Palm Beach County

About Palm Beach County

Palm Beach County is the northern most county covered by South Florida Finds.  It is the largest of all Florida counties with a coverage of 2,578 square miles.  Palm Beach county is known for its lavish shopping areas like Worth Ave, Boca Town Center, Palm Beach Gardens Mall.  There is fishing in the second largest lake fully contained in the U.S., Lake Okeechobee, and a plethora of water activities in the Atlantic Ocean on the eastern side of the county.  Travellers from around the world call Palm Beach a destination for fun and play.

Palm Beach History

Palm Beach county was initially shaped from what was then called Dade county.  At the time Dade county (now call Miami-Dade) stretched from the St. Lucie River all the way down to the southern tip of the peninsula.  In July of 1909, it began as its own county with less than 6,000 people.  Over the last hundred years it has grown to over 1 million people.  Palm Beach owes its name to the Providencia, 175-ton ship which wrecked off the coast of Palm Beach while carrying supplies from Trinidad and Mexico destined for Spain.  Of the cargo on the ship, there were 20,000 coconuts.  Those 20,000 coconuts were consumed by the locals.  Of the ones not consumed, they were planted.  As time passed, the landscape was over taken with palm trees.  This lead to the area being called Palm Beach.

Palm Beach People

Historially the area was populated by a variety of Native American tribes including the Calusa, Jeaga and Tequesta.  The first non-native population to come to Palm Beach county were escaped slaves of African descent from nearby states.  They began coming to Florida as early as the 17th century and during later Seminole Wars, African Americans fought alongside the Seminole Indians against White settlers.   Currently, Palm Beach county is home to some of the richest folks in the world.  You will find, outside of the beachfront mansion areas, that Palm Beach county consists of people of diverse cultural and economic backgrounds.  The largest number of people with foreign ancestry and birth hail from mainly Caribbean and south American countries.  As of the 2010 census, there are 1.3 million people residing in the county. Some of the more famous residents of Palm Beach county include Henry Flagler, Lily Pulitzer, the Kennedys, Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and many many more.

Palm Beach Cities

At the time of this writing, Palm Beach is home to 38 cities.  The most populous city is West Palm Beach, followed by Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, and Delray Beach.  Because the county is large it may take 45 minutes to an hour to drive across it depending on where you start.  With so many large cities you'll find lots to do in Palm Beach county.