Evergreen Cemetery opened on June 1, 1916. This African-American cemetery was created by prominent…read moreblack citizens when the city commission passed a law in 1913 that white and black people could not be buried together. This law stayed in place until 1966. Prominent people buried in this cemetery include Dr. T. Leroy, the city's first black doctor, educator James W. Mickens, and real estate investor Henry Speed. Originally the 9 acre cemetery was managed by the Evergreen association that created it but but through the years the cemetery fell into neglect as funds for its maintenance dried up. The city took over management of the cemetery in 1987 but didn't do anything about it for the next ten years. Citizens brought to their attention that crypts had been cracked opened by vandals and time and they finally set about caring for the property. The city reburied the bones, made paved walkways, and installed a fence, lights, and grass. In 2002 the coquina stone archway and a sprinkler system were added. A law passed in 2013 prohibits new burials except for families that have a deed for a crypt and want to inter cremated remains. The cemetery has lost all records so without a deed they do not allow interments. Sadly records no longer remain of who is buried where. Not many people know about this cemetery. It is at the end of a road in an industrial park making it secluded but the pioneers buried here were the ones who built Palm Beach and they should not be forgotten. Although some of the graves are cracked, the grounds are well maintained and peaceful. Compared to some of the African-American cemeteries I've come across this one is peaceful. There is a historical plaque out front detailing the history of the cemetery. The people buried here ended up a lot better off than those in the cemetery that was used before this. The first black first cemetery was across from Lakeside Cemetery. The neighborhood of Flamingo Park was built on top without moving the bodies although about 100 unmarked graves lie in a green space. Further indignities were heaped on the black residents of the area when 674 victims of the 1928 Hurricane were placed in a mass grave near this cemetery. When compared to being an unidentified body shoved in to a mass grave or forgotten beneath someone's house, this is all things considered, a very nice final resting place.

Continuing my self guided historical tour of Lake Worth found me at I.A. Banks Memorial Park, a…read morehistorically black cemetery. The cemetery was originally called the Osborne Municipal Cemetery. It was renamed I. A. Banks Memorial Park in 1983 in honor of Reverend I. A. Banks (1890 - 1975). Reverend Banks was the founder and 35 year pastor of New Hope Baptist Church which is located diagonally across the street from the cemetery. In 1885 Samuel and Fannie James, believed to be former slaves, were among the first people to homestead this area before it became Lake Worth. Fannie petitioned for and operated the first post office in what was then called Jewell. In 1914 other Bahamians and African-Americans settled in between Lake Worth and Lantana which was the only area they were permitted to be in due to segregation. When Lake Worth's first municipal cemetery Pine Crest was created in 1923, it was whites only. Blacks had to be buried in Boynton Beach or West Palm Beach. In 1960, Lake Worth established the 1.5-acre Osborne Municipal Cemetery for black residents. The first cemetery care taker was David U. Millines. Recently the city paid to have the cemetery fenced in for added security. I.A. Banks Memorial Park contains 262 graves including veterans. This cemetery is part of the Florida Historical Marker Program, one of the Division of Historical Resources' most popular and valued public history programs. It raises 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 churches, schools, buildings, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, and cemeteries like this one. Historic marker F-1234 was installed in 2023 by the City of Lake Worth Beach and the Florida Department of State.

This is the burial site of the unidentified African Americans who perished during the hurricane of…read more1928 in West Palm Beach. In 1913 Palm Beach set aside land for three pauper cemeteries of which this was one. In 1928 the category 4 Okeechobee hurricane killed 2,500 people, the majority were people of color who were migrant farm workers around the lake. The hurricane caused the five foot dike around Lake Okeechobee break flood causing many people to drown. A thousand white people who died were given a mass burial at Woodlawn cemetery while the African Americans were either burned or placed into mass graves. This site was one of the places to receive a mass burial. It is thought 674 bodies lie here. Time went on and the burial was largely forgotten since no memorial was ever placed to mark it. In 1950 road work on 25th street unearthed some bodies but there was still no urgency to do anything about it. The land changed hands several times until it was purchased by Bernard Kolkana who wanted to build a warehouse on the property. No one knew about the bodies until the Sankofa Society with a Yoruba leader did a blessing on the property. The idea to do something to honor the hurricane victims gained traction when Robert Hazard established non-profit organization to try to acquire the land in order to put up a memorial and possibly some sort of museum. In 2000 a Miami company was hired to do ground penetrating radar to determine where the bodies were. They discovered that they were in two layers in a 70 by 30 foot trench. The city decided to use eminent domain to take the land back from Kolkana who refused to sell it to them. At first they were only going to give him the $1,000 assessed value but then they eventually decided to pay him $180,000. Finally a memorial was constructed. On September 12, 2002 the burial site was designated a US National Registered Historic Place. On the 75th anniversary of the hurricane in 2003 the city added a historical marker. The hurricane was dramatized in Nora Neale Hurston's most famous work Their Eyes Were Watching God. On my visit the memorial was very peaceful and deserted except for two gentleman who were sitting on lawn chairs by the arbor. The grave is enclosed by a fence and it has stone markers bearing the date 1928. Even though the hurricane was the second deadliest hurricane in the United States behind Galveston Texas it has largely been forgotten as has it's victims. The pioneers who built Florida deserve to be remembered and the city taking control of the memorial is a step in the right direction.

