Established in the 1920's, North Woodlawn Cemetery is the first African American cemetery in…read moreBroward county. It was the only place people of color and people who were indigent could be buried during segregation and it is the final resting place of the African American American pioneers of Ft. Lauderdale. It is located just east of Interstate 95 near Sunrise Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, It was added to the National Register of Historic Places on 29 November 29, 2017. Burials no longer take place at the cemetery. Some of the more well known family names buried here include James Sistrunk and Drs. Von D. Mizell. Veterans of both World Wars are buried here including Robert Bethel who was a 17 year old soldier in Europe during WWI when he died of a gas attack. American Legion post 220 was named for him. Also buried here is Reuben Stacey who was a victim of lynching in 1935 in Davie. The cemetery was privately managed but over time it fell into disrepair so the city of Ft. Lauderdale purchased it and took it over it's maintenance in the 1990's. In 2002 they partnered with the community and made $250,000 of improvements. One of the things the city did was to make a memorial listing the names of the known dead since many of the graves markers had decayed and crumbled. The city also added informational plaques around the cemetery explaining it's history. At one time the cemetery extended all the way to I-95. When I-95 was built in the 1970's they paved over some of the unmarked graves. In 1995 the Department of Transportation built I-95 over the western end of the cemetery. They had agreed to move the bodies but they did not and the graves of infants were paved over. In 2015, 65 bodies were found between the cemetery and I-95. It is difficult to know how many people are buried at Woodlawn and exactly where because cemetery records were destroyed in a fire. While the historic designation does not guarantee the cemetery will not be destroyed in future projects it does it make it more difficult and qualifies it for grants and tax incentives to maintain the property. While people in the community are still angry about what happened with the Department of Transportation Ft. Lauderdale has done a wonderful job of maintaining the cemetery. During my visit the grass was being watered and the lawn was well maintained. In the back of the cemetery is a beautiful sausage tree providing shade over the graves. Compared to some African American cemeteries that I have seen in Miami this cemetery is well taken care of. It is a shame that the bodies under I-95 will never be known or recovered. It is something to think of as you pass by Sunrise Blvd.

I love discovering the historical markers around Ft. Lauderdale which give insight into its rich…read morehistory. This marker is along A1A in front of Bahia Mar at the spot where Native Americans used to haul over their canoes from the New River into the Atlantic Ocean. Some of the other history related to this site includes a fort built in 1838 during the Second Seminole War named for Major William Lauderdale, a House of Refuge in 1876, and a Coast Guard base in 1926 that was active against Rum Runners during prohibition and which searched for U boats off the Florida coast during WWII. In 1947 this land became a public yacht basin and park. Marker F-285 was erected in 1978 by Bahia Mar Hotel and Yachting Center and Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Inc. in cooperation with Department of State.

Definitely an historic landmark in East Hollywood evident by the post declaring the neighborhood as…read morea legit historic area by the Hollywood Historical Society. The area borders Dixie Highway and Sheridan Street. Mostly lower end residential housing with Kings Market at the center of the neighborhood and the Hopes Restaurant is permanently closed. Drove thru the main JA Ely Blvd that connects Stirling Rd to Sheridan St. Construction is in progress. The area is fruitful of pedestrian traffic with a high crime rate and do not recommend it as a tourist attraction at night, although does have historical importance.

While driving through Hollywood I discovered Broward County's newest historic marker which is part…read moreof 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, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, churches, and historic districts like this one. Historic marker F-1238 was installed in 2025 by the Hollywood Historical Society and the Florida Department of State. The town of Hollywood-by-the-Sea was designed by Joseph W. Young, Jr. He knew segregation laws would prevent Black workers and potential landowners from helping the city to grow so he purchased land near Dania where there was already an established Black community. In August 1923, he announced the new town of Liberia for African Americans. It was named for the country in Africa that was created for freed slaves that wanted to go back. The Young Company laid roads, ran power and electricity, and built four frame houses. They also donated land for schools, churches, and parks. Black families from other parts of the south, like Georgia and South Carolina, moved to Liberia along with Bahamian immigrants. Liberia and the neighboring Black community in Dania thrived. Liberia became a self-sufficient neighborhood where Black residents built and owned homes, businesses, places of worship, pool halls, and night clubs. This area was home to the sixty-five-time champion Red Bird baseball team at Historic Attucks High School. Eartha Kitt visited Attucks to raise money for the swimming pool. The last all Black class graduated from Attucks in 1968. Other significant community institutions included the Masonic Lodge, the laundromat, King's Grocery owned by Ivan Emmanuel King, Mr. Sears' Grocery, Mr. Harry's Store, Smith's Store, OC Barbershop, Johnny Hill's Barbershop, Ms. Parlor's Beauty Shop, Bryce Davis Funeral Home, West Lawn Cemetery, Tony's Bar, Foxx Bar, Penn's Pool Room, the Paradise Club, and the speakeasy at Robert Mitchell's house used by Black entertainers like the Temptations. Many early settlers, well-known athletes, and entertainers spent time in Liberia. Sam Cooke, as a member of the Soul Stirrers, performed at a local church and James Brown stayed at the home of his aunt. John Evans, Brown's relative had the first telephone in the neighborhood. B.B. King also performed here. Liberia and Dania were welcoming communities for Black entertainers like Cab Calloway who were not able to perform in other areas because of Jim Crow laws. This marker is located in front of the RD Sanders Neighborhood Network Center. The Hollywood Historical Society worked for three years to get this marker installed so that the rich history of this community could be told. It was unveiled on February 15, 2025. Kudos to the Hollywood Historical Society for highlighting Historic Liberia's legacy of resilience, culture, and economic contribution to early Hollywood.

