We went here to meet our friends - it is similar to a VFW Hall. They focus on their local…read morecommunity, veterans, children and more. They are trying to make a difference. They believe in giving back to the community. It is very low key and a place for all to gather. They support one another!

This area of west palm is bounded by Broadway, North Dixie Highway and 26th and 35th Streets. It is…read morea charming collection of over 300 historic buildings. In addition to homes built in the styles popular during the 1920's etc., there are a number of excellent restaurants and other businesses. We've been here a few times to try different dining locales. The decorative low rise buildings and charming area may be a bit funky, but mixed in are some well known chefs plying their grills and offering upscale cuisine. After trying coffee, bbq, pizza or French cuisine, take a stroll down the main avenue to check out the other restaurants and artistic murals.

Next to the picnic pavilion in Bryant Park in Lake Worth, you will find this historic marker which…read moreis part of the Florida Historical Marker Program. The Historical Marker Program is 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, cemeteries, and historically important sites like this one. Historic marker F-1143 was installed in 2020 by The Historical Society of Lake Worth, City of Lake Worth Beach. Before Lake Worth was incorporated it was known as Jewell thanks to Fannie James who with her husband Sam were the first African-American people to file claim for a homestead in the area. Fannie who was a former slave was the one who filled out a lengthy form, asking the First Assistant Postmaster General in Washington, D.C., to approve a new post office on the western shore of Lake Worth in what was Dade County. She had to choose a name and after considering several finally decided on Jewell, perhaps because the couple had received the nickname, the black diamonds from the white homesteaders in the area. On the form she declared the population to be 13. After the post office was approved in September 1889, Fannie became the postmistress for the next 14 years while also operating a dry-goods shop she and her husband ran on their 187-acre homestead built by Sam, a carpenter. At first mail was delivered by boat and then after the Florida East Coast Railway was completed between West Palm Beach and Miami, it came by train. In 1909, the northern part of Dade County became Palm Beach County. That same year Sam passed away at the age of 81. In 1910, Fannie sold the majority of her property to the Palm Beach Farms Company. She only kept the lot her house was on which was located within 100 feet of the current South Bryant Park Picnic Pavilion. On June 4, 1913, Jewell was incorporated as Lake Worth. Fannie passed away on May 6, 1915 at the age of 73 after she was struck by a car while driving her horse and buggy to West Palm Beach. Today Lake Worth has grown to a population of approximately 40,000 people. Although Fannie and Sam are long gone, their contributions to Lake Worth are remembered to this day and commemorated by this sign.

The Mango Promenade Historic District marker in downtown West Palm Beach is part of the Florida…read moreHistorical 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 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 schools, roads, archaeological sites, battlefields, cemeteries, historic buildings, churches, colleges, and historic districts like this one. Historic marker F-1169 was installed in 2021 by the Mango Promenade Historic Neighborhood Association and the Florida Department of State. Located less than a mile from Clematis Street is the Mango Promenade District, designated in 1999. The district was named after a pedestrian walkway that cuts through the neighborhood, originally linking South Dixie Highway to South Olive Avenue. The neighborhood is bounded by South Dixie Highway, Austin Lane, Coconut Lane, and Cranesnest Way. The Mango Promenade District contains 125 historic buildings built from the 1910's to 1920's. The first homes were built in 1912 but most were built between 1917 and 1926. Two of the most notable historic homes are the 1924 Comeau House at 701 Flamingo Drive and the Rice House, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Fun fact: the houses in this historic neighborhood were built with garages to accommodate Model Ts, making it the first neighborhood in the city planned around cars. This was one of West Palm Beach's earliest upper middle class neighbors. Early residents included a school principal, the editor of the area's first newspaper, and a former city attorney. Construction came to an end due to the Florida land bust in 1926 brought on by hurricanes and the Great Depression. By the 1970's and 1980's, houses here were mostly rentals and many were in disrepair. Today the neighborhood has turned a corner with many owners appreciating the neighborhood for its location, history, and sense of community.

Seagull Cottage is the oldest home in West Palm Beach. It was built in 1886 by Denver railroad…read moredeveloper R.R. McCormick. First called McCormick's cottage he built the staircase with mahogany from a ship wreck and stained glass. Henry Flagler was quite taken with pictures of it remarking when he first saw it "Why, I didn't know there was anything that beautiful south of Rockledge." Flagler purchased it to live in during the winter with his wife until Whitehall was completed in 1902. When Henry owned it it was called Croton Cottage for all of the crotons that were growing around it. When Henry Flagler moved out it was owned by a railroad executive. In 1913 it was named Seagull Cottage and moved to the ocean where it became a guest cottage for the Breakers and sat in anonymity until the 1980's. In 1982 former mayor Earl E.T. Smith heard the cottage was going to be demolished so he purchased it for $1 and paid $80,000 to move it to within 300 yards of it's original location. Overseen by the Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach from 1984 to 1986, $600,000 was spent restoring it to it's 1886 aesthetic. Today the cottage is part of the Royal Poinciana Chapel on Cocoanut Row. I have passed the church many times before turning into Whitehall and never knew the cottage was here. The historical mark is facing the lake trail. It is within steps of Whitehall. It's a shame that is not a part of the Flagler museum. The house was used as a Parrish house and today is only used for Sunday school or community events. There are no private tours. The downstairs has a salon, dining room and sitting room and the house is filled with period pieces including Victorian wall paper and a 120 year old mirror. A larger hall was built to meet the needs of the church so the future fate of the house is still to be decided.

