I love learning about the history of this area and I stumbled on this historical marker while…read morevisiting Fort Lauderdale Beach Park. The city of Ft. Lauderdale got its name from the forts erected my Major Lauderdale during the Seminole Wars. The forts no longer exist but you can see a replica of one with other artifacts at the New River Inn History Ft. Lauderdale Museum. Altogether, three forts named after Major Lauderdale were constructed: the first at the fork of New River; the second at Tarpon Bend; and the third and largest was built in 1839 under the command of Captain William B. Davidson on the beach at the site of Bahia Mar which is where this marker is. The fort was the site of a haulover where the Seminoles took their canoes from New River Sound into the Atlantic Ocean. Third Fort Lauderdale was active until 1842 when the war ended. The marker was first erected by the Himmarshee Chapter Daughters of the American Revolution 1929 and it was restored in 2005. The first fort was in what is now Maj. William Lauderdale Park in Sailboat Bend. Major William Lauderdale was born in Virginia. He was a land holder and slave owner in Tennessee. He served under Andrew Jackson. In 1838 Major Lauderdale was in his 50's and a Veteran of the War of 1812 and the First Seminole War. The Major and a group of 200 Tennessee Volunteers were posted to the area after the outbreak of the Second Seminole War. The troops marched from Fort Jupiter down what is known as Military Trail in Palm Beach and called Powerline Rd. in Broward County. Pioneer William Cooley's wife, children, and tutor had been massacred two years earlier on their New River settlement and the army had been sent to hunt for Seminole leader Sam Jones. Lauderdale chased Jones to his hiding place at Pine Island at the North Fork of the New River. A battle took place that resulted in one soldier hurting his finger. Sam Jones was able to hide in Everglades with 200 of his people. The result of the Seminole's escape was that they are the only tribe to never sign a peace treaty with the U. S. Government. The fort was abandoned 3 months later and by the time troops returned, they found it had burned down to the ground. Lauderdale considered his job completed and he left to go back to Tennessee. He never returned to the area that bore his name. Instead he died of a lung condition on the way home to Tennessee in army barracks in Louisiana one month after leaving South Florida. The Seminoles now own the Hard Rock empire.

Lauderdale-by-the Sea is the cutest little beach town. The founding of the town begins it's history…read morein the 1920's during Florida's land boom years. Many wealthy northerners invested in land in sunny, warm Florida. This was the case here when Boston businessman and developer William F. Moran purchased Lauderdale-by-the-Sea from Henry S. Moody and John C. Gregory. Indiana investor and builder Melvin I. Anglin, who the Anglin Fishing Pier is named for, purchased the platted land from Moran with the intention of staring a new beach side town. The Hurricane of 1926 brought a halt to building but only a year later the town bounced back and Anglin became it's first mayor. Lauderdale-by- the- Sea was incorporated on November 30, 1927. During the Great Depression in 1933 the State of Florida revoked its charter but with the help off Glen Friedt Sr. who came to live in Lauderdale-by-the-Sea in 1938, the town was able to be reincorporated on November 30, 1947. Before Melvin Anglin and his wife Sarah passed away, they give the city the land for the town hall and a park to the west of it. Through its years of growth, one of the ways Lauderdale-by-the-Sea has kept its charm is by limiting the height of buildings. While a lot of beach towns allow tall buildings by the beach, Lauderdale-by-the-Sea incorporated a a building height limit into their charter in 1973. As a result the town has maintained a kind of quaint 1950's look with it's low mid-century modern architecture. Today a mere 6,000 people call Lauderdale-by-the-Sea home. The highlight of the town is the gorgeous beach and the town holds the title of being Florida's number one beach diving capital. There is a coral reef only 100 yards off the beach and the wreck of the SS Copenhagen, a 19th-century British steamship that sank in 1900 after striking a coral reef lies in 25 feet of water off the coast. People enjoy fishing off Anglin's Pier, paddle boarding, kayaking, diving, and snorkeling. El Prado Park is the area's most popular beachfront park. There are a lot of great places to eat off of Anglin's Square including a Mulligans beach House, Anglin's Beach Cafe, and Aruba Beach Cafe. On of my favorite restaurants in town is the Sea Watch located in a historic house on the beach. If you are a tourist there are boutique hotels and resorts steps from the beach. The town's official motto is "Relax...You're Here." That is exactly how I feel every time I come here, refreshed and relaxed. Whether you are a tourist or local you will love this Old Florida beach town.

