According to stories passed down from early settlers, Palm Beach got its name in 1878 when a ship named Providencia carrying a load of coconuts wrecked and washed ashore. The new inhabitants of the island recovered the 20,000 coconuts and planted them throughout present-day Palm Beach in an attempt to launch a coconut industry. Surprisingly, the palms that have become a prominent symbol of the region were not native to South Florida. Despite the early settlers’ efforts to establish a coconut industry, it was actually the tourism industry that planted the seed for Palm Beach’s development. The Cocoanut Grove House opened in 1880 in what was then part of Lake Worth. Elisha N. “Cap” Dimick, who would later become the first mayor of Palm Beach, opened the hotel with just eight rooms. Dimick reached great success with 4,500 guests staying at the hotel from 1885 to 1893 he was able to expand to 50 rooms and even a beachfront bathhouse. Sadly, the hotel burned down in 1893.
While Dimick set the stage for Palm Beach tourism, it was Henry Flagler who transformed palm Beach into the major tourist destination that it is today. Flagler, a very oil tycoon, originally traveled to Florida under the recommendation of his wife’s doctor. His wife was ill and her doctor thought that a warmer climate would assist in her recovery. After living in New York and Ohio, Flagler enjoyed the warm climate and thought that other wealthy Northeast families would enjoy an escape to Florida during brutal winters as well. While the weather was great, the transportation and accommodations were severely lacking. Flagler was inspired to step back from his duties at Standard Oil to focus on transforming Florida into a winter playground for the wealthy.
Flagler built some hotels in St. Augustine and the Daytona area before focusing his attention on present-day Palm Beach. He also launched the
Florida East Coast Railway to transport tourists to his resorts. In 1894 Flagler extended the railway to present-day West Palm Beach. The Royal Poinciana Hotel was constructed to accommodate his railroad passengers. This Georgian-style hotel was the largest wooden structure in the world at the time with rooms for up to 2,000 guests. With tourists flocking to the island with the lure of sunshine, golf, tennis, boating, and lavish parties, Flagler needed to build an additional hotel to keep up with demand. In 1896 Flagler opened the Palm Beach Inn. In 1901 the hotel was renamed The Breakers. The current structure was built in 1904 after a fire destroyed the original wooden structure. After the fire, Flagler prohibited motorized vehicles on the grounds, and employees were tasked with transporting guests around in wheeled chairs.
The Breakers is still in operation today as a luxurious, oceanfront five-star hotel. You can also step back in time to experience the glitz and glamour of the Gilded Age by visiting The
Flagler Museum. The museum was once known as Whitehall, Flagler’s 75-room, 100,000 SqFt residence. The extravagant mansion was built in 1902 as a wedding present to his third wife, Mary Lily whom he married 10 days after his divorce was final from his second wife Ida Alice. In 1902 The Miami Herald described Whitehall as “More wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world…” Flagler used Whitehall as a winter home until his death in 1913.
Thanks to Henry Flagler, Palm Beach was a thriving tourist destination long before it was a residential town with year-round inhabitants. Palm Beach was incorporated on April 17th, 1911. Palm Beach became the second incorporated municipality in Palm Beach County, West Palm Beach being the first. In 1929 the Garden Club of Palm Beach sponsored a
Town Plan to ensure that zoning ordinances would promote public improvements with minimal interruption to the natural beauty of the island. The Garden Club proposed the plan out of fear that the growing population and ever-increasing waves of tourists would threaten the privacy and security of the current residents. This sentiment was made clear by the closing statement in the plan, “The Palm Beach of the third epoch was conceived as a playground, and it has achieved distinction. In its allurement lies its insecurity.” The Garden Club would be proud of today’s Palm Beach, with a
Town Council that strives to balance the privacy and security of residents with a lucrative tourism industry.
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