A bascule drawbridge allowing the yachts and sailboats to pass on the intercoastal. Based on quick…read moreresearch, the bridge, also known as the North Bridge, use may be temporarily by the Secret Service since Pres Trump's Mar-a-Lago home is nearby. Today we crossed over the bridge and viewed incredible intercoastal water on both sides. Lots of huge boats nearby and massive homes in the distance.

If one is interested in the history of this bridge, one could surf the web and learn some…read moreinteresting facts about the bridge. Recently, the Flagler Memorial Bridge was redesigned and reconstructed to maintain traffic for this active causeway to Palm Beach. The original Flagler Memorial Bridge was constructed in 1927. The new design provides a rolling lift span over the widened channel. The community had requested that the innovative bridge commemorate their famous historic resident, Henry Flagler, and provide a traditional visual appearance. I traveled over this bridge often to visit the Northside of Palm Beach Island where I enjoy an easy bicycle ride through the neighborhood and shorelines.

Few people who drive down Military Trail today stop to think about it being an actual trail for the…read moremilitary. Jupiter erected a marker in front of the clock to remind everyone how this road came to be. The marker was placed by the Jupiter Town Council and the Florida Department of State in 2008. Military Trail was carved out during the Second Seminole War (1835-1842). At the time the military was trying to round up the Seminoles as part of the Indian Removal Act to send them on the Trail of Tears out to Oklahoma. The Seminoles knew the terrain better than the army and proved difficult to catch. After the second Battle of the Loxahatchee on January 24, 1838, Colonel Jessup ordered Major Lauderdale who the city of Ft. Lauderdale is named for, to take his Tennessee Battalion of Volunteers and cut a trail from Fort Jupiter all the way down to Fort Dallas in Miami. Major Lauderdale also brought along a regiment of soldiers commanded by Lt. Robert Anderson who were in charge of constructing trails and defensive works. Along the way he was instructed to catch any of the Seminoles who had escaped the battle of Loxahatchee. To avoid swamps they kept the trail to the higher coastal ridge and made a stop at Fort Lauderdale before going on to Fort Dallas. The volunteers were able to cut through 63 miles in only four days. The route was first named Lauderdale's Trail and was used through the Third Seminole War in 1858. It was eventually named Military Trail which today is a major thoroughfare. Twenty two years after cutting Military Trail, Anderson was in charge of U.S. soldiers in Charleston, South Carolina. After South Carolina seceded he withdrew the troops into Fort Sumter which was attacked by the confederates. Anderson surrendered the fort which kicked off the Civil War. As for the Seminoles, 200 were able to hide in the Everglades and avoid capture. They are the only tribe to never sign a peace treaty with the United States government and they currently own the multi million dollar Hard Rock empire.

In 1885 it was quite a journey to travel from Titusville south to Jupiter and on to Palm Beach and…read morepoints south. The trip required taking steamboats but when you reached the port of Jupiter and wanted to go on to the port of Juno Beach you had to rely on freight wagons pulled by oxen over 7.5 miles over rough road. To overcome this problem on June 8, 1887 it was announced that the worlds smallest railway lane, the Jupiter Lake Worth Railway would be built from Juno Beach to the Jupiter Lighthouse. The railway line was a 3 ft narrow gauge and began operating on July 4, 1889. The railroad did not have turning tracks so the train pointed towards Juno and when it traveled back to Jupiter it did so in reverse. To alert waiting passengers, the engineer played "Dixie" on the wood-burning steam engine whistle. The one way fare to ride at the time was 75 cents which was considered high. Stations were located at Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and Juno and a writer visiting the railway in 1893 called it the Celestial Railroad which became it's name. The death knell for the railway was sounded with the arrival of Henry Flagler to Florida. He wanted to build the Royal Poinciana Hotel in Palm Beach and at first paid the railroad to haul his building supplies. Tired of paying what he considered too high of a price he tried to outright buy the railway but they wanted too much money so he built his own over the Loxahatchee River bypassing Jupiter and Juno Beach. Flagler finished his railroad in 1894 and by June of 1896 the train of the Jupiter and Lake Worth Railway had been sold at auction and the railway was gone. Today all that remains of the railway is a few spikes in the dunes of Jupiter and this historical marker dedicated in 2017, where the railroad once crossed near Guanabanas Restaurant.