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Many people believe that Florida’s history only goes back a hundred years.
Fort Lauderdale’s history dates to the first aboriginals and their arrival more than 4,000 years ago.
There is not an endless supply of information on them, but artifacts point to their presence.
The Tequesta, dating from the 3rd century B.C., were living in the southeastern area of Florida.
Their main village was along the Miami River. There were other smaller communities as far north as today’s Palm Beach County. They were definitely along Biscayne Bay and the fresh water rivers flowing from the Everglades. Most of their diet came from the sea.
They had good relations with the Jaega tribe to the north, today’s Palm Beach, and Martin counties.
On the west coast, the larger Calusa tribes, reaching from Charlotte Harbor to the keys, had more power.
The Tequesta would last 2000 years until European settlers arrived, bringing disease and guns.
Maps from the 1600 – 1700s list South Florida as “Tekestra” or similar.
Less Ancient.
Juan Ponce de León, the Spanish explorer from Cuba, would be the first European to write about Florida circa 1513. Setting out from the Caribbean, they would name the verdant landscape “La Pascua Florida,” the Festival of Flowers.
Then he moves on.
South Florida remains the land of the local natives, according to them. According to Spanish maps, it belongs to Spain. But Spain stays away, so the argument rarely comes up.
After the 1763 French and Indian War, Great Britain was in control of the Spanish colony of La Florida. The last few Tequesta move to Cuba when the Spanish depart.
Finally, in the early 1800s, European occupation spread out from Northern Florida, requiring more land. Enter a new player.
White and native groups moving south from Georgia push the Seminoles further south. They arrive in southeast Florida circa 1788.
The Seminole Wars.
The War of 1812 (between the United States and its allies and the United Kingdom and Indian allies) ends. This battle for land leaves both England and Spain weak. U.S. troops following General Andrew Jackson waste no time claiming West Florida and East Florida.
The First Seminole War ends in 1819 with Spain ceding Florida to the U.S. The Treaty of Moultrie Creek dictates the Seminoles must live on a large reservation in the center of the Florida peninsula.
The Second Seminole War.
Not happy with Northern Florida, the U.S. begins the Second Seminole War circa 1835 to take the rest of the state.
Beginning with the Dade battle in December 1835, the Seminoles hiding in the Everglades and using guerrilla warfare do well.
By 1836, General Thomas Jesup changes tactics. He begins building forts along the waterways and destroying the Seminole crops.
Major William Lauderdale, a neighbor of Andrew Jackson in Hartsville, Tennessee, is one of the now-presidents inner circle. Jackson gives him his own command. Starting in Jupiter, he pushes 63 miles south along the east coast. As there are no roads, he organizes a slash-and-burn program to make a road. They call it Military Trail, and it reaches south, where he builds a stockade circa 1837 on the Middle River. They call it Fort Lauderdale or “New River Settlement.”
Military Trail
Military Trail still exists, reaching from Indiantown Road in Palm Beach to downtown Fort Lauderdale. However, in Fort Lauderdale, its name changes to Andrews Avenue.
The Seminole retreat to Pine Island, a raised area in the middle of the marsh west of Ft Lauderdale. The U.S. Army is not able to sneak upon them.
The original stockade was a 30-foot square, two-story blockhouse. Around the building was a 60′ by 50′ wooden wall. Major Lauderdale and his men depart for Fort Jupiter the following spring. The Seminoles lose little time destroying the fort upon their departure.
A year later, U.S. Artillery under Captain William Davidson builds a new Fort Lauderdale closer to the ocean. It is a temporary stockade with tents, a picket fence, and one watchtower.
They also begin construction of a more permanent fort close to the beach where a public parking lot stands today. That fort will last from 1839 until 1842 and the end of the Second Seminole War. At this point, most of the Seminoles in southeast Florida are dead from battle, starvation, or disease.
The Third Seminole War.
This war takes place mostly on the Gulf Coast. A few Seminole return to Pine Island, and there are a few settlers near the old fort. The Military Trail grows over, and southeast Florida goes back to the wilderness.
It will not be until the 1890s that many people travel to South Florida.