The historic Hallandale School House was built in 1910. It is believed to be the oldest school…read morehouse building in Broward County. This school house was built to replace a school that was destroyed by a 1910 hurricane. The Broward County School Board was not created until 1915 so the town had to petition the Dade County School Board for the materials to build the replacement school. Volunteers went to Miami and picked up the supplies and then built the two room building. The last classes were held in the school in 1916. The school sat abandoned before being sold to the Bethlehem Lutheran Church in 1921 where it served as the church learning center. In 1966 the church expanded and donated the building to the City of Hallandale who moved it from 214 W. Hallandale Beach Blvd. to it's present location in the public works compound next to the water plant where they used it for records storage. Through the years the wooden frame became damaged by termites. In 2011 the city spent $175,000 to renovate the building. Around $78,000 of the funding came from the Broward County Historic Preservation Challenge Grant. On February 18, 2015, the school house had a grand opening. The west room of the building was staged to look like a period school house. The east room and patio can be rented for private events of up to 31 people. Unfortunately the city has stopped giving tours since Covid of this property and the historic Curci house. Part of the problem was the Hallandale Historic Society faded away after its peak of 114 members in 1977. They never had a historic building like the school to call their own. Now without them, the ability to share the history of Hallandale has slipped away. I love that something this old still exists but it is a shame that it stays locked up behind a fence instead of open and shared.

The King-Cromartie House is now part of History Ft. Lauderdale. It was one of the earliest homes in…read moreFt. Lauderdale having been built in 1907 by building contractor Edwin T. King for his family. King came from a wealthy family that was left destitute in Georgia by the Civil War. He became a farmer but he lost his crop in the 1894 frost which destroyed the Florida citrus industry. He then moved from Volusia County to Fort Lauderdale. King built his first house in 1895 in the Rio Vista section of Ft. Lauderdale. It was replica of his his family's Georgia estate but it burned down. He went on to build the Stranahan House which was the areas first hotel, trading post, and post office. He also built the school 18 year old Ivy Cromartie Stranahan taught his children in. Other notable building he constructed include the New River Inn and Ft. Lauderdale's first courthouse. When he wasn't building, King served as Ft. Lauderdale's first undertaker charging $10 per burial at the Evergreen Cemetery. King was on his way to Miami when he found Ft. Lauderdale containing 20 residents. The one story bungalow was built from Dade County pine and joists made of salvaged ship's timbers. It was one of the first houses in Ft. Lauderdale to have electricity. He also installed the first private telephone. Mr. King gave the house to his daughter Louise and her new husband Bloxham Cromartie upon their marriage. Bloxham Cromartie was the brother of pioneer Ivy Cromartie Stranahan. The couple added the second floor in 1911. Edwin T. King and his family moved to Belle Glade in 1928. He was killed in the 1928 Hurricane when he was hit by debris while trying to help rescue two children. King-Cromartie family members continued to live in the house until 1968. Stanford Smoker donated the house in 1971 to the Junior League of Fort Lauderdale who raised the funds to move it thereby saving it from demolition. The house was taken from it's original location in Smoker Park and was floated down the New River on a barge to it's current location. In 1994 the Ft. Lauderdale Historical Society took over the house and it is now a museum with period furniture and clothes. The house is well known as a haunted location. It is said the ghost of Louise King Cromartie who passed away from yellow fever can been seen looking down from the second story window that was her bedroom. Many people have noticed the curtains moving in the window. Today children come to the house to learn what life was like in Ft. Lauderdale for the earliest residents. They learn how difficult pioneer life could be. Tours are available of the house and children can take part in Pioneer School Day to learn what school and life were like for children over 100 years ago.

