INTRODUCTION
In January 1878 the ship-wrecked PROVIDENCIA washed ashore on a barrier island with a load of coconuts bound for Barcelona from Havana. The island's settlers salvaged and planted the coconuts, which were not native to south Florida. It was to this 13-mile-long barrier that Henry M. Flagler came in 1893 to establish his "American Riviera." The first structure was the Royal Poinciana Hotel, the largest wooden structure in the world, which opened in February 1894. One month later the first train pulled out from the mainland station to deliver 17 guests across the bridge to the new hotel. Flagler's second hotel, The Palm Beach Inn, burned in 1903 and was replaced with the first Breakers Hotel.
It was not until 1911 that the Town of Palm Beach was incorporated by its 35 registered and qualified voters, but it took Addison Mizner's appearance on the scene to truly make the town into an island paradise. Today many of the buildings are listed in the National Register of Historic Places. From the Breakers Hotel to world-famous Worth Avenue, a visit to the Town of Palm Beach is sure to charm and delight you.
So how did West Palm Beach and Lake Worth come about? The people building and working in Palm Beach needed places to live, so small houses were thrown up on the western side of Lake Worth for them. Some of these original cottages remain, although both towns have grown well beyond anything Palm Beach's founders could have imagined. Today these are the hubs for most activities in eastern central Palm Beach County. And what an exquisite vista greets them from across the water!