However, in 1875 Julia Tuttle visits Biscayne Bay to visit a 40-acre orange grove her father buys. She returns to Ohio. When her father dies circa 1890, she returns to oversee her parents’ estate. She buys 640 acres on the north side of the Miami River.
Henry Flagler and Fort Lauderdale.
With the success of his hotels and the East Coast Railroad from Jacksonville to St Augustine, Flagler was considering expansion.
The state of Florida would offer him 3,840 acres per mile of a track he lays going south.
He extends the railroad to Lake Worth (Palm Beach), building the grand 1,100-room Royal Poinciana Hotel. Two years later, he adds the Breakers on the beach. This was to be the end of his railroad system.
Several severe freezes hit the area during the 1894 and 1895 winter seasons, while sixty miles south stays warm.
The Boston and Florida Atlantic Coast Land Company are building a canal system from Jacksonville to Biscayne Bay. The Florida East Coast Canal and Transportation Company are building canals from Biscayne Bay to Key West. They offer Flagler land to extend south.
Julia Tuttle and her neighbor across the river, Willian Brickell, also approach Flagler. He owns everything on the south side of the river to Coconut Grove. Julia offers Flagler land for a hotel and a railroad station for free.
By February of 1896, the Florida East Coast Railway arrives in Fort Lauderdale. Two months later, the first train pulls into Miami. On July 28, the residents vote to incorporate a new city, Miami.
Everglade County.
Dade County (Miami) dates back to 1836. Getting its name from Major Francis Dade, a soldier killed a year earlier during the Second Seminole War. Originally, it included today’s Palm, Broward, Miami-Dade, and the Florida Keys to Indian Key.
Monroe County (Key West) would acquire the rest of the Keys to Key Largo circa 1866.
The first automobile bridge across the New River opens in 1904.
In 1909, the northern portion of what was Dade County became Palm Beach County.
By 1915, Palm Beach and Dade County contribute almost equal portions of land to create what is now Broward County. In the same year, Dixie Highway connects the two counties.
Originally, it is going to be Everglade County as it contains a large portion of the wetlands. At the last minute, they name it after Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, once governor of Florida. During his term as governor, Broward is responsible for draining large tracts of the Everglades, making it useful land. First, it serves as agricultural land but later becomes residential.
Fort Lauderdale is not the first community to incorporate. Modello, a Danish farming community of 35 residents, incorporates circa November 1904. They call the town Dania. The town of Pompano will follow in 1908. Fort Lauderdale does not incorporate until 1911. By 1916 the settlement of “Zona” incorporates as Davie in recognition of Robert P. Davie. He is the land developer who owns a large portion of this reclaimed Everglades land.
With the end of World War I, Fort Lauderdale jumps on the tourist bandwagon.
Another Henry.
George E. Henry owns property on Andrews Avenue and Las Olas Boulevard. Along the Dixie Highway and not far from Flagler’s railroad, it is a perfect location for a hotel.
Even then, building delays in Fort Lauderdale push the final price way over its initial quote.
Enter Frank Stranahan.
Frank came to Fort Lauderdale at age 23 to manage a camp and ferry at Tarpon Bend for his family. He was responsible for establishing a thriving trading business with the local Seminole Indians. By 1894, he can afford to purchase ten acres and moves the trading post farther west on the river. It becomes the community gathering place and post office. He marries Ivy Julia Cromartie, the school teacher at the one-room schoolhouse for her nine students.
Ivy turns her attention to the Seminole children, offering informal lessons at the trading post. She builds a life-long friendship with the local Seminole people.
The present-day Stranahan House dates from 1901. The lower floor was a trading post, and the upper floor the community hall. Over the years, Frank will help add a general store and bank to the community.
Frank and Ivy are two of the largest landowners at the time of the city’s incorporation. They take on leadership roles in the social and civic areas.
Frank donates land, which they sell to raise the rest of the cost of the hotel. The 1919 opening of the Hotel Broward hosts director D.W. Griffith and his star Lillian Gish. They are filming the movie “Idol Dancer” in Ft. Lauderdale.
