Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker: Broward

Broward

NORTH WOODLAWN CEMETERY

Location:1936 Northwest 9th Street
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: During racial segregation, Fort Lauderdale’s African American community was restricted to the northwest quadrant of the city. Recognizing a need in this area, the Christian Pallbearer’s Association founded North Woodlawn Cemetery in 1926, most likely on a previously-established burial ground. The new formal four-acre cemetery included a potter’s field for unknown individuals or those without local family. Woodlawn served as one of only two burial places for African Americans until the mid-1960s when race restrictions on other city cemeteries were lifted. Woodlawn remained in use until 1996, when the City of Fort Lauderdale began to acquire the property, rededicating it in 2002. Woodlawn is estimated to contain over 2,200 burials, but only 571 graves are marked, mostly with handcrafted concrete markers or masonry slabs. This sacred ground serves as a place of remembrance for the important achievements of a community that overcame many challenges. Veterans and prominent businessmen, as well as civic, farming, and religious leaders are buried here. Woodlawn welcomed all people of color, many of whom were of Bahamian descent. In 2017, North Woodlawn Cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
Sponsors: The Florida Department of Transportation

HILLSBORO INLET LIGHTHOUSE

Location:907 Hillboro Mile
County: Broward
City: Hillsboro Beach
Description: This lighthouse is one of five skeletal cast-iron towers built by the Russel Wheel and Foundry Co. in Detroit, Michigan. The optical system was built in 1906 by Barbier Benard et Turren in Paris, France. Following its construction, the lighthouse was barged down the Mississippi River, through the Gulf of Mexico and Florida Keys, and then to the Hillsboro River inlet. The giant Fresnel lens, 9 feet in diameter and weighing 2.5 metric tons, floated on a pool of mercury. The first light was fueled by kerosene vapor, which had to be carried up the 175-step lantern room staircase by hand. In the 1920s, the lighthouse was electrified and a 250-watt lightbulb replaced the kerosene lantern. A new 1,000-watt bulb was installed in 1966. In 1995, a hazmat crew decontaminated the toxic mercury after the failure of the flotation system three years earlier. A Coast Guard Auxiliary team, led by Commander Art Makenian restored operation of the classic lens in 2000 using a ball bearing concept that featured a 60-inch bearing made in North Carolina. This lighthouse is one of the brightest in the United States sending out a white flash every 20 seconds, visible up to 28 nautical miles.
Sponsors: Hillsboro Lighthouse Preservation Society, Inc.

BRIDGE OF THE ISLES

Location:
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: During the 1920s Florida Land Boom, the present-day Nurmi Isles subdivision was dredged to create the four finger islands. Bridges providing access to each island were constructed, but no additional development occurred until Victor Nurmi purchased the property in 1944. Nurmi had a vision for development of the subdivision, and one of the first construction projects he undertook was the replacement of the 1920s bridges. The four new bridges were intended to be gateways to the islands. Designed as low-level bridges, they provided sweeping views of the subdivision’s palm-lined boulevards. The bridges included sidewalks and low-level, recessed lighting. Constructed by the Powell Brothers of Fort Lauderdale, they were of cast in place concrete slab engineering. The bridge railings were concrete, with simple relief designs similar to those of the original bridges. The bridges included Moderne design features in their decorative pedestals, urns, and lettering, which have been incorporated into the designs of the current bridges. The historic bridges were significant for their association with the history of Fort Lauderdale’s finger island development, and were replaced in 2015 and 2016.
Sponsors: Florida Department of Transportation, District 4

FIRST ZION MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH

Location:125 Southwest 1st Court
County: Broward
City: Deerfield Beach
Description: The settlement of Deerfield was founded on the southeast coast of Florida with the coming of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad in 1896. In 1902, two Methodist missionaries began holding religious services for the community. These early services were held in a palmetto brush arbor, a shelter constructed from foliage. No more than five white families and around forty African-Americans lived in the area. Initially local African-American Methodists and Baptists worshipped together in joint services. The Baptist congregation separated from the Methodists and moved to several locations, including a railroad section house and a one-room house, before settling in a more permanent location in 1905. That year, the first wooden church was built on this property under the administration of Rev. A.J. Thomas and Rev. L.J. Ely. For most of the 20th century, the church continued to expand and the congregation thrived. In 1967 the church building was replaced with this larger, more modern structure. Although the original church is no longer standing, the congregation has worshipped at this location since 1905, making it one of the oldest religious sites in Broward County.
Sponsors: First Zion Missionary Baptist Church