This has been, and will probably always be my favorite city in Broward County, Florida. Though…read moreproperty can be higher than most other oceanside businesses and residences, it's well worth the price. Within the past 20 years, there has been steady growth and tourism, but somehow they manage to keep the hometown feeling that so many of us love and thrive in. There is so much to do; you can pick and choose from online by viewing their Event calendar--year round! It's more than a quiet relaxing surf-side town. Check it out for yourself, I dare you! ;) Anglin's Square is my top favorite spot and it just doesn't get old for me. Speaking of, I pray I can retire in LBTS; but until that season, you're still sure to find me there on the sand, shopping, bike riding, eating, drinking, dancing, AND...!

The Gil Blas Anchor is a piece of history mounted in Roy L. Rogers Family Park also known as…read moreHillsboro Inlet Park. The anchor came from a Spanish merchant brigantine, a two mast square rigged cargo ship, the Gil Blas, which was driven aground by a September hurricane in 1835. The ship was 90 feet long and carried 200 tons of sugar and cigars as cargo. The Gil Blas sailed from Havana and was bound for Spain before it beached near the Hillsboro Inlet. As the ship was driven ashore an anchor was thrown overboard offshore, and the hull was not badly damaged. On January 6th 1836 while William Cooley was salvaging the cargo in the middle of the Second Seminole War, Seminole Indians massacred his settlement on the New River and killed his wife and children. Most of the able-bodied men were with Cooley retrieving the cargo of the Gil Blas. After the attack the ship was left abandoned. In 1977, the Marine Archeology Advisory Council claimed to have found the remains of the Gil Blas north of Hillsboro Beach. The Marine Archaeological Council excavated the Gil Blas and another wreck right next it in the 80's and again in the 90's. Vone Research's program called Touching History, introduces high school students to Broward County's maritime history. Vone Research worked with Pompano Beach High School to conserve and identify the anchor believed to have come from the Gil Blas. The anchor was then put on permanent display in Hillsboro Inlet Park.

This is a historical sign that is placed where the first Pompano Colored School once stood. The…read morefirst colored school was a two room wooden school house on what is now Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd. It was destroyed by the 1926 Hurricane. Blanche General Ely who was to become the school's first principal supported a new and better school to replace the old one. In 1928 a two story, 6 classroom concrete and stucco building was constructed for grades one through six. In addition to the classrooms the building also had an assembly hall, library, and principals office. The school was completed with funds from the African-American community, Broward County, and the Rosemead Fund. Later on the school was expanded to the 11th grade. In 1954 the school was renamed Coleman Elementary School after Reverend James Emmanuel Coleman, the pastor of Mount Calvary Baptist Church.when desegregation took place the school closed in 1970 and in 1972 the school was demolished. The site where the school once sat is now Coleman Park and there is a historical marker commemorating the school. The marker that took more than two years to get was unveiled on September 6, 2018 in a city ceremony. Some of the schools former students attended. The site is now a designated Florida Heritage Site through the Historical Marker Program.

