats and
collect a fee.
Charles BRANCH, Kelsey's general manager, said that dredging the
g g
sandbars of the Intracoastal was a continuous headache and expense. The
p
state later took over ownership and dredging of the waterway.
Y
1915 ... This is a history of a pioneer family called McLAREN:
This was told to me by the 90 year old, spry, thin lady known as Lulu
McLaren Nelson, daughter of early settler R.E. McLaren. Lulu lives alone in
one of the four houses owned by McLarens on a cul-de-sac behind a white
picket gate labeled "McLaren Junction - Population 12- Kee out- R.V.
M p
McLaren, Mayor". The enclave is located at the farthest west end of
McLaren Road. That road lies in unincorporated count property direct)
county p Y Y
adjacent to our NPB border.
In 1915 Robert Edgar McLaren, Lulu's father, traveled to this area to
recover his health. He had sold his portion of the family g owned vinegar
factory up North, because his physician told him that inhalingthe vinegar
gar
fumes was causing his ailments (1). McLaren's health improved and h
p e
liked Florida so much he built a house alongside the intracoastal on
g Monet
Road/McLaren Road and sent for his family. Soon two more children e n were
born in that house making a total of ten children. To feed this hungry
bunch he
tried farming without much success, but he soon became
9
prosperous by opening a grocery store. Next he bought all the lots east of
his house from the Intracoastal to U.S. Highway #1 (on the north side of
McLaren Road where Benjamin lower school is located.) There were no
other houses nearby so the family had to go by boat to West Palm Beach
for groceries and to Palm Beach for mail pick up (1). Riviera Beach was
then known as "conch town."
1918 ... R.E. McLaren built a one room school house located on the west
side of the intracoastal waterway across from his house. Ano opening
g
bridge had been built by Palm Beach county and it was located 100ears
sou 100y
ears of McLaren's house and extended straight to Al A with ap aved road
across Prosperity Farms Road. U.S. #1 was shell rock at this time. This
Monet Bridge, as it was called, was damaged during the '28 hurricane and
from subsequent hurricanes but Lulu said the county government paid to
repair the damage. The bridge washed away during the hurricane of '47
and was never replaced. One of Lulu's sisters was a toll collector for
Kelsey and she operated the toll chain at this Monet bridge (1).
1921 ... Kelsey City Dairy, owned by Harry Kelsey, wasroducin 800 quarts
p g
of milk a day. The cows grazed between A1A and Prosperity Farms Road.
p Y
Many farms were successful on this stretch of land and that is the reason
"Prosperity" was chosen for the name of this road and has kept that name
to this day.
1923 ... Kelsey City was incorporated in 1923 after Kelsey had Iain out his
carefully zoned town. Over 100 houses were built by him and the homes
sold quickly.
1924 ... The Florida legislature abolished the state income tax and
inheritance tax, thus sparking the land boom and motivatingNortherners to
buy land or build homes n this area.
Harry Kelsey built the first eighteen (18) hole golf course and a
small wooden clubhouse where our present library is located. Thisg olf
course was abandoned in 1926.
1926 ... Kelsey, with the help of Paris Singer (Singer Island is named after
him), built an eighteen (18) hole golf course and Winter Golf Clubhouse
("The Winter Club") on the land where the NPB Country Club sits now.
According to author Gooding, the cost was $500,000 (4). Singer ferried his
winter guests back and forth across the waterway and Everglades Country
Club guests also came by boat from Palm Beach. Lulu (1) said the boats
used to tie up at a wood dock near the Parker bridge and a taxi would drive
the guests over a shell rock road to the nearby Winter Club. U.S. #1 was
still just a shell rock path. Singer never completed his eight story hotel on
Singer Island. He had begun construction in 1927 but after the 1928
hurricane the hotel was demolished and never opened.
7
E .,✓r�,�
s r f+
r`
The Winter Club, the Hygeia Hotel and the Parker bridg etender's
house were the oldest (prior to 1928) buildings in NPB. These three
ee
buildings were our first pioneer buildin s in NPB. In 1984 b voter
er
referendum, the NPB residents chose to tear down the historic but
dilapidated, Winter Club. The Hygeia Hotel burned and the Parker
house
was torn down.