COLORED BEACH AT JOHN U. LLOYD ST. PARK

Location:6503 N. Ocean Dr
County: Broward
City: Dania Beach
Description: African Americans living in South Florida in the earlier part of the 20th century drove from as far away as Palm Beach and Miami to use Fort Lauderdale’s beaches, but met with significant resistance from oceanfront property owners. On May 14, 1946, a delegation from the Negro Professional and Business Men’s League, Inc., petitioned the Board of County Commissioners “seeking a public bathing beach for colored people in Broward County.” In 1954, the county finally acquired a barrier island site, designated it for segregation, and promised to make the beach accessible, but a road was never built. In response, Eula Johnson, Dr. Von D. Mizell and many others led a series of protest wade-ins on all-white public beaches. In July 1962, the City of Fort Lauderdale requested an injunction to end the wade-ins. The court disagreed with the municipality’s position and entered an order in favor of defendants, thus launching a larger civil rights movement that soon brought integration to local schools. John U. Lloyd, the county attorney at the time of these landmark cases, is the namesake of this state park. Unrecognized, however, are our local black leaders, whose historic actions forever changed the landscape.
Sponsors: SPONSORED BY THE FLORIDA STATE PARKS SYSTEM AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

FORT LAUDERDALE BEACHES WADE-INS

Location:S. Fort Lauderdale Blvd. at E Las Olas Blvd,
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: On July 4, 1961, local NAACP president Eula Johnson and black physician Dr. Von D. Mizell began a series of nationally publicized "wade-ins" of Fort Lauderdale beaches. Johnson, Mizell, a third black adult, and four black college students participated in the first "wade-in." As many as 200 African-American residents took part in subsequent "wade-ins" during July and August 1961. The demonstrations were prompted by Broward County's failure to build a road to provide access to "Colored Beach," the only beach available for people of color. In 1954, the county had purchased the beach (now part of John U. Lloyd State Park), promising African-Americans beach access and amenities. By 1961, the beach still lacked tables, restrooms, shelter, and fresh water, and only members of the black community served as lifeguards. On August 12, 1961, the City of Fort Lauderdale filed suit in Broward County Circuit Court against Johnson, Mizell, and the NAACP in an attempt to stop the "wade-ins." Nearly a year later, on July 11, 1962, Judge Ted Cabot denied the city's request. The decision effectively desegregated the county's beaches and marked a turning point in the struggle to desegregate all public facilities in Broward County.
Sponsors: The City of Fort Lauderdale, The Florida Department of State

THE FIRST FORT LAUDERDALE

Location:400 SW 11th Avenue
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: The prehistoric peoples of Fort Lauderdale, commonly known as the Tequesta, occupied camps as early as 500 BCE in the area now known as Sailboat Bend. By 1800, Seminole Indians and Bahamian and American settlers inhabited lands along New River. In January 1836, after the outbreak of the Second Seminole War, settler William Cooley’s family was killed by the Indians. In response to the incident and to seek out the Seminoles and their leader Sam Jones (Abiaca or Abiaki), U. S. Army Major General Thomas Jesup sent 200 mounted Tennessee Volunteers, commanded by Major William Lauderdale, from Jupiter to New River. They were accompanied by Lieutenant Robert Anderson with Company D, Third Artillery, and followed a route later known as "Military Trail." On March 6, 1838, the soldiers encamped on the north bank of New River at its forks. The new post was designated "Fort Lauderdale" after its commanding officer. Although active during its occupation, the garrison abandoned the fort by May 1838. Soldiers returning to reestablish Fort Lauderdale in February 1839 found that the fort’s blockhouse and stockade had been burned. They chose a site further down river, west of Tarpon Bend, for the second Fort Lauderdale.
Sponsors: The City of Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Department of State.

