The following historical facts and stories are arranged in alphabetical order by "subject" matter and the key subject is in bold type. For instance, the Flagler railroad car is under "R."
BY THE WAY! If you have some interesting Palm Beach history to add to my web-site, please send me an e-mail at palmbeachmalcolm@aol.com
Cartier is the oldest jewelry store in Palm Beach. Worth Avenue is the home of many famous retailers, including Cartier. Cartier was founded in Paris in 1847 by Louis Francois Cartier, and opened the first Palm Beach jewelry store in 1924.
1095 North Ocean Boulevard served as the "Winter White House" during the John F. Kennedy administration. The original part of the house was designed by well known Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner in 1923, with additions designed by another famous Palm Beach architect, Maruice Fatio. Originally built for Redman Wanamaker, a member of the Philadelphia family that owned department stores, the house was sold in 1933 to Joseph Kennedy as a family vacation home for $120,000. Totally renovated in the 1990s the home today is worth more than 100 times what Joe Kennedy paid.
1095 N. Ocean Blvd. ~ The Winter White House.
Why is Lake Worth called a lake? Lake Worth was originally a fresh water lake and Palm Beach was not an island. It wasn't until A.O. Lang dug an inlet from the Ocean to the Lake in the late 1800s that the "island" of Palm Beach was created.
Where did the name Military Trail come from? It was during the Seminole Indian War (1835 to 1842) in south Florida that the U.S. Army decided to build a road to transport military supplies from Fort Jupiter south to Fort Lauderdale and Fort Dallas (Miami). The Army had to go considerably west of the Ocean to find a contiguoulsy dry piece of land on which to build this "military trail." Hence the name.
Why is it called Palm Beach? In 1878 the Providencia, a small Spanish brigantine, wrecked on the shores of Palm Beach(right about where the Bath & Tennis Club is located today) with its cargo of 20,000 cocoanuts. Early Palm Beach settlers rescued the cocoanuts and planted them all over the Island, thus creating an island of palm trees. It was this planting of cocoanuts and the resulting palm trees that gave Palm Beach its name. By the way, it can be spelled either way, cocoanut or coconut, although the Palm Beach street is spelled Cocoanut.
Why is it called Palm Beach Shores? Palm Beach Shores (the small incoporated town at the southern tip of Singer Island) was originally part of Palm Beach. After the inlet at the north end of Palm Beach was created that part of land on the north side of the inlet became known as Palm Beach Shores.
That old railroad car located at the Flagler Museum (Whitehall) was built in 1886 in Delaware. This rail car was the personal car of Henry Morrison Flager, known as the founder of what we call Palm Beach today. The 60-foot-long, 30-ton rail car had mosaic tile floors covered with Oriental rugs, Flagler's private bedroom, a sitting room, and a kitchen with a pull down berth for the cook.
The name Worth has been applied to several Palm Beach area places, including the Town of Lake Worth, the body of water known as Lake Worth that seperates Palm Beach from West Palm Beach, and of course the world famous Worth Avenue in Palm Beach. Lake Worth (and subsequently Worth Avenue) was named after Colonel William Jenkins Worth who was in command of the Federal troops in the latter part of the Seminole Indian War in Florida. Later on Colonel Worth was second-in- command of the U.S. Forces in the Mexican War (remember the Alamo) in what is now Texas. And, Ft. Worth, Texas was also named after Colonel Worth.
Worth Avenue around 1925
My History and Photo Tour of Palm Beach is in the very early stages of construction...so please come back in a couple of weeks for a lot more History and Photos.