The 1913 Shippey House was the home of Broward County's second judge, Frederick Beeker Shippey. Fed…read moreShippey served as county judge from 1920 to 1933 when an illness forced him to resign. As a member of the Elks Lodge, he was recognized for his work with disabled children. Also of note was that he married the celebrities of the time including presiding over the wedding of Tarzan actor and swimming champion, Johnny Weissmuller. The home was slated for demolition in 2008 but was saved and moved at a cost of $200,000 from its original location in Sailboat Bend on Southwest Seventh Avenue to the Riverwalk, home of Ft. Lauderdale's historic buildings. After 5 years of renovation a ribbon cutting ceremony was held in 2016. The building now houses Cycle party Tours, a recreational equipment and tour business. They finished restoring the landscaping and interior of the house. The rent kayaks,bikes, and segways as well as offer tours of Ft. Lauderdale. Next to the Shippey House is a public parking lot that allows people to park and access the river front.

I recently learned about Ft. Lauderdale pioneer Annie Beck after visiting the park named for her in…read morethe Victoria Park section of Ft. Lauderdale. Those who knew her called her Anibeck. Annie was married to Alfred Beck, Ft. Lauderdale's first pharmacist who brought her to the city in 1916. Mrs. Beck went on to found All Saints' Episcopal Church, the city's first garden club, the 1919 Study Club, and the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society in 1962, the year Alfred passed away. She was named Fort Lauderdale Citizen of the Year in 1975. Annie Beck passed away at the age of 98 in 1985. In addition to a park, the garden club's small library at its Garden Center in Birch State Park is also named for her. Annie Beck's 1916 Craftsman bungalow was saved from demolition in 1977 when it was moved from its original location in downtown Ft Lauderdale on Las Olas Blvd. to 310 SE 11th Ave to make room for a bank parking lot. Annie and Alfred named their house the atom and she lived in the house until the end of her life when she moved to an assisted living center in Wilton Manors. In 2008 the house was moved once again to Middle River Terrace Park where it languished, a victim of vandalism. In 2014, the 13th Street Alliance restored the house back to how it looked in 1920 with a 1.5 million dollar grant from the Broward County Redevelopment Agency. The house is made of Dade County Pine like many old buildings in the area because it is impervious to termites. You are not able to get it anymore making it extremely valuable.. Members from the garden club Annie founded 100 years earlier removed invasive plants around the house and replaced them with native plants like native coffee and American beautyberry. The House is now owned by the Broward Trust for Historic Preservation and for a time it housed the Ft. Lauderdale Junior Woman's Club. The house is now occupied by a police officer who lives there with his family in order to foster good police relations with the community and to provide them with a sense of security. It seems like a wonderful opportunity for him to live in such a historic home and I am sure Annie Beck would be happy to know her beloved home is still being enjoyed today by a young family who wants to give back to Ft. Lauderdale the way she always did. . Although not open to visitors you can take a 3-D tour of this historic gem online.

A twelve foot tall solid steel 19th century British Admiralty Anchor (possibly from the wreckage of…read morethe British cartel ship sunk November 1, 1804) proudly standing along the historic Riverside park with amazing river views. It was placed in honor of Capt Peter Throckmorton the father of Marine Archaeology - THE END

Along Riverwalk Plaza in front of the historic New River Inn which is now a museum is another bit…read moreof interesting history. Mounted along the river is an British boat anchor that may have belonged to the L'Athenaise, a British cartel ship that sunk November 1, 1804. On the boat were 174 French prisoners of war. The anchor was discovered in 1967 off the Barefoot Mailman hotel in Hillsboro Beach. Given credit for the discovery along with several other people including his wife Deo, is Mel Fisher who famously discovered the Nuestra Señora de Atocha. The anchor was placed by the Marine Archaeological Council in honor of Capt Peter Throckmorton (1928-1990) "father of marine archaeology An admiralty anchor is a type of large vessel fluke anchor also known as a fisherman. This type of anchor has been used since ancient times. On one end of the shank of the anchor is a ring for attaching rope or chain through it to the boat. On the other end of the shank are the two flukes that once dropped, will dig into the sea floor to anchor the boat in place. One fluke digs in and one remains up which sometimes dislodges the boat and then it needs to be reset. I have watched people pass by without giving the anchor a second glance but if you stop and read the plaque you will see what a cool piece of maritime history this is. There is quite a bit of the past to be discovered along Ft. Lauderdale's Riverwalk.