THE SECOND FORT LAUDERDALE

Location:630 SW 9th Avenue
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: During the Second Seminole War (1835-1842), there were three military posts named “Fort Lauderdale” along the New River. In February 1839, the second “Fort Lauderdale” was established to the east of the first fort by Company K, Third Artillery, under the command of Captain William B. Davidson. Located on the north bank of New River at what is today approximately Southeast Ninth Avenue, the fort consisted of a two-story log blockhouse and tents surrounded by a stockade with a watchtower. A cemetery, privy and a garden were located just outside the stockade. With only occasional encounters from nearby Seminole Indians, boredom, disease, insects, and isolation weakened the soldiers’ moral. The officers’ wives and the occasional visit by a steamer enhanced the forts social life. Hunting and Fishing were popular activities and items such as liquor, books, and tobacco provided some diversion from soldiers. During the summer of 1839, works began on the third and final “Fort Lauderdale, “ located on a thin strip of land between the Atlantic Ocean and the New River Sound (now the Intracoastal Waterway). The beach Fort was completed by September 1839.
Sponsors: Sponsored by the City of Fort Lauderdale and the Florida Department of State

ANNIE TOMMIE'S CAMP

Location:101 NW 15 Ave
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Seminole matriarch Annie Jumper Tommie and her family established a Panther clan camp c. 1902 on a site located on the north fork of the New River east of the present-day Broward Boulevard bridge. Annie Tommie’s Camp was the last permanent Seminole camp in the City of Fort Lauderdale. There, Annie and her husband, Doctor Tommie, lived with her mother Mammy; brother Willie Jumper; and Annie’s children, including Tony Tommie, who were well-known to local residents. The camp consisted of a cooking chickee, work and sleeping chickees, and a landing and work area on the New River. Nearby, the young Seminole boys practiced baseball on their own diamond in preparation for games against local schools. The camp was a local tourist attraction, where Annie pioneered the manufacture and sale of Seminole Indian dolls, which later became an important industry for the tribe. Fort Lauderdale pioneer Ivy Stranahan convinced Annie and her family to move to the new federal Indian reservation west of Dania (now Hollywood), where Annie became the leading matriarch in June, 1924. Annie Tommie died in December 1946 at the age of 90.
Sponsors: The City of Fort Lauderdale and The State of Floirda

LINK TRAINER BUILDING #8

Location:4000 West Perimeter Road
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale (NASFL), a complex of over 200 buildings, was built on the site of Merle Fogg Field in 1942 and served as one of a few specialty schools for training on the TBF/TBM Avenger torpedo bomber. Nineteen-year-old pilot Ensign George H.W. Bush, who later served as president of the United States, trained here in 1943. He spent several sessions in this building on a Link Trainer, a flight simulator commonly known as the “Blue Box” built by Link Aviation, Inc. On December 5, 1945, a routine training flight of five Avengers, Flight 19, disappeared into what became known as the Bermuda Triangle. In 1979 the NASFL Historical Association was formed by Navy veteran Allan McElhiney and a small group of aviation and history enthusiasts. Their goal was to save one building to restore as a museum for the public to visit and learn about the important role this base played in winning the war. With the help of Broward County Commissioner Lori Parrish, this building was relocated to its present location in December 1999. Link Trainer Building #8 is the only remaining building from NASFL, and the only military museum in Broward County. Our Mission: EDUCATE, PRESERVE, AND HONOR OUR HEROES
Sponsors: Naval Air Station Fort Lauderdale Historical Association

POMPANO BEACH MOUND

Location:1232 Hibiscus Avenue
County: Broward
City: Pompano Beach
Description: Side One: The Pompano Beach Indian Mound is a prehistoric sand burial mound that was used by the Tequesta tribe and their ancestors for burial of their dead. Located nearby was their associated village and midden dating as far back as AD 500. Artifacts recovered from the site are associated with the Glades pre-Columbian cultural period (ca. AD 500 to 1513), with evidence that the site was occupied as late as 1763. The Tequesta were significant for their role in shaping and controlling other tribes within the Everglades and for the construction of extensive canal systems. They were experienced woodworkers as evidenced by their dugout canoes. They gathered an abundant supply of fruits, hunted wildlife and fish, and sometimes traveled great distances in their dugout canoes in search of large marine animals including sharks and right whales. The Tequesta lived in villages that were typically marked by kitchen middens that contained the discarded remains of shellfish, bones, ashes, and broken pottery. These middens were accessible by water and usually located near the mouth of a river or on an island. Side Two: Spanish accounts from the sixteenth century describe the Tequesta as a powerful Florida tribe, whose main village was located along the shore of Biscayne Bay, near the mouth of the Miami River, in Miami-Dade County. The Tequesta were one of the first indigenous groups encountered by Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de Leon during his first voyage to Florida in 1513. In the 1560s, the Spanish established a fort and mission among the Tequesta and took the brother of the principal Tequesta chief to Spain. He returned to Florida and helped mediate relations between the Spanish and Indians. The Pompano Beach Mound has been of interest to archeologists for over 85 years. Excavations at this site have yielded pottery, ceramics, carved bone, shell and wood tools and human remains. In 1926, the City of Pompano Beach created a park to protect the Indian Mound and its contents. The mound was placed on the Pompano Beach Local Register of Historic Places in 2010 and the National Register of Historic Places in 2014. It was recognized as a Florida Heritage Landmark in 2014.
Sponsors: The City of Pompano Beach