I was checking out the new signs that are part of Sailboat Bend walking trail when I noticed this…read morehistoric marker for Rivermont. It is part of the Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. The markers raise awareness of Florida's cultural history while enhancing the enjoyment of historic sites for residents and tourists. The blue historic markers tell the stories of the people and places that were important to Florida's history and they can be found in front of buildings, schools, forts, roads, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, historic districts, and archaeological sites like this one. Historic marker F-1228 was installed in 2023 by the City of Ft. Lauderdale and the Florida Department of State. Rivermont is an archaeological site on the north bank of the New River in the Sailboat Bend Historic District. Around 700 BCE this was a thriving village and ceremonial complex for the Tequesta, the prehistoric inhabitants of this area. The Tequesta were an indigenous people who inhabited southeast Florida from Boca Raton to Key West, and in the Everglades. They lived on fish, shellfish, berries and small game and were well adapted to the environment of South Florida. They thrived for 2,000 years until they were victims of war and disease brought by Europeans in the 1500's. By the 1800's they had all died out. In 2006, a Seminole blue glass trade bead was discovered indicating that Seminoles used this area during their trips on the New River in the 1800's. Rivermont is the best preserved prehistoric site in eastern Broward County. It has one of the deepest surviving black earth middens on the New River. Middens are a kind of ancient garbage dump that can tell you a lot about the people who lived here. Rivermont's existence has been known since the 19th century. It was mentioned in an 1896-1897 guidebook for Dade County, which later became Broward County. Prominent American archaeologist Mark Raymond Harrington, who conducted some of the earliest archaeological investigations in Broward County, visited the site in 1908. In 2016, the Rivermont House from which this site takes its name was demolished. You can still see the masonry wall, gate posts, and paved tracks of a road. The City of Fort Lauderdale designated Rivermont as a local archaeological site in 2021 and it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2022. Today Rivermont is Tequesta Park across the street from another significant historical site, the first Fort Lauderdale.

If you want to learn about the history of Pompano Beach this park is a great place to start. The…read morePompano Beach Historical Society maintains a building here but this park contains several historical buildings too. There is the two restored Kester Cottages that were moved to the park in the 1980's, a 1926 firehouse that contains the cities first fire truck, a 1926 American LaFrance and a 1948 American LaFrance, and Pump House No. 1, also from 1926. Other park amenities include tennis courts, a playground, and a shuffleboard court. On September 11, 2019, a 9/11 memorial was dedicated at the park. Founders Park was chosen for the memorial because it contains the cities first fire house and the memorial pays tribute to the 343 first responders killed on 9/11. The Pompano Beach Historical Society launches a lot of events from this park. They hold dinners in their building, operate historical trolley tours that leave from the park, and give tours of the Kester cottages. Besides the historical value, this is a great park to play tennis. It is nice to see Pompano working so hard to embrace their past.

This is a historic bridge located in Tarpon Bend, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Ft. Lauderdale…read morethat it is bounded by the New River, South Andrews Avenue and Davie Boulevard. The neighborhood also contains its namesake river, the Tarpon River, a naturally flowing river that meanders through the Tarpon River, Downtown, and Rio Vista neighborhoods. Many ancient artifacts from the Tequesta people have been found in the neighborhood and it was the site of the second Fort Lauderdale during the Seminole Wars. There is a display about the Tequesta artifacts in nearby Lewis Landing Park. Today the neighborhood is prized for its charming historic homes, beautiful parks, and its proximity to the City of Ft. Lauderdale. The bridge was built in 1928 and rebuilt in 1968. It won an Ocean Environmental Design award in 1984. In 1997 City Commissioners renamed the Tarpon River bridge after the late Broward Sheriff Ron Cochran. Cochran was Fort Lauderdale's police chief before becoming sheriff. Today the bridge continues to carry vehicles, bikers, and pedestrians over the Tarpon River. Its bright blue color and paintings of tarpon on the bridge make it an instantly recognizable landmark of Tarpon Bend. It is an easy walk across the charming bridge where you can get a view of the Tarpon River and Lewis Landing Park is just a short stroll away.

If you ever walk along the Ft Lauderdale Riverfront in Esplanade Park near the performing arts…read morecenter, you have probably come across this statue. The Lone Sailor is a seven foot, 809 pound statue of a sailor along the Riverwalk in Ft.Lauderdale. The sailor has his back to the city as his gaze looks out to the New River. He wears a sailors signature pea coat with his duffel sack at his feet. City commissioners along with volunteers from the Navy League of the United States spent four years raising funds for the statue. It was dedicated on October 14, 2006. The original Lone Sailor is at the Navy Memorial Plaza in Washington DC. There are now 18 Lone Sailor statues around the world. The statue signifies all of the men and women who have served or are serving in the Navy, past , present, and future. The statue stands for honor, courage, and commitment. Ft. Lauderdale was a major military base during WWII and many former military personnel retire here for the warmer climate, This statue recognizes their contributions and our history as a seafaring community. You can learn more about Ft. Lauderdale's role in WWIi at the Naval Air Station Museum in Ft. Lauderdale.