1916 Court House - Palm Beach County Vignette

In 1910, only one year after Palm Beach County was formed from Dade County, the census listed the new County's population with 5,577 residents. Even with the split, Dade County's population remained about twice that of Palm Beach County at 11,933. At that time, Broward County did not yet exist so Dade's northern boundary came up to Palm Beach County's present southern border.

Nevertheless, with the split from Dade County, the citizens of Palm Beach County finally remedied their concerns about their neighbors to the south getting more than their fair share of tax dollars for roads, schools and other infrastructure developments. Before the split, roads were paved in the southern part of Dade County at a greater pace than to the north. As a result, industry, commerce and development flowed into that area creating a boom that bypassed their northern neighbors in what would become Palm Beach County.

As the County became incorporated in 1909, by the time the new Court House was built in 1916, Palm Beach County began to enjoy the start of their own land sale boom period. Real estate was sold at roadside in offices and tents from Ft. Pierce to Boca Raton. Property values at first doubled and then tripled. The railroad and ships could not keep pace with the demand to provide building materials to supply the construction boom. As hotels began to be built on the west side of the intracoastal waterway, this development contributed to expanded levels of tourism as it opened the Palm Beach County market to middle income families that could not afford to stay in hotels on the island.

When the Court House opened in 1916, the following five members of the County Commission were the first officials to make use of that new facility: F. E. Encell, John Knight, L. W. Smith Jr., H. S. Pennock, and C. W. McPherson, who had been on the Commission since its founding in 1909. Some of those names are familiar to current residents in the County today as landmarks, streets and locations bear the names of these early elected officials.

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