1926...The Parker opening bridge was completed in 1926. Our first t peoneer
family to live in the village of NPB year round on the mainland
of NPB were
the Parker family. The county built his house on stilts justseast
of this
bridge. The bridge was named after Mr. Parker because he was our first
full time bridgetender and was on duty24 hours day. The
a y house was
later abandoned when the county hired brid etenders who commuted ommuted to
work on different shifts to accommodate the increased boat traffic. The
house was torn down when Old Port Cove was built (1).
1927 ... In 1927 the Winter Club opened for the first time but it sustained
damage in the '28 hurricane. Some wealth Everglades Club
Y g members
leased and ran the golf course and club house from 1929-30.
The first two
Winter Club members were Robert C. Baker, Count Sheriff and nd B.D. Cole
(of B.D. Cole Insurance).
1928...A hurricane with 130 mph winds caused Lake Okeechobee to
overflow it's banks and drown 3000 residents who lived near the lake. This
hurricane wrenched the concrete Earman River bridge from its is mooring,
demolished all but a few of the one hundred Lake Park homes, uprooted
and leveled Kelsey's three timber mills, its entire Park Avenue shopping
district and ruined the vital credit rating of this once thriving town (3).
Many of he pioneer families who hadurchased homes in
p Kelsey City
fled North, abandoning their demolished homes defaulted their
mortgage payments and caused the Kelsey City Bank to fail. In Florida,
if
property taxes went unpaid for two years, the state took title to that land.
The unpaid taxes totaled $300 per lot and went u for p sal e. Kelsey, very
disillusioned that his carefully planned town was in ruins, his
first original home on the southwest corner of U.S. #1 and Park Avenue
(now an osteopathic clinic) and left Kelsey y Cit He died in Orlando,
Florida in 1957.
1929-30... -Sir Harry Oakes purchased the Winter Club and all the NPB land
from Kelsey. Oakes added a south win to the Winter C
. g Club and moved his
family into this wing for the winter months. This south
wing housed our
NPB Library from 1963-68. Oakes opened the golf course to winter visitors
but closed it shortly after the stock market crash of 1929-30 and used the
grassy course as a play yard for his polo pony riding family.
.
Oakes was originally from Maine, made his money in gold mining
and then became a Canadian citizen. He moved to Florida to avoid
Canadian taxes. His Tesdem Inc. Corp. began buying abandonedro ert
p p Y
in Kelsey City and all the land in NPB. Sometime in the 1930's Oakes
moved his family to Nassau and spent considerable time in London. He
donated $500,000 to London's St. George Hospital and was rewarded with
the knighthood title of "Sir". In 1943 Sir Harry was bludgeoned to death and
his bed in Nassau was set on fire with gasoline. His murderer was never
caught (7).
1926-55 ... In the period of time from '26 when Kelsey built the Winter Club
and '55, the land now known as NPB consisted of seven (7) square miles of
sugary sand and scrub palmetto and fewer than 100 individuals living
between Lake Park and Jupiter (5). However, Peter Maheu, an inventor and
farmer from Belgium, and his sons bought 25 acres of land along
Prosperity Farms Road in 1924 and successfully raised and sold over
twenty different vegetables. He lived in county property on Prosperity
Farms Road (3). In the 1940's there was Goolsby's Dairy located on
Northlake Blvd. (then called "West Lake Park Road). After the cows were
chased away by development, Goolsby's became a creamery.
The Tesdem Company, which was the company formed b Harry
Y
Oakes' Estate, held trusts of over 1000 lots in Lake Park, all the land in NPB
including both sides of U.S. #1.
1951 ... In 1951 the widow Oakes sold this land to Ralph Stolkin who was
short of cash. Stolkin was audited by IRS for defrauding a Veteran's
Association by mail. Stolkin got John D. MacArthur to loan him $3 million
using the land as collateral. Stolkin defaulted on payments thus making
MacArthur sole owner of NPB and Lake Park. MacArthur was more
interested in developing Palm Beach Gardens.