CORAL SPRINGS COVERED BRIDGE

Location:4550 NW 95 Ave., Aux
County: Broward
City: Coral Springs
Description: The Covered Bridge was the first permanent structure built within the City by Coral Ridge Properties, developer of Coral Springs, in 1964. It withstood the eye of Hurricane Cleo that passed over it in August 1964 without sustaining any damage. The 40-foot Bridge has a single steel span. Its roof is composed of 25 truss rafters, cross braces, and stringers and is covered with shingles. It is the only covered bridge in Florida in the public right-of- way. Originally painted barn red, Coral Ridge Properties contacted the American Snuff Company in Winston-Salem, North Carolina for chewing tobacco designs to make the Bridge appear appropriately weathered. They supplied two historical designs and an artist to paint the murals. The Bull of the Woods logo, on the east side of the Bridge, first appeared in 1876. The Peach Sweet Snuff logo, on the west side of the Bridge, was designed to appeal to the ladies and was introduced in 1950. Over the years, the Bridge and murals have been restored but are difficult to see as trees have grown along the sides of the canal.
Sponsors: CORAL SPRINGS HISTORICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

EVERGREEN CEMETERY, ESTABLISHED 1910

Location:1300 SE 10th Ave.
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Many Civil War veterans are buried at Evergreen Cemetery in addition to the founding families of Fort Lauderdale including the Stranahans (who built Stranahan house on SE 6th Avenue), Bryans, Kings, Cromarties (the maiden name of Ivy Julia Stranahan (1881-1971) and the Olivers. This burial place for the early residents of Fort Lauderdale was established by Mr. and Mrs. E.T. King in 1910. In 1910 or 1911, a funeral director from Miami moved many bodies from the first burial ground, in the proximity of what currently is Southside School on Andrews Avenue, to the newly created Evergreen Cemetery. In 1917, the City of Fort Lauderdale purchased the cemetery. In 1921, the American Legion purchased four lots set aside for the burial of veterans. Shortly thereafter, the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks purchased lots 34 and 43 for indigent burials. In 1926, hurricane victims were buried in unmarked graves in the north central portion of the cemetery. This area is also the baby section. In 1935, B’Nai Israel acquired blocks one and two for burials of those of the Jewish faith. Evergreen Cemetery is Fort Lauderdale’s oldest intact cemetery.
Sponsors: THE CITY OF FORT LAUDERDALE AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

INDIAN HAULOVER

Location:S. R. A1A at entrance to Bahia Mar Hotel & Resort.
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Bahia Mar is the site of a haulover where Indians took their canoes from New River Sound into the Atlantic Ocean. A Second Seminole War fort named for Major William Lauderdale was built near here in 1838. It was active until the War ended in 1842. House of Refuge Number Four, originally built about two miles to the north in 1876, was moved to this site in 1892. Barefoot mailmen walked their weekly route from Hypoluxo to Miami along these beaches. The Coast Guard began using the House of Refuge in 1915. It was made permanent as Coast Guard Base Six in 1926. Base Six saw considerable action against rum runners during Prohibition. It remained in active service until after World War II. The City of Fort Lauderdale purchased the property for use as a public yacht basin and park in 1947.
Sponsors: sponsored by bahia mar hotel and yachting center and fort lauderdale historical society, inc. in cooperation with department of state