By 1912, Flagler’s railroad reaches Key West. The overseas railroad will operate until 1935, when the Labor Day hurricane destroys much of it. They do not replace it. Miami becomes the terminus of the railroad. This is great news to Miami and Ft Lauderdale.
By 1920, construction of the Fort Lauderdale canals begins, turning mangrove swamps into finger islands.
Fort Lauderdale Boom.
The Florida land boom takes off with no end in sight.
Overnight, people are buying vast amounts of real estate, many sight-unseen, in south Florida.
Although Miami is the first choice, towns along the railroad all get some of the overflow.
The Broward County census for 1920 records 2065 citizens.
By February 1925, they record 5,625 people, more than double. Ten months later, that number is over 15,000, tripling since February.
Then a string of events pops the bubble.
By the fall of 1925, the “Big Three” Florida railroad companies put a halt on carrying building materials. The demand is impacting the shipping of foodstuffs, fuel, perishables, well, everything else.
The January 1926 sinking of the Prinz Valdemar in the Miami harbor blocks access to the harbor. And just like that, building stops.
Later in the same year, the Miami Hurricane strikes, driving many developers into bankruptcy. The 1928 Okeechobee Hurricane and 1929 Wall Street Crash decimate anything remaining of the real estate market. The 1930 Mediterranean fruit fly infestation puts an end to the citrus and tourist industries. Florida will not recover until after World War II.
Frank Stranahan suffers personal losses. However, he sinks into a deep depression over the lost fortunes of his friends who invested in him. He drowns himself in the river circa 1929.
Ivy gets through the depression by renting rooms and leasing the main floor as a restaurant. Before passing in 1971, she will help establish the local chapters of the Red Cross and Campfire Girls.
Fort Liquor-dale.
One industry that thrives in the 1920s, and probably more after the bust, is alcohol. From 1920 to 1933, importation, transportation, and sale of alcoholic beverages are illegal in the United States. But not in the British Bahamas, just off Florida’s east coast.
To make things worse, Dade County votes itself dry circa 1913. They give land for Broward County less than two years later. Coincidence?
But prohibition really does not slow alcohol consumption in South Florida. Citing it is for the tourists and not themselves, Miami garners the title “Leakiest city in the U.S.”
When Prohibition agents arrest dozens of Broward County deputies and police officers at a bootlegging warehouse, it earns its nickname.
Unfortunately, organized crime moves into south Florida to run their bootlegging businesses. Al Capone has a house in Miami Harbor where boats can dock.
The increase in crime is what brings Prohibition to an end.
Fort Lauderdale and Civil Rights.
All is not sunshine in the sunshine state. Florida, like much of the south, is not a good loser after the Civil War.
Part of their success is due to the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist hate group. Their goal is to overthrow Republican state governments in the south. They use voter intimidation and violence to achieve this.
Their primary targets are African Americans, Jews, immigrants, homosexuals, and Catholics.
For more than sixty years, Democrats control a majority of the state’s seats in Congress. They base the number of positions on the total population, including the African Americans and women who cannot vote.
A World War.
The U.S.A. comes home from WWI as victors in 1918. Over the next ten years, the American economy grows 42%. Mass production and mass consumption spread across the land.
In 1920, the Nineteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution became law allowing white women to vote.
But not everything is sunny in Florida.
After World War I, Florida sees a rise in racial violence against blacks in the state. Florida is not the only place, but it leads the nation in lynchings per capita from 1900–1930.
Broward County will only have one lynching, which takes place near Davie in 1937.
Black veterans are returning from a war where people have been treating them more like equals. All of a sudden, there are two classes. There is competition for jobs with so many service members looking all at once. And things are changing for everyone. Socially and economically, there is change, and most people do not adapt quickly. And there is lingering resentment resulting from the Reconstruction period, which is not too distant in the past.
The modern Klan flares up again after the World War, first in Georgia, but spreads to Florida quickly. Estimates are there are three million members nationwide by 1925. As the Depression deepens, the Klan begins to fade, except in Florida, where they expand their list of targets.
To escape lynchings, segregation, and civil rights suppression, more than 40,000 African Americans left Florida for northern cities.