1955 ... Charles Cunningham, V.P. of MacArthur's Bankers Land, offered the
NPB properties for sale. Richard and Herbert Ross of the Ross Brothers
Company sold their Boutwell Dairy holdings locally and used that money to
buy the LP/NPB land from Banker's Land (now called the MacArthur
Foundation.) This deal between Ross and Banker's Land was signed in
g
1955 for the price of $5 Million. The MacArthur Foundation is required to
divest itself of all land holdings but some land across from our Village Hall
is still owned by this Foundation.
(photo #3 ... Rossi s village Hall on p.7 ... must enlarge to 5x7 says printer)
The layout for our Village had superior planning and credit for this award
winning plan goes to Richard and Herbert Ross, John Schwencke (Ross'
associate and still alive today) and Jay White (Ross' associate. Mr.
X
t
Schwencke is 88 and he reviewed my history and corrected some
. Y e details.
His memory is unimpaired. The Ross Brothers had previously buil
. p y t about
5000 homes in the city of West Palm Beach between 1950-56.
To clear up the confusion about who owned NPB I am summarizing it
below:
1892...Albert Sawyer was given a warrant deed b the state of fl '
. Y Y orida with
the stipulation that the land had to be developed b a specific d
. p y p ate. Sawyer
died and willed the property to his son, Albert Sawyer, Jr. who
y sold the
deed to:
1915 ... Barton Peck, who was unable to develop NPB by the specified date
and so sold the deed for $100,000. to:
1929 ... Harry Kelsey, who built the Winter Club andolf course i
g n NPB and
sold both of these along with all the NPB land to:
1930 ... Sir Harry Oakes, who briefly lived in the Winter Club added a south
wing to the building and did not developan of the land in NPB
Y and he
was murdered in 1943 so his:
1951 ... Widow Mrs. Oakes sold the land to Albert Stolkin a man
who was
audited by the IRS for defrauding a Veteran's Association(3) b
( y mail fraud.
Stolkin had to borrow the money to buyNPB land and then h
payment to:
e defaulted on
1955 ... John D. MacArthur, who was uninterested in developing any of NPB,
so he immediately sold the land to:
1956...Herbert and Richrd Ross for $5 million.
8/13/56 ... Together with Seward Mott Associates of Washington, D.C., a
master plan was drawn and the Village of NPB was incorporated by
Tallahassee (7).
Pratt & Whitney, encouraged by John D. MacArthur, initiated plans to build
a rocket and jet engine testing facility on 7000 acres of a remote scrub pine
area 17 miles west of NPB (4). Pratt & Whitneynvented the first '
Y rst liquid
hydrogen rocket engine (RL 10), carried the first human
to the moon, and
created the electric power system for the International Space S
jet p tation. The
worlds fastest -the J58 - was developed by this facility (5).
Our Village issued the first three (3) permits for occupancy to: 402 So.
Anchorage Dr, 406 So. Anchorage Dr, and 410 So. Anchorage Dr.
10
(#4 photo from my color print ... of 402 S.Anchora e
g)
If village g residents wish to preserve the oldest existingunchanged d pioneer
house, this writer recommends they petition the NPB Council tU
aNpiy rvr
National Historic Preservation status for #402. 1 spoke to the ow '
p owner of this
house and she agreed to keep the outside unchanged. The Winship
nship
i
Pharmacy s the oldest pioneer commercial building still standing
. g g that has
not been changed architecturally on the outside. I spoke to the owner
about historic preservation.
The Ross brothers built the first 50 houses located on the south side of
South Anchorage, west of Eastwind Drive. Months before Pratt o
„ „ iopened, the
newly built Parade of Homes n NPB were selling brisk) most) to Pratt
tt
engineers and technicians. After these 50 homes were sold the Ross
brothers stopped building in NPB and other developers took over when
they left the area (7).
p
1956 ... Before NPB was incorporated, the Ross brothers had these services
in place: a utilities general managerFred Trapnell)
a Village Hall
(
a Village Council consisting of these pioneer councilmen:
Charles Cunningham, MacArthurs' associate
And our first Mayor,
Richard Ross, visionary
Jay White, Ross' associate
John Schwencke, Ross' associate and still alive
John D. MacArthur.