MUSEUM OF CORAL SPRINGS HISTORY

Location:10,000 NW 29th Ave.
County: Broward
City: Coral Springs
Description: Coral Ridge Properties built the City’s first real estate office in 1964 at the intersection of Route 441 and Wiles Road, just outside the City limits. This 30-by-20 foot single-room wooden structure displayed maps and plats of subdivisions, none of which had been built in 1964. In 1966 Coral Ridge Properties built a large administration building at 9551 Sample Road and offered the real estate office to the City, provided they move it. It was moved to 4500 Woodside Drive and became Coral Springs’ first administration building. In 1968 it became the first police station. When the police moved to a larger facility in 1972, it became the Jaycees’ clubhouse. By 1976 the building was considered obsolete and moved to the City dump, to be used as a fire department training facility for smoke drills. When it was accidentally set on fire, a group of concerned citizens formed the Landmark Restoration Committee with the intent of rescuing the building and restoring it for use as a museum. In 1977, the building was moved again but this time with an accompanying parade as a flat bed truck moved it to its permanent home in Mullins Park. On March 4, 1978, it was fully restored and opened as the Mini Museum.
Sponsors: THE CORAL SPRINGS HISTORICAL ADVISORY COMMITTEE AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

NORTH NEW RIVER CANAL - LOCK NO. 1

Location:S.R. 84 at Broward Memorial Boat Lock Park
County: Broward
City: Davie
Description: Lock #1 was the first to be built as part of the Everglades Drainage District. As such, it played a vital role in the operations of North New River Canal, a major transportation link between Lake Okeechobee and Fort Lauderdale. The canal became operational in 1912 and remained in use until highways and railroads supplanted the system in the 1930s. Lock #1 was built by the Furst-Clark Construction company of Baltimore, Maryland. The parallel side walls are of poured concrete, six feet thick at their bases. The gates were constructed of large timbers and were operated by a geared rack-and-pinion mechanism. Lock #1 was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in march, 1978.
Sponsors: sponsored by broward county historical commission in cooperation with department of state

OLD FORT LAUDERDALE VILLAGE

Location:SW 2nd St. Grounds of the Fort Lauderdale History Center behind the Museum of History New River Inn
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Old Fort Lauderdale Village at the intersection of the New River and the Florida East Coast Railway (F.E.C.) incorporates four turn-of-the-20th century historic buildings. These include the 1905 New River Inn, the 1905 Philemon N. Bryan House, the 1905 Acetylene Building, and the 1907 King-Cromartie House. The New River Inn houses a Museum of History and is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. It was built for Philemon N. Bryan from hollow concrete block made on site. Bryan, a grove owner, storekeeper and former mayor of New Smyrna, was ruined by the great Florida freeze of 1894-95. F.E.C. owner Henry Flagler (1830-1913) asked Bryan to build the railway section from the New River to Pompano. In 1894, Philemon, with his two sons Tom and Reed, brought 400 African-American workers by boat from New Smyrna to build the roadbed. The first train to Miami reached Fort Lauderdale on February 22, 1896. Philemon and his sons acquired land on either side of the railway tracks in what later became downtown Fort Lauderdale. In 1905, Contractor Edwin T. King built the Inn, the Philemon Bryan House and the nearby Tom and Reed Bryan houses, thereby creating the first Fort Lauderdale residential neighborhood.
Sponsors: THE FORT LAUDERDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

SILVER THATCH MOUNTED BEACH PATROL

Location:Corner of Colony Club Rd. and N. Riverside Dr.
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: The recreation area encompassed by Colony Club Road, during World War II, was the site of the corrals and paddocks for the United States Coast Guard’s Silver Thatch Mounted Beach Patrol. The mounted beach patrol protected the coast from U-boat activity and saboteurs. The location of the Beach Patrol headquarters was the site of the old Silver Thatch Inn, which was built by the Jelks family c. 1930s. When the Coast Guard requisitioned the property in 1942, stables, corrals and a paddock were built behind the hotel, which served as headquarters for the unit and barracks for the men. Starting the eight-hour duty at 4 P.M., the unit patrolled from Hillsboro Inlet to Port Everglades. In 1945, the unit was decommissioned and the hotel was returned to civilian control. In 1954, Ed Stack, who later became Broward County Sheriff and then was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives, purchased the property and started the Bath and Tennis Club of Pompano Beach on the site. The hotel was torn down in 1972, when the Silver Thatch Atlantic Plaza was built on the property. The recreational area remains because of a 1962 deed restriction, which precludes any building on the parcel.
Sponsors: THE FORT LAUDERDALE HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

