‘Figulus’ Home To Area Founder

Q: A curious old map I found shows nothing between Jupiter and New River but “Figulus.” Do you think Figulus on the 1885 map would be a home or a town?
- Janet De Vries, archivist,
Schoolhouse Children’s
Museum, Boynton Beach
A: It was the home of George Potter, one of the area’s founders and a surveyor (“figulus” is Latin for “potter.”). The tract comprised 160 acres, including a 2,000-foot stretch of waterfront on both sides of the island. It’s south of Southern Boulevard and just south of the Bath and Tennis Club. “Figulus” was the second post office in the region, established Jan. 7, 1886. The first was “Lake Worth,” set in 1880 in present-day Palm Beach, about a mile north of the north bridge; the third was Hypoluxo, established in May
1886 near what is now Lantana.
The tract was sold in the 1890s to the pioneer Bingham family. Charles William Bingham floated parts for a home down to Palm Beach; that became the first official “Figulus” residence. That building was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in the 1970s; it was torn down in recent years. Figulus II, an adjacent building that went up in the early 20th century, was torn down in the past decade. Architect Tim Bolton, a descendant of C.W. Bingham, designed Figulus III and IV in 1989. His mother, Mary Bolton, still
lives in Figulus III; Figulus IV is a guest house. The properties stand on Blossom Way.
That’s the general consensus from Tim Bolton, Preservation Foundation of Palm Beach archivist Carolyn S. Denton, retired Florida Atlantic University professor Donald Curl, Historical Society of Palm Beach County archivist Debi Murray and attorney Harvey Oyer III, the historical society’s president.

Tags: Palm Beach, place names