Hired a Chief of Police/Fire (albert Dudden
Laid 75 miles of sewer pipes, 300 fire hydrants
Y
And 6 miles of paved roads, bulkheaded and dredged 20
C g
Canals and 3 lakes
Anchorage Park Marina and ramp (7)
Hired a Village Manager (Albin Olson).
According from James Michener (13)Mr. Olson had an interesting. work
history. After graduation from Annapolis, Olson became
. p a a merchant
shipper. Then he became captivated b Chinese decorative
. Y art, went to
China and started and import-export business.
(photo #5 Village Hall ... Patty can use existingin 25th
one )
(photo #6...p.7 Mr Olson ... Patty can use existin one in
g 25th)
(photo #7....Dudden if if if
The water and sewer system had only been completed in PI
. Y . p at 1 by 8/13/56.
This system started in 56 with the drilling of 11 dee wells '
g p and erection of
11
a water treatment plant west of our village. The sewage treatment complex
g p
is still located off south Anchorage. This huge overhead water tank next to
the marina ramp, holds 300,000 gallons. The Ross brothersaid$1,500,000p
for this sewer system and water installation before the first house was sold
in NPB (7).
12/12/57 ... The first business issued an occupancypermit was the Pantry
y
Pride / Food Fair at 101 U.S. Hwy. #1 (buildingermit #100 accordin to. .., p ) g the
former village utilities director, Charles O'Melia(2). NPB Pro erti3es. p sold
40 acres to Food Fair and Pantry Pride which opened in 1958 followed
p by
Y
J.M. Fields/AKA Jefferson's Dept. Store. The Twin Cit Mall and Sears
arrived on this acreage in 1971.
A problem arose because the boundary line between Lake Park and NPB
ran through the middle of Sears. How to split the cigarette tax money
among other issues was discussed at council meetings. An amiable
agreement was reached and relations with neighboring Lake Park have
remained excellent (7).
1958 ... The developers donated ten acres of land to the school board
and
NPB Elementary opened for classes. The two other schools that are
located in NPB are Benjamin Lower private school and St. Clare's Catholic
elementary.
1958 ... The National Association of Home Builders out of Chicago, chose
ose
NPB as an award winning community. This was the first time a Floridaitown
had won and the criteria used included excellence in: landscaping,
p ng
planning, schools, recreation, zoning, shopping, variety of
home styles and
public services in place (7).
1960...A survey conducted in NPB counted 2,281 residents including 1100
children (17).
1961 ...The Village purchased 145 acres around the NPB Country Club for
$1,250,000 by issuing general obligation bonds. NPB voters approved
spending $400,000. to build a new clubhouse and Olympic size swimming
pool These improvements opened in '63 and the bond wasaid
p off in '88
(7)•
(photo #8 ... NPB Country Club ... Patty said borrow laminated one/Richard)
1963 The private NPBMarina was completed. NPB Library y o pened in
i
temporary quarters n the Winter Club. Thelma Obert surveyed the e village
residents and presented her findings to the Village council. She e proposed
that a library should open and persuaded village residents to
g contribute
12
1700 books. Nancy Moore was appointed librarydirector
from 10/1/84 to
her retirement in 2005.
1966... NPB Public Utilities also serves the town of Lake Park and parts of
P.B. Gardens. In case of a power failure the plant is e '
a p quipped with a 200
KW emergency generator (19).
1966 ... The oldest standing business in NPB opens and ' '
p is called Winship
Pharmacy (NorthlakeBlvd.). It was built b renowned Y architect, Eugene
Lawrence. The exterior remains unchanged.
This community has many miles of navigable canals.
g A boat launching
i
ramp s available to residents at Anchorage Park, includingwet storage
30 bo age for
boats and dry storage for boats on trailers. There is also one
public
marina, one private marina and a private launch at Lott's(19).
Since 32% of our village residents in the year 2000 consider - Y onsider themselves to
be Catholic, I received the followinghisto from the P '
history B Diocese regarding
the first Catholic church to hold services for village residents:
g esidents.