THE EVERGLADES DRAINAGE PROJECT

Location:6521 West S.R. 84 at Broward Memorial Boat Lock Pa
County: Broward
City: Davie
Description: As Florida's population increased after the Civil War, the state's southern wetlands attracted the attention of potential settlers. Settlement was hindered, however, by inadequate drainage, and years of public and private attempts at reclamation ended in failure. In 1905, Florida established the Everglades Drainage District. Governor Napoleon B. Broward opened the project on July 4, 1906, and dredge "Everglades" began work on the North New River Canal. The resulting network of canals and locks opened thousands of acres of virgin land to settlement and cultivation. Fish from Lake Okeechobee and produce from remote farms were carried through the North New River Canal to Fort Lauderdale, where they were shipped by rail to northern markets. small passenger steamers plied the canal network en route to Fort Myers. Although boat traffic is now restricted, the canal system continues to serve South Florida in maintaining an ecological balance in the Everglades and protecting coastal urban areas from floods.
Sponsors: sponsored by broward county historical commission in cooperation with department of state

OLD DAVIE SCHOOL

Location:6650 Griffin Rd.
County: Broward
City: Davie
Description: This historic structure was the first permanent school in the Everglades and is now Broward County’s oldest existing school building. The Davie School was designed in 1917 by August Geiger (born 1888), who came to Miami in 1905 from New Haven, Connecticut and later became one of South Florida’s most well known early architects. The school opened its doors in 1918 to 90 students and was in continuous use as a school until 1980. The masonry vernacular, concrete structure is topped by a shallow hip roof behind a parapet. From the day it opened, the Davie School served as the area’s source of education as well as a center for community gatherings. In 1988 the Davie School was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Today, the Old Davie School Historical Museum is a historic, cultural, social and artistic resource dedicated to providing information and learning opportunities for students and the community at large. The building represents an irreplaceable link with the history of early 20th century pioneering, settlement and education in Western Broward County.
Sponsors: THE TOWN OF DAVIE AND THE FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF STATE

POMPANO COLORED SCHOOL

Location:Northern end of Coleman Park at the Northwest 7 Terrace
County: Broward
City: Pompano Company
Description: Side One: The first school for Pompano Beach’s African American students was a two-room wooden building that was destroyed in the 1926 Great Miami hurricane. Classes were held in the Psalters Temple AME Church until a new schoolhouse could be built on this site. In 1927, leaders in the Pompano Beach African American community and local families raised approximately $15,500 for the construction of a new Pompano Colored School. The Julius Rosenwald Foundation, a charitable organization that worked with Booker T. Washington and the Tuskegee Institute to increase educational opportunities for African American children across the South, supplied matching funds. Finished in 1928, the new two-story schoolhouse was built using concrete block and stucco. It featured an assembly hall, a library, a separate principal’s office, and six classrooms. The new school building was the second of four Rosenwald Schools in Broward County, and one of the 5,295 schools built by the Rosenwald Foundation during its tenure from 1913 to 1932. Side Two: Blanche General Ely served as the school’s principal, as she had at the previous school. It offered grades first through sixth and later expanded to tenth grade. The school year ran from September to December, broke for the harvest season, and resumed for May and June. During those last two months, students had to attend classes Monday through Saturday to make up the lost time. Ely lobbied for the construction of a high school in Pompano Beach, because many older students had to travel out of town to attend class. Named in her honor, the new Blanche Ely High School opened in 1952, and she served as its principal. In 1954, the Pompano Colored School was renamed Coleman Elementary School, in honor of the Reverend James Emanuel Coleman, pastor of Pompano’s Mount Calvary Missionary Baptist Church. Following the integration of Florida’s public schools in the 1960s, enrollment at Coleman Elementary declined, and it was closed in 1969. The Broward County School District razed the schoolhouse in 1972. The Pompano Colored School provided quality education for the community, and reflected the extraordinary achievements of Pompano Beach’s early African American community.
Sponsors: City of Pompano Beach, Florida, The Honorable Lamar Fisher, Commissioners Beverly Perkins and Michael Sobel, Vice Mayor Charlotte Burrie, Rex Hardin, Barry Moss