Then there is another World War, and attention turn elsewhere. Once again, African Americans are equals on the battlefield.
And once again, they return to a two-class Florida.
Fort Lauderdale Post World War.
Almost a decade after the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board of Education, many Florida public schools are still not integrating.
African Americans were facing arrest eating at public lunch counters, and the Ku Klux Klan was escalating violence.
Starting just after WWII, Broward’s black residents began requesting a public bathing beach for people of color. At that time, only a few private beaches north of town would permit them. Finally, in 1954, the county acquires land for the beach in Dania. However, there is no access road, shelters, or restrooms. That will not happen until 1965. Formally John Lloyd Park, today its name is from the two most responsible for its creation, Dr. Von D. Mizell and Eula Johnson.
These civil right activist will also lead wade-ins at other Ft. Lauderdale beaches in 1961. This would lead to the desegregation of the county’s beaches by the next year.
It will not be until 1964, in St Augustine, when more changes take place. When the Klan attacks blacks and whites on national television, Congress finally passes the Civil Rights Act.
Port Everglades.
Bay Mabel Harbor is an artificial deep-water harbor that opens in 1928. The locals immediately hold a renaming contest and come up with Port Everglades. Due to its depth, it becomes a major U.S. Navy base during WWII. In addition, it is home to a Naval Air Station and a Coast Guard base.
Circa 1939, a British cruiser chases a German freighter into Port Everglades. She remains there for protection. When the United States enters the war by 1941, they seize her.
The attack on Pearl Harbor has immediate effects on Fort Lauderdale and its naval ships, including blackouts.
German U-boats were torpedoing Allied ships off the Florida coast, sometimes in sight of the shore. With the U.S. involvement, the U-boats went further out to sea.
The Navy would convert nearby Merle Fogg Field into Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale. A home for charter flights by Pan Am and Eastern Airways in the 1930s, overnight, it becomes a training station. Pilots learn to fly torpedo bombers. The Navy’s youngest aviator, Ensign George H.W. Bush, is possibly the most famous student.
Towards the end of the war, it will reach around 3,600 Navy personnel and 130 aircraft on base. The air station closes circa 1946. Broward County will begin leasing it for passenger service circa 1953. Today, it is the Fort Lauderdale Hollywood International Airport.
They build West Prospect Satellite Field north of Ft Lauderdale as an auxiliary runway. Today it is the Fort Lauderdale Executive Airport.
In Pompano, they construct a Naval outlying landing field (NOLF.) Today, the Pompano Beach Air Park is home to private planes and, seasonally, the Goodyear Blimp.
Post War.
In the 1950s, the port begins hosting numerous ocean liners. The local Rotary Club greets the ships with fresh orange juice. This tradition will continue until the 1970s.
Servicemen and women return to the Ft Lauderdale area after the war. This time on vacation with their partners and families. Many decide to stay, creating the largest population boom in Ft Lauderdale’s history.
The 1960s.
Starting in the 1950s, Fort Lauderdale becomes a favorite destination for college students on spring break.
A 1960 film, shot on location in Fort Lauderdale, cements the city as the spring break capital. The World premier of “Where the Boys Are” takes place in Ft. Lauderdale at the Gateway Theater.
Fort Lauderdale will remain a major spring break destination until 1985, when an estimated 350,000 college students overstayed their welcome.
Overnight, parking was no longer legal along the beach, and open-container laws go into effect. The next spring, the city denied MTV from getting a permit to set up a stage on the beach. There would be more than 2,500 arrests under the new laws. The college kids got the message. Today spring break attracts mostly families or European tourists, but there are a few college students.
Fort Lauderdale Today.
Once having a heavy a tourism-based economy, Fort Lauderdale now houses a diverse range of industries. Marine, high-technology, avionics/aerospace, and more explain the growing skyline. Real estate, film, and television production, and tourism also play a big part.
Fort Lauderdale is a major yachting center, hosting a large boat show each fall. You can see the air-sea show along the beach featuring planes and jets of all sizes in the spring. The county is home to around 1.8 million people.
What is in Fort Lauderdale for me?