St. Clare's was established as a Mission from St. Fran '
Francis of Ass iss i
Church in Riviera Beach in 1958. St. Clare's was established '
lashed as a parish in
1960 and Mass was celebrated in either private homes '
p or in rented space in
Pantry Pride until 1964. From '64269 services tookla
p ce on 2nd floor of St.
Clare's elementary school and in 1969 the resent St. Clare's
. - p ares Church
opened its doors for the first time. The outside architecture is
unchanged.
1969... NPB Library, off Anchorage, was dedicated. The he downstairs Obert
Room houses framed photos of earl village history Y g y a s does the hallway of
village hall. The NPB year round volunteer village historian an is housed in
the library and has archived our village historical photos and clippings.
Old Port Cove condominium complex was started. It has proved to be one
of the most successful and prestigious locations in Florida. It has an ideal
lake view, a private marina, gate guards and about 1062 units (7).
1973 ... The University of N.C. chose NPB as an example of "one of the few
well planned communities its' size in the U.S.A." Much
of the uniqueness of
our Village is due to the enforced zoning that prohibits garbage cans lining
the streets on collection day, commercial buildings g over four stories tall or
located on any streets except Northlake and U.S. #1, strip shopping malls,
commercial buildings close to the sidewalk, neon signs, and no blighted
lighted
housing units.
By restricting commercial development to two streets prohibiting
p t eets and prohibiting
industrial plants, NPB has achieved a balance of land use absent in so
many other Florida coastal communities which have succumbed to urban
13
sprawl. (The convenience store on Prosperity Farms was built before NPB
was incorporated).
1980...After extended negotiations between the State of Florida, PBC and
the MacArthur Foundation, the 1 1/2 miles of oceanfront land, which la
within the NPB boundaries, was sold to PBC for $23 million. The 385 acres
included the controversial Air Force Beach where nude sunbathing was
allowed. MacArthur Park was dedicated 11/7/80 and must be kept in its
natural state.
1980 ... George Delacorte, a NPB resident, donated $600,000 toward building
our second Community Center. The Delacorte Recreation Building on
Prosperity Farms Road was built with the stipulation that no fee be charged
for use of the building. (7)
(? Photo of the Delacorte Bldg?)
1981-2004..The major additional condominium complexes completed in the
past 25 years include: Northlake Condominiums on Lake Circle
Governor's Pointe (356 Golfview)
Seamark (Golfview)
Marina Bay (U.S. Hwy #1)
Southwind Circle (Southwind Drive)
River's Landing (Hummingbird Way)
Harbor Isles (Pros. Fm. Rd.)
Sanctuary Cove (Pros. Fm. Rd.)
Prosperity Harbor (Pros.Fm.Rd.)
1996 ... Ryan Berube, a NPB resident, won an Olympic Gold Medal for relay
swimming. He trained at the NPBCC for ten years. (2)
1980's...Mark Soveral, helmsman and winner of national sailing races, was
listed by "Yachting Magazine" as one of the top five sailboat designers in
the world. He grew up in NPB and built his sailboats at Soveral Marine.
1999 ... Our NPB Public Safety was one of the first police stations in PBC to
sponsor a teenage explorer post in 1977. The current Public Safety facility
on U.S.#1 opened in 1999. At that time it had the most technologically
advanced equipment in PBC. Some of the special features include a high
powered evacuation vent that is installed in the holding jail cell. This vent
prevents chemical -agent -discharges from spreading outside the cell. The
lobby walls and windows are lined with bullet proof resistant plexiglass
and Kevlar.
Several of the police computers are linked to all Federal and State law
enforcement computers. This gives the NPB police instant information on
14
wanted criminals, pedophiles, stolen or expired driver's licenses, missing
persons and suspect vehicles.
2004...... There are 30 police officers which include 20 road patrol, 4
administrative, 4 detectives, 1 marine patrolman 1 crime detection officer
and 2 motorcycle patrolmen. Many of the officers are trained both as
policemen and as fire -medics.
Atos is a German shepherd K-9 dog acquired in 2002 and cur '
q currently trained
to alert officers for the presence of narcotics. Thanks to a donation, he
i
owns a bullet proof vest that s also stab proof.