FORT LAUDERDALE HIGH SCHOOL, 1915-1962,HOME OF THE FLYING L'S

Location:SE 53rd Avenue
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: On this 13-acre site, bounded by Broward Boulevard, South Federal Highway, SE 3rd Avenue, and SE 2nd Street, stood the original Fort Lauderdale High School. The land was donated by Frank and Ivy Strahanan, Fort Lauderdale’s first school teacher. Built at a cost of $86,000 and dedicated on September 16, 1915, it was the first high school in newly organized Broward County. Originally called Central School with students in all twelve grades, as Fort Lauderdale grew it became exclusively a high school in 1924. North Hall was completed in 1924, two wings were added to the original building in 1925 and 1926, and the auditorium in 1925. The Great Hurricane of 1926 damaged both wings and the auditorium roof, requiring extensive reconstruction. A gymnasium was added in 1930, followed by the library and cafeteria in 1940. Between 1915 and 1962, forty-eight classes were graduated, totaling 8,833 students. A new high school building opened in the fall of 1962 at 1600 NE 4th Avenue. The original buildings were demolished in August 1970.
Sponsors: Ft. Lauderdale High Class of 1962

BRANHILDA RICHARDSON KNOWLES MEMORIAL PARK AND HISTORIC CEMETERY

Location:411 Southeast 2nd Avenue
County: Broward
City: Deerfield Beach
Description: Born in the Bahamas in 1898, Branhilda Richardson Knowles immigrated to the Deerfield Beach area in 1922. Knowles was trained as a midwife, and due to Jim Crow era segregation, helped deliver babies for the African American community in Deerfield Beach. For many people of color living in Deerfield Beach during the early 20th century, formal medical treatments such as hospital birth were not available. Knowles played a vital role in helping improve the quality of life for many African American residents. In 2018, the City of Deerfield Beach named this 3.3-acre park in her honor. Beginning in the late 1800s, the park served as a cemetery for African Americans, many of whom were Bahamians that lived and worked in Deerfield Beach. Segregation prohibited people of color from being buried in the city cemetery during the Jim Crow era. The cemetery on this site was in use until 1950. Development threatened to destroy the burial ground in 2015, but after archaeological investigation uncovered numerous signs of human remains, the city purchased the land to preserve it. At the park, conch shells serve as a reminder of the original grave markers used by Bahamians, like Knowles, who came to Deerfield Beach for a better life.
Sponsors: City of Deerfield Beach Commission: Mayor Bill Ganz, Vice Mayor Gloria J. Battle: Commissioners: Todd Drosky, Joseph Miller, Bernie Parness; City Manager Burgess Hanson; The Deerfield Beach Historical Society

ROBERT ROSCIOLI- LEADER IN THE SOUTH FLORIDA MARINE INDUSTRY

Location:3201 West State Road 84
County: Broward
City: Davie
Description: Robert “Bob” Roscioli moved to south Florida from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with his family in 1956. He started working in the Florida marine industry in 1962, when he took a position sanding boats at the Marine Ways boatyard in Fort Lauderdale. In the late 1960s, he started his own yacht servicing business, Roscioli Yachting Center, Inc., on a small dock. Roscioli built his business on hard work and attention to detail, ensuring quality and customer pride; he built his team on their ability to meet challenges, and by instilling loyalty and trust. In 1981, Roscioli expanded his business by acquiring a larger shipyard. By 1987, he had branched into building his own yachts with the creation of Roscioli Donzi Yachts. Among Roscioli’s more notable clients was McDonald’s founder Ray Kroc and builder Henry Burger. His mantra, “Today’s the day!”, helped Roscioli define Fort Lauderdale’s marine and yachting industries for nearly sixty years. With focus, vision and dedication, he rose to become a respected icon of yacht building, repair, and restoration. He passed away in 2020, at the age of 78, survived by this wife, Sharon, and his children, Robert and Heather.