See & Hear.
You can walk the River Walk, the beach promenade, or one of the numerous nature boardwalks. Listen to the waves, birds, or children playing. It’s up to you.
Taste & Smell.
It would be unusual to visit Fort Lauderdale and not try some form of seafood. Shrimp, stone crabs (seasonally), and fresh fish are on so many menus.
A table by the water may give you a whiff of salt air.
Feel.
There is an energy about Fort Lauderdale. Stand at the beach or glide along on a water taxi and see if you do not feel it.
Try a tropical drink at a hotel or tiki bar along the beach. Watch the setting sun bounce off the waves and eastern clouds.
There may be better ways to end your afternoon, but this one doesn’t suck.
Should See in Fort Lauderdale.
Downtown.
The Ft Lauderdale Historical Society has managed to save several of Ft Lauderdale’s first buildings with a downtown block.
- History Museum – is in the 1905 New River Inn. Here, you can learn about local Archaeology, Fashion, and Military History. There are also Seminole Culture displays.
- 1899 Schoolhouse Museum – Looks pretty much the same as when Ivy Stranahan was the school teacher.
- 1907 Pioneer House Museum – includes period furnishings, clothing, and antique dolls and toys.
- 1949 Hoch Heritage Research Center – began as an annex for the post office. Today it houses an impressive library of more than 400,000 historical newspaper clippings, photos, maps, and architectural blueprints.
NSU Art Museum Fort Lauderdale.
With a permanent collection of over 7000 pieces, the museum offers many styles. Permanent collections, African and Latin collections include paintings, sculpture, photography, and more.
Fort Lauderdale Fire and Safety Museum, Inc.
Set in a restored 1927 firehouse, this non-profit museum is a great view into everything fire-related. The collection includes vintage fire pumpers. The museum is four blocks west of the Broward Center of Performing Arts.
Museum of Discovery and Science
The largest of its kind in Florida, this is a great place to wear out kids. Lots of hands-on and simulators. If they are not careful, they may also learn something. There is also an I-Max theater. Check out the bowling ball “sculpture” in the courtyard.
Broward Center for the Performing Arts.
The center plays host to Broadway shows concerts, opera, ballet, and more with two theaters. It sits adjacent to the Museum of Discovery and Science on the Middle River.
Riverwalk Fort Lauderdale.
A lovely path winding along the Middle River connecting numerous galleries, museums, and restaurants.
Historic Stranahan House Museum.
The 1901 residence of local pioneers Frank and Ivy Stranahan, the open it as a trading post. They would convert it five years later into their home when the town needed a larger trading store. It is the oldest still-standing structure in Broward County. The house is on the Riverwalk north shore.
Seminole Statue.
This is a 12-foot bronze statue of an Indian girl playing under palmetto fronds. It is on the south shore of the River Walk. The statue honors the Seminole Indians who were a part of Ft Lauderdale’s history.
Scenic Boat Rides.
There are numerous ways to see the Venice of America from the water without owning a boat.
Departing from the River Walk, this faux sternwheeler cruises down the Middle River past elaborate mansions and celebrity homes. It then follows the Intercoastal to Port Everglades, home to megayachts and cruise ships (seasonally.) There is a bar and snacks available for purchase.
The water taxi is part sightseeing boat, part transportation system. Stopping at 10 different stops along the intercoastal and New River, you can hop or stay on and ride. There is some narration but usually not as much as the sightseeing boats. The larger water taxis have a bar and snack counter.
The 1950s and 60s Fort Lauderdale.
Unfortunately, few treasures remain from the 1950-1960s Fort Lauderdale.
Pier Sixty-Six Hotel.
Built by the Phillips 66 Petroleum company in the early 1960s, this iconic tower is a Ft. Lauderdale landmark. Originally, a glass elevator would take you to the top in 66 seconds. There, a revolving cocktail lounge would spin around a central bar with 66 stools. Take a guess how long one rotation would take? If you visited family or friends between the 1960s and early 90s, you probably know the view. Since 2019, the property has been undergoing a complete renovation stripping the tower down to its studs. Plans call for a new hotel, residential buildings, and two condo towers. One can be hopeful.