The Richard and Pat Johnson Palm Beach County History Museum is located in a beautifully restored…read more1916 Historic Museum. This museum tells the story of not just the social and economic development and evolution of Palm Beach County but of Florida's East Coast and regional area. We were greeted and welcomed by Nick and Dianne. Dianne provided us with an in depth, detailed and informative guided tour of the gallery. Dianne explained and shared her vast knowledge and her passion for history which was evident in her storytelling and interpretation of historical information presented. Admission is free.

Housed in a restored 1916 courthouse the Historical Society of Palm Beach houses a permanent…read morecollection of history of Palm Beach. Visiting the museum is free and open from Monday through Saturday 10 to 4. My visit included 'Sunshine Cinema - Florida in film' which is on display until May 30, 2026. There was a $12 charge for this special exhibit. The docent walked us through the exhibit and shared a tremendous amount of background and information, she clearly has a passion for the museum. The museum hosts many History Talks throughout the year as well as permanent and special collections. There is plenty of metered on street parking nearby. The Historical Society of Palm Beach County is a hidden gem.

I visited the Cultural Council for Palm Beach after reading about the kinetic energy exhibit which…read morefeatured sports in Palm Beach County. The exhibit included artwork depicting soccer to Polo. Hours are Tuesday through Saturday 12 noon to 5 PM, it is free to visit and there is plenty of on street parking nearby. I was welcomed in by a very pleasant greeter who shared information about the gallery and was obviously passionate about it. I found it very interesting that all artwork on display is by Palm Beach County artists. The gallery is bright and well curated. There is a small gift shop. Restrooms were very clean and well stocked. When visiting downtown Lake Worth, I recommend a visit to the cultural council for Palm Beach. You can see all that the gallery has to offer in less than one hour.

There is a wealth of info about art in my county shared by the Council. Their frequent emails &…read moremailings keep me well informed. We are so fortunate to have so much talent here! The council was created in 1978 to promote and support art and culture in the county. In 2010 the Montgomery family donated the Streamline Moderne Building to the cultural council. There are informative staff, many galleries and a beautiful gift shop.

I've driven past this art installation at the intersection of I95 on Atlantic Ave in Delray Beach…read more Today I finally stopped to admire the pillars & read about them. The Gateway Art Feature consists of 6 lighted, freeform, icons designed by Michelle Newman, the artist. These sculptures, towering 28 feet above the pavement, flank the main road entering Delray Beach. It was critical that the colors rendered matched Ms. Newman's original art both under front lighting, during the day, and when back-lit at night. The work on the columns depicts the geometric patterns often used by Seminoles in textiles & art work. Newman also used gladioli, to represent the long-running Gladioli Festival which now called the Delray Affair along its pineapples, to represent the city's early history as a pineapple plantation hub.

Foreverglades is an art exhibit on a steamboat in Howard Park across from the Kravis Center for the…read morePerforming Arts. The tiny pond at the north end of the park the boat is floating on was once the Stub Canal and Turning Basin. It was large enough for barges that carried passengers and produce from Belle Glade, a farming community south of Lake Okeechobee that was settled in 1925 and which provided food for the area. Later on the main crop became sugar and large corporations like Domino Sugar and Florida Crystals changed the land and stopped the flow of water to the Everglades. Boat service from Belle Glade started on May 17,1918 when 5,000 crates of vegetables were transferred to 10 railway freight cars. After a railroad line and highway opened in the 1920's, boat travel to fell out of favor and the 1928 Hurricane destroyed the boat docks. Now all that is left of the large waterway is what looks like a small retention pond with a fountain. Foreverglades is funded by the Knight Foundation, the Florida Department of State Division of Cultural Affairs, and the West Palm Beach Arts & Entertainment District. Photographer Sofia Valiente lived in Belle Glade for five years and her pictures focus mainly on the African-Americans who live and work in Belle Glade. Many of them work on the farms and in the fields despite poverty and the region being hit by floods, drought, and hurricanes. She wanted to show how Belle Glade influenced the growth of this region of Florida. The pictures hang on the walls of a 41 foot replica of a 1920's steamboat that was built in Miami, hauled by truck to West Palm Beach, and placed into the lake by a crane. Sofia chose to show her work in a boat to highlight the link between Belle Glade and the town it helped to grow, West Palm Beach. This exhibit runs until February 2020 and is free. You can access the boat from a walking path that runs around the pond. Photographer Sofia Valiente staffs the exhibit so you can speak to her when you visit. Belle Glade is an area that has been ignored by the rest of the state but it was a place I wanted to know more about. This exhibit made me want to visit and explore it myself. I love the history this exhibit highlights and how it shines a light on an area and people that doesn't attract a lot of attention despite their agricultural contributions to the community.

Out of love for our grown and gone children, we wanted to pre-arrange funeral and burial…read morearrangements so they wouldn't have to since they all work and live far away. The process of buying a plot was seamless and easy. Highly recommend. A beautiful cemetery, a place of peace and hope.

My Mom was laid to rest here today. The compassion my family has received from all the employees…read moreleaves me speechless. Even when we came earlier this week to buy a plot, the woman that drove us all over, Beth Callahan, was amazing! She took her time and I never felt rushed. I want to buried here as well some day.