15
Chapter III
Early Settlers of Palm Beach County
1835... Military Trail was a raised dirt trail cleared b the U.S. Ar
y .. my and
used as a wagon trail during the Seminole Indian Wars. When these wars
ended in 1959, local settlers used the trail for tradinggoods. The
g high and
dry trail was primarily built to carry militarysupplies from Ft.
pp Jupiter to Ft.
Lauderdale and Ft. Dallas (Miami) and that's whyit it named "Military "
Tr.
1859 ... The first person in PBC of European descent whose last name was
recorded, was AUGUST O. LANG. He fled to our area to avoid capture p e by
Union patrol boats. Lang helped Confederate sympathizers
dismantle the
Jupiter Lighthouse lantern in 1959 to prevent Union ships from '
safelyp navigating
into the inlet. (6)
1898 ... Baseball games were held between rival West Palm Beach saloons
on Banyon St. Sam Lewis, a bartender, was lynched 8/24/1895 after he was
arrested for shooting the PBC Tax Collector during a Banyon Street poker
game. An angry mob of poker players stormed the jail, hung Lewis from a
telephone pole and riddled his body with bullets (6).
1909 ... PBC was incorporated and became separated from Dade County.
1910 ... Dade and PBC population census reaches 17,000.
1912 ... The oldest still existing store in PBC is aptly named Pioneer Linens
(Clematis St.).
1916 ... The Palm Beach Post newspaper is now published
daily
1919-33 ... Riviera Beach was a fishing port during Prohibition on and imported
illegal rum from the islands.
Lulu said it was called "conc - "
h town . (1)
Zada Rogers, a pioneer, reported that boats from the Bahamas pulled up to
Flagler Drive and buried rum along the sandy waterfront where Provi
cencia
Park is located (north of Good Sam Hospital)
Henry Flagler named the streets in downtown WPB. His workers lived
there. Flagler named the E -W streets alphabetically after flowers:
Banyon,
Clematis, Datura, Evernia, Fern, Gardenia and Hibiscus (9).
16
1923 ... Myers Luggage on Clematis street opens and the Myers p y s family
currently serves 4th generation customers.
1927 ... Under the leadership of S.Davies Warfield the Seaboard Line
ne
railroad extended its tracks 238 miles from Coleman to Sebring, then
across to PBC.
The nation's wealthy northerners "wintered" in Palm Beach during the
traditional 'season' from Thanksgiving to Easter. The island was'
still a wild
and swampy frontier amidst a plush Breaker's Hotel and Bradley's
ys
gambling casino. The invention of the auto and the completion of '
p Dixie
Highway/U.S. #1 paved the way for developers to expand into
p p northern PBC
and our area.
1920-25 ... West Palm Beach property values increased from $13 M to$61 M
1928...125 mph sustained winds and hurricane induced flooding od i ng kiIled 3000
PBC residents. Mrs. Bessie Dubois, a distinguished Jupiter g per pioneer, wrote,
"to those who imbibed, the 28 storm was referred to as a 'four
bottle
hurricane.' (Historical Society of PBC). She said "a small
) man who loved
to drink, could not be found after the storm subsided. His wife
was getting
ready to clothe herself in widow's weeds, when her husband was
discovered inside a big trunk, with his bottle, blissfully aslee
p ( )
1950 ... The population of PBC is 115,000. PB Int'I. Airport opens.
pens.
1-10-77 ...The first snowfall ever recorded in PBC fell from
6:10 a.m. until
8:40 a.m. (29F) but melted before the delighted children could ould make a
snowman.
To the west about 60 miles is the sleepytown of Belle Glade ade on the edge of
Lake Okeechobee. Here old Florida crackers hangtenaciously ciously to their
gritty homespun atmosphere of past decades.