The Wreck Bar Mermaid Show.
About the only thing recognizable from when the Sheraton Yankee Clipper hotel opened in 1956 is this bar. However, it has had several upgrades. It appears in the 1960’s “Where The Boys Are” and 1999’s “Analyze This.”
Several times a week since the 1950s, mermaids perform a show behind windows along the bar. Usually, there is a family-friendly show earlier in the evening and a little more risque performance later. The bar is small, and tickets usually sell out a few weeks in advance.
There has been a Jungle Queen sightseeing boat since 1935. Today, they have two boats departing from the Bahia Mar area on Ft Lauderdale Beach. Daytime sightseeing includes the Intercoastal and Middle River. An evening cruise goes further up the middle river to an “island”. Here, guests have an all-you-can-eat dinner and Island Variety show. It’s fun if you can release your inner kid. They finally take credit cards.
Mai-Kai.
Opening in 1956, the Mai-Kai was a local take on Chicago’s Don the Beachcomber. A Polynesian-themed restaurant, complete with tikis, torches, and a thatched roof, offered dinner and a show. The cocktail lounge had exotic (sweet) drinks in souvenir glasses and pupu platters for nibbling. Unfortunately, damage from a tropical storm in the fall of 2020 forced the owners to shut. The family put the property up for sale in the spring of 2021. Its future is in question.
Opening in 1951, the Gateway Theater is still showing movies. The single-screen venue holding 1,500 guests became a fourplex in the 1980s. It hosts The Fort Lauderdale Film Festival and shows current as well as Indie films.
North
Built on land belonging to Frank Stranahan, this was the city’s first school for African-American students dating to 1907. Visits are by reservation only.
Sample-McDougald House Museum.
This 1916 historic house museum was the home of Pompano Beach pioneer and farmer Albert Neal Sample. The McDougald family buys the Colonial Georgian-revival home in 1943, changing very little. Home tours and special activities information is on the website.
Dating from 1964, Pompano Park is the Winter Home of Harness Racing. Off-season, they televise races from other locations. There is also a casino and soon a multi-use area with restaurants and shops.
West
Old Davie School Historical Museum.
This 1918 school now houses a museum on the lower floor. It is a great look at the pioneers who began the town of Davie. The site also includes a reconstructed 1909 Pioneer Home and two homes, both built circa. There is also a reconstructed Citrus Packing House, where guests can see the stages of citrus growing including packing.
Davie Arena Rodeo.
Since 1946, the town of Davie has been hosting rodeos. Champion Cowboys and Cowgirls, coming from across the U. S. and other countries, compete in numerous events.
Flamingo Gardens.
This 60-acre, tropical botanic garden has something for everyone. The gardens contain more than 3,000 species of exotic plants, and there is a wildlife sanctuary, aviary, and zoo.
Many people do not realize the Everglades make up the western border of Fort Lauderdale. There are numerous places to experience an airboat ride. Everglades Holiday Park is the closest to central Broward. The boats hold up to 15 people. In Northern Broward (Parkland) is Florida Airboat Rides.
South
Fort Lauderdale Antique Car Museum.
This wonderful collection of vintage Packards is a step back in time. Similar to stepping into a Pachard dealership of days gone by. There are vehicles from just about every year between 1900 and 1958. Display cases hold hood ornaments, carburetors, gear-shift knobs, lighters, ashtrays, and more. The walls have old gas station signs, vintage magazines, and photos. The museum is five minutes drive south of downtown.
Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
It is hard to miss the 450-foot high hotel representing back-to-back guitars any time of the day. At night, they become a light show visible for miles. In addition to the casino, there are numerous dining venues and stores. The hotel offers a concert venue as well.
The Casino at Dania Beach
Beginning in 1953 as Dania Jai Alai, they still offer the high-speed sport (seasonally) and a casino.
Gulfstream Park
Beginning in 1939, there has been horse racing (seasonally) at Gulfstream. Today, there is a large casino and entertainment mall with stores and restaurants year-round.
Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Museum
This small museum is in an old link-trainer building on the once Naval airfield. (Now Fort Lauderdale’s main airport.) This is a great stop for any air buffs. Learn about planes, predominantly from WWII and Ft Lauderdale’s role in the war effort.
Wiener Museum of Decorative Arts
On Federal Highway in Dania Beach, the museum’s collection includes glass, pottery, porcelain, and more.
Beach Area.
Fort Lauderdale Beach.
Famous for decades as the place for spring break, it will star in a movie about spring break. “Where the Boys Are” did filming in Ft Lauderdale before its 1961 debut. Not many of the structures in the film still stand. Take a drive-by The Elbo Room at the corner of A1A and Los Olas. This 1938 beach bar is easy to spot in the movie.
International Swimming Hall of Fame Museum.
A block from the beach, this aquatic center and museum are for anyone in awe of divers, swimmers, etc. The aquatic center is undergoing restoration until approximately 2022. The gift shop and museum are open.
Bonnet House Museum and Gardens.
This preeminent house museum began as the home for artist Frederic Clay Bartlett and his second wife, Helen Louise Birch. The house dates from 1920 and is on land that was a wedding gift from Helen’s father, Hugh Taylor Birch. The 35 acres includes the house, gardens, and Five distinct ecosystems.
Hugh Taylor Birch State Park.
A Chicago attorney for Standard Oil, Mr. Birch, would purchase this 200+ acre oceanfront property for approximately a dollar an acre in 1893. Circa 1919, he gives the southern 35 acres to his daughter as a wedding gift. He would build his Art Deco home in 1940, naming it “Terramar” (land to the sea). Today, the home is the park’s visitor center. The 180 acres has hiking, biking, skating, and walking opportunities through several ecosystems.
Ocean Park Beach, Dania Beach.
One of three piers in Broward County jutting out into the Atlantic Ocean, offering fishing or just enjoying the sea. In season, you can see the cruise ships sailing from Port Everglades in the late afternoon.
Commercial / Anglin’s Fishing Pier
The second fishing or people-watching pier is in Lauderdale by the Sea. It is the longest pier in S. Florida and open 24 hours a day. Thanks to strict zoning, this is one of the few areas in Broward County with that old Florida (50s-60s) vibe.
Pompano Beach Pier.
The third Atlantic pier is the Municipal Pier in Pompano. Besides white sand beaches, snorkelers can access natural coral reefs from shore. For divers, boat trips can take you to one of 18 shipwrecks offshore.
Stretching for almost 2.5 miles along the beach, this promenade is perfect for walking, jogging, or biking. There are numerous eateries and shops.
Sitting on one of two Atlantic Ocean accesses in Broward, the metal structure dates from 1907. The light is on private property and is only accessible a few times a month, usually on weekends. Click the orange link to access their website for dates and times. Tours depart by boat from the small lighthouse museum, also open on weekends.
Barefoot Mailman Statue.
Circa 1885-1892, mailmen would deliver mail along the beach from Miami to Palm Beach. Walking barefoot through the sand, they earned their name. There is a statue to them under the Hillsboro Lighthouse. Another statue is in front of the Hillsboro Police Department on A1A.
Historic Fort Lauderdale.
Very little remains from pre-1900 Fort Lauderdale.
The First Fort Lauderdale.
All that remains is a historical marker near the corner of Tequesta St and Palm in the Sailboat Bend section.
The Second Fort Lauderdale.
A park at 898 Rio Vista Blvd. is on or around where the temporary second fort was. There is no signage.
The Third Fort Lauderdale.
On the beach across from the Bahia Mar Hotel is where the last and most sturdy fort stood. I have not been able to find a marker or information on where the exact fort stood.
Statue of Major Lauderdale
In Davie, Florida, at one end of the Pine Island Ridge Natural area, is a statue of the city’s namesake. The area is inside a subdivision. Pine Island Ridge was the location of the Seminole village. There is no statue for them at this location.
Fort Lauderdale Summary.
Who knew this city, hiding in the shadow of Miami, had so many offerings?
In addition to the sites and beaches, there is a great mix of cuisines.
The town also offers several beer distilleries. There is something for everyone.