From its beginnings some 5,000 years ago, people have been drawn to the area we now know as Fort Lauderdale. The prehistoric people of south Florida, known as the "Glades Culture," and the early historic peoples of the area, the Tequestas, enjoyed the abundance of natural resources along Fort Lauderdale's New River.
The Seminoles first appeared in Broward County in the 1820s and were joined by white planters along the river. The city of Fort Lauderdale is named for a second Seminole war fortification built on the banks of New River in 1838. Major William Lauderdale led Tennessee volunteers south along the east coast of Florida to capture Seminole lands and battle indian warriors. Three Fort Lauderdales were constructed: the first at the fork of New River, Tarpon Bend, and Bahia Mar.
View of the west end
of East Las Olas Boulevard looking west from about Southeast 1st
Avenue, ca 1940s.
The building in the center, on Andrews Avenue, still stands and is
known today as One River Plaza.
Fort Lauderdale's very
first schoolhouse which was located south of New River on what is
today Andrews Avenue at about Southwest 5th
Street.
On October
1, 1915, Broward County was officially created out of Dade County
and named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, Florida's governor from
1905 to 1909, Until this time, the beach was accessible only by
boat...and of course, the beach was one of the major attractions!
One of the first items of business for the first County Commission
was to build a bridge (actually three bridges) connecting Fort
Lauderdale with the beach. The first road to the ocean was called
Las Olas, Spanish for "the waves." Meantime, Fort Lauderdale also
played a vital role in the defense of our Nation. Naval Air Station
Fort Lauderdale (located on the current site of the Fort
Lauderdale/Hollywood International Airport) trained hundreds of
Naval Aviators during World War II. NAS, Ft. Lauderdale also holds
the infamous distinction as the point of departure for "Flight 19,"
which disappeared mysteriously in the "Bermuda
Triangle."
View of
the ca. 1928 Broward County Courthouse located at the site of the
present courthouse.
This view is of the main entrance, at the northwest corner of the
intersection of Southeast 3rd Avenue and Southwest 6th
Street.