The Orange Blossom Express

Excitement filled the air in the newly chartered Town of Boynton by the sea. The long awaited Orange Blossom Express had completed its extension to Miami, and was scheduled to stop in Boynton. This monumental event embodied even more prosperity for south Florida. The last few years saw dizzying growth. Folks who used to live in, visit, or pass through Boynton didn’t recognize the place any longer.

Boynton townsfolk awaiting the Orange Blossom Express

 

 

 

The great land boom had greatly altered the landscape of the frontier settlement. New schools, churches, hotels, office buildings, and elaborate residences were under construction.

 

It seemed that with each passing day another developer set up big tents, and their agents took down payments for lots or houses not yet built. A six-story Spanish style hotel under construction on Ocean Avenue was the talk of the town.

 

 

 

 

On Saturday, January 8, 1927 in picture-perfect 72 degree weather, over 500 residents waving flags gathered at the Seaboard Air Line railroad station. Everyone was excited to meet the inaugural train car carrying Seaboard president Solomon Davies Warfield and Florida governor John Wellborn Martin.

Seaboard Air Line President Solomon Davies Warfield

Florida Governor John W. Martin

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The Boynton band welcomed the sleek green, yellow and orange train filled with over 600 “titans of industry” who were interested in investing in Florida land.

Orange Blossom Express

The prominent men who had traveled from New York to south Florida peered out the windows at the assembly.

Train with Mr. Warfield and Governor Martin

Boynton mayor Roy O. Myers had issued a special proclamation ordering all business houses to close from 8 am to 10 am and urged everyone to the Seaboard Air Line station to greet the train and dignitaries. Nearly the whole town turned out for the monumental event.

Decorated Seaboard Air Line station

 

 

 

Chamber of Commerce president Albert Edward Parker and the Boynton Boosters had decorated the Seaboard station in red, white, and blue, and small coconut palms greeted the spectators.  Men wearing suits with suspenders waved their hats, and farmers in overalls and work pants looked around curiously, Women carrying babies waved handkerchiefs, and schoolchildren stood on tiptoe or their father’s shoulders to view the extravaganza.

 

 

Boynton townsfolk greet the Orange Blossom Express

Two young women presented a flower bouquet to Mr. Warfield. He was also given a small wooden chest containing the key to the Town of Boynton. In a few minutes the gala was over, and the train raced south where similar events played out in Delray, Deerfield and Pompano.

Welcome at Boynton (09 Jan 1927, The Palm Beach Post).

Lake Worth Herald

Historical Society Officers Conduct Award Winning Historic Moonlight Cemetery Tours

Woodlawn Cemetery Tours

For more information and to register please call the City of West Palm Beach at 561-804-4900

Woodlawn Cemetery - Palm Beach's oldest gated community

2023 Tours

Friday, February 3, 6:30 p.m.

Friday, March 3, 6:30 p.m

Thursday, April 6, 6:30 p.m

Sponsored by the City of West Palm Beach – Historic Preservation Program & Parks and Recreation Division

Moonlight Cemetery Tours of Woodlawn Cemetery conducted by Boynton Beach Historical Society officers Janet DeVries and Ginger Pedersen, Palm Beach County historians and authors of “Pioneering Palm Beach: The Deweys and the South Florida Frontier,” and “The Collected Works of Byrd Spilman Dewey.”

Look for more cemetery tours for Delray, Boynton Boca Raton & Lantana cemeteries coming soon!

Woodlawn Cemetery at dusk.

Woodlawn Cemetery at dusk.

These award-winning history tours are limited to 50 guests, and a $5.00 donation is appreciated and will be used to help restore this historic cemetery. The tour will cover some of the most prominent pioneer families who arrived in the area more than 100 years ago.

chillingworthAlong with a couple dozen other interesting pioneers, Charlie Pierce, Florida’s famous barefoot mailman and Boynton’s first postmaster is featured along with Anna and Albert Parker, Maj. Nathan S. Boynton’s daughter and son-in-law. Mr. Parker managed the Boynton Hotel.

 

Several of South Florida's barefoot mailmen. Charles "Charlie" Pierce on the right.

Several of South Florida’s barefoot mailmen. Charles “Charlie” Pierce on the right.

 

PLEASE BRING: A flashlight, bug repellent, water (there are no facilities on-site).

PLEASE WEAR: Closed-toed shoes such as sneakers.

LOCATION: 1500 South Dixie Highway, across from the Norton Gallery. Parking is available on-site inside cemetery gates.

ALL TOURS BEGIN AT 6:30 PM or 7:30 PM dependent upon daylight savings time. PLEASE ARRIVE AT LEAST 15 MINUTES EARLY FOR CHECK-IN.

Rain Policy: If heavy rain occurs on the night scheduled, the tour will be held the following evening. If it rains on the next night also, the tours is suspended for that month.

No hurly-burly in Boynton!

As I was watching television this morning, a reporter was describing the village of Bucklebury, where the royal baby is, as being away from the “hurly-burly” of London. To my mind immediately came an old advertisement for the Boynton Hotel, which said that the Boynton Hotel was “away from the hurly-burly of large, fashionable hotels.”

Boynton Hotel ad from 1899

Boynton Hotel ad from 1899

So who could have written the ad with the somewhat British expression? It very well could have been Albert Edward Parker, who managed the hotel for many years. He was Major Nathan S. Boynton’s son-in-law, married to his daughter Anna. The only known picture of them was taken at the Boynton Woman’s Club dedication in 1932. Parker was a native of England, born in 1873 who emigrated to America in 1886.

A.E. Parker also has a special spot in Palm Beach County’s history as the first naturalized citizen, sworn in on the day that Palm Beach County became official, July 1, 1909. Parker managed the hotel until the early 1920s, and also had the first dairy in Boynton, the Bertana farm, which was a combination of his first name and Anna’s. He went by the name “Bert” among his friends.

Albert and Anna Parker, 1932

Albert and Anna Parker, 1932

He went on to become West Palm Beach’s city manager, and eventually sold real estate in Palm Beach. He built a beautiful Mediterranean-revival house on Flagler Drive (recently renovated). Albert passed away in 1935; he and Anna are interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in West Palm Beach.

Parker Gravesite

Parker Gravesite

The Boynton Hotel’s Magical Water

When I was collecting information on Major Nathan S. Boynton’s hotel on the beach, I found many old ads  for the hotel in The Tropical Sun and the Miami Metropolis, the area’s first newspapers. One of the peculiar findings was the hotel’s seemingly “magical” water for curing all sort of ailments. The ad states that the water is “unsurpassed,” a “certain cure for all kidney troubles.” It was even analyzed by a state chemist! Of course having healthful water with curative properties was a ploy used by many hotels of the time, especially in Europe.  A.E. Parker, the hotel’s manager, was originally from England and may have gotten the idea from growing up across the pond.  Maybe Boynton Beach should be bottling its special water.

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