The
origins of this world-renowned city began in 1951 when Charles Oliver Wellington purchased the 18,000 acres of land by recommendation of Bink Glisson. Those 18,000 acres today are the site of the city of Wellington. Mr. Wellington was a Harvard-educated, Massachusetts-born accountant and aviator, who made his way to Florida by way of New York. He deemed the land west of US 441, and south of Southern blvd the “Flying Cow Ranch”. The name was inspired by Mr. Wellington’s aviation pursuits and his initials, C-O-W. The intent was to farm the land, however, due to the massive flooding on the southwestern borders of the Everglades, the land was not cooperating. In 1953, legislation was passed by the State of Florida to create the “Acme Drainage District”. This provided flood control and drainage, allowing 16,000 acres of the land to go from wetlands to fertile, ready-to farm, in no time at all. The land was sold and leased to farmers, plus 2,000 acres of it was tilled for strawberry fields- hence the reputation as “the world’s largest strawberry patch”.
Mr. Glisson was hired as the general manager and is considered the district’s first employee, serving for 40 years. Mr. Wellington served as 1st chairman of the district, until his passing in 1959. His son, Roger Wellington, also a Harvard-educated accountant, took over the 1st chair. In the 1960s development started to carve the Wellington we know today. Flying Cow Ranch broke off into parts that were sold or leased. In 1971, Jim Nall, part of the Investment Corporation of Florida, purchased 7,000 acres of land. Investment Corporation of Florida got together with Alcoa Aluminum, and the two together started to buy and develop the land. Within a short period of time, hundreds of homes began selling. In 1976, Alcoa sells its interest back to the Investment Corporation of Florida.
Now, here comes Gould Florida, an electronic corporation of Gould Inc. They buy out ICOF’s remaining property, and so comes one of the most influential moments in the history of the city we know today. Gould Inc. brought with them, chairman William Yilvisaker, a polo player and enthusiast. In 1978, Mr. Yilvisaker builds the pristine
Palm Beach Polo Golf & Country Club, now a staple of Wellington. In 1995, a group of residents rocked some boats and worked hard towards independence for Wellington. They were successful and on December 31, 1995, the city of Wellington officially became an independent municipality.