As NPB reaches its 50th year, its citizens can take ride i
. p n a Village that
was first in Florida to be awarded the National Association of
Home
Builders award for excellence, a village that still looks new ew with no
depressed neighborhoods, escalating real estate homes, honest local
government, efficient public services, and no
cheap commercial strip
17
1966
8700
DEMOGRAPHICS of NORTH PALM BEACH
Population (U.S. Census)/year round residents
1970
•111
1980
11000
Age Cohort (2000)
2nnn
13000
A e
NPB
Florida
1-15
12%19%
16-24
6%12%
65+
31%
18/15+
unmarried,male
40/
57 / (USA)
White
African-
American
Hispanic
Asian
Dog Park
Baseball Diamonds
Tot Lots
Indoor Basketball
Tennis Courts
Paddle Ball
Volley Ball Courts
Outdoor Basketball
Courts
Racquetball Court
18 Hole Golf Course
0
Race (2000)
6
NPB
Florida Palm Beach Count
96%
78%
79%
.9%
15%
13.8%
3.5%
17%
12.4%
1.2%
1.7%
1.5%
Recreation Facilities in NPB
1981
2005
0
1
6
9
3
5
0
1
14
14
2
0
3
3
5 6
6 6
1 1
Parks
1957 Anchorage Park
w
1957 Lakeside Park
1961 Osborne park, 1974 Alamanda Park, 1982 Community Center park
HOUSING, EDUCATION, INCOME (NPB)
NPB Village Budget
1981 ... General Fund Revenues/expenses = $3 million @ 6.68 mills
2004 ... General Fund Revenues/expenses = $13.7 million @ 7.27 mills
U.S. Census for 2000
Income NPB USA
Median family (3 people) income $70,000. $50,000.
Per Capita Income $41,000. $22,000.
Families Living Below Poverty Line
(less than $15,000. per person) 739 people
Residents Living on Public Assistance 42 people
Housing
Owner -Occupied Housing Units 78% 66%
Renter -Occupied Housing Units 22% 34%
Education
Bachelor's Degree or higher
36%
24%
High School Grad or higher
93%
80%
Professional, Education, Health
24
Robberies
Or Management Employment
41%
-
Foreign Born
8%
11%
UNIFORM CRIME REPORT (U.C.R.)
http://www.FDLE-State.Fl.US/crime-statistics/index.ASP
Note: NPB had a drop of 20% in UCR rate from 1989 to 1999
1999 NPB
Larcenies
369
Burglaries
91
Thefts
54
Assaults
24
Robberies
8
Rapes
0
Murders
0
Kidnappings
0
19
References
(1) Interview with Lulu McLaren -Nelson.
(2) Interviews with Jack Schwencke, Charles O'MeliaJ -_ T
. y, ed
Brown Sr., and Nancy Moore.
3) Gooding, Dorothy. "Tucked Between the Pages of Time: History of L
g y Lake
Park„
(4) Palm Beach Post Newspaper 8/8/05.
(5) United Technology, "Beehive” Pamphlet. 1978.
(6) Curl,Donald, Ph.D. "Palm Beach County -An Illustrated History."
Y y
(7) Young, William. "25th Anniversary of the Village of NPB - An Official
ictal
History. 1981.
(8) Procyk,R. "Guns Across the Loxahatchee".
(9) Roberts, H.J., M.D. "West Palm Beach -Centennial Reflections."
(10) Snyder, James. "5000 Years on the Loxahatchee."
(11) Jebeau,Carson. "Florida From Indian Trail to Space Age."
p g
(12) Kribbs,Daniel. "History of Juno Beach".
(13) Michener, James. Framed letter on wall of NPB Village Historian's
g tan s
Office wall.
(14) Document: 1989 Community Character Statement/NPB.
(15) Document: 2005 NPB Public Safety letter from Officer Jane.
(16) Fernald,Edward. "Atlas of Florida" OF/FSUniversit .
Y
(17) Catholic Diocese of Palm Beach Count .Letter from Merke
County
.Letter
i,secretary to the Chancellor/Bishop 's office.
(18) O'Melia, Charles. Licensed engineer/director Dept. Public W
p orks/NPB
to 1994.
20
(19) NPB Ten Centenial Celebration booklet 1966/NPB Library.
(20) U.S. Census Report/Reference Librarian research.
(21) Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's Office. Erik Hinckley 2005.
21