DENISON FAMILY HOMESITE/ BROWARD MARINE

Location:1601-1801 SW 20th Street
County: Broward
City: Fort Lauderdale
Description: Honeymooning here in 1948, Frank and Gertrude Denison purchased the shipyard on this site known as Dooley’s Boat Basin, renaming it Broward Marine. In 1950, they won the contract to build 11 minesweepers for the Dutch and U.S. navies. The seemingly impossible delivery schedule dictated the launching of seven 144-foot ships every 45 days, and four 172-foot ships every 90 days. The local press dubbed the effort “Frank’s Folly.” As the largest defense contractor in Florida, Congress mandated the widening of bridges and dredging of canals in the area, along with the building of a railroad spur directly to the yard. Thousands came to Florida in the early 1950s to work at the yard, and many stayed after the program ended. In 1955, Broward Marine launched Alisa V, the largest yacht built in the U.S. since World War II, which began the yacht-building industry here. In 1993, the company had the largest world-wide order book, the first U.S. yacht builder to receive this distinction. The establishment of Fort Lauderdale as the “Yachting Capital of the World” was due to the efforts of people like the Denisons, who made their careers here. In 1999, the Denisons sold this shipyard after living and working there for over 50 years.

MARGATE BLOUNT ARCHAEOLOGICAL SITE

Location:11051 Trails End
County: Broward
City: Parkland
Description: Side One: The Margate Blount Site was known as early as 1940. Parkland Founder Bruce Blount observed what appeared to be a wooden crypt filled with skeletal remains when in 1959 a bulldozer struck the mound and scattered bones. The remains were determined to be very old, so archaeologists began to survey the site and found multiple artifacts. From 1959 to 1961, the Broward County Archaeological Society conducted excavations led by Wilma Williams, who named the site. In 1986, Gypsy Graves led additional studies of the site. Coral Ridge Properties purchased the site in 1989 with the intent to develop it. They hired Professor Wilburn “Sonny” Cockrell to assess the site in 1990 and 2000. He tentatively dated the site from 500 BCE to 500 CE, but also suggested a wider range from 1500 BCE to 800 CE. Cockrell stated, “This site is certainly a significant site in terms of regional significance and would probably qualify to be listed on the National Register of Historic Places and such would be significant at that level as well.” A 2002 survey of the site by Robert S. Carr led to its protection and designation in 2006 as a conservation site in partnership with the City of Parkland, Broward County, and the State of Florida. Side Two: This site provides important information about the lifeways and mortuary practices of the Tequesta, a Native American tribe that occupied the southeastern Atlantic coast of Florida. The site consists of both a habitation area and burial mound. In the course of several archaeological digs, multiple artifacts were found including over 4,000 pottery shards, 108 shell tools, 113 bone artifacts, and skeletal remains with wooden burial implements. Excavations also uncovered midden materials, which gave insight into the food sources of the inhabitants. The bone artifacts found consisted of drilled shark vertebrae and teeth, bone points and knives, beads, and a drilled alligator and human tooth. Rock pendants were also found, including three that were not of local stone origin, suggesting trade with and travel to other places. A rare turtle effigy pendant and other wooden artifacts make it an extremely significant site. The pottery found is important for dating purposes and supports a dating range from the 500 BCE to 750 CE, though some pieces represent a more recent historic component dating to the late 17th or early 18th century.

THE WRAY HOUSE MUSEUM

Location:3750 S. Flamingo Road
County: Broward
City: Davie
Description: Floyd L. and Jane Wray founded Flamingo Gardens, originally Flamingo Groves, in 1927. It first served as a citrus grove, and later became a botanical garden. The Wrays built this frame house in 1933 as a weekend home, and used it for relaxing and conducting business. They also used the house to entertain business associates, civic groups, and friends. It is the oldest residence in Broward County west of University Drive. Floyd and Jane Wray were significant to the growth and development of Broward County and the Broward County citrus industry. Additionally, they were responsible for the creation of one of Florida's first botanical gardens. Floyd served on the Board of Directors of the First National Bank of Fort Lauderdale, and served as a substitute municipal judge for the City of Hollywood. He was a founding member of the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, founding member of the Broward County Chamber of Commerce, a member of the Pan-American Committee of the Florida Chamber of Commerce, and was instrumental in the establishment of Port Everglades. The house was converted into a museum in 1975, and in 1991 the interior of the building was restored to depict a typical South Florida country home of the 1930s.