Local History- How South Florida Grew
HOW COUNTIES CHANGED
1821:
2 counties
Spain sells Florida to U.S. for $5 million and first two counties are formed.
BY 1824:
11 counties
Mosquito carved out of St. Johns in 1824
Florida becomes a state in 1845.
BY 1880:
28 counties added
Dade carved from Mosquito in 1836.
St. Lucia carved from Mosquito in 1845; renamed Brevard in 1855. Mosquito name abandoned in 1845.
BY 1910:
8 counties added
St. Lucie carved from Brevard in 1905.
Palm Beach carved from Dade in 1909.
BY 1925: last 20 counties added
Broward formed in 1915.
Okeechobee formed in 1917.
Martin formed in 1925.
Some cities had different names when first settled. Okeechobee, for example, was first called Tantie. Stuart was called Potsdam until 1895. Lake Worth was called Jewel in the 1890s. Delray Beach was called Linton in 1895 and Delray in 1898. It merged with a separate town of Delray Beach in 1927. Riviera Beach was called Oak Lawn when first settled. It became Riviera Beach in 1893.
1830 POPULATION
34,730 Florida
517 southern peninsula
1880 POPULATION
269,493 Florida
257 Dade County
1910 POPULATION
752,619 Florida
5,577 Palm Beach County
4,075 St. Lucie County
1,743 West Palm Beach
250 Delray
1,333 Fort Pierce
1940 POPULATION
1,897,414 Florida
79,989 Palm Bch. County
6,295 Martin County
11,871 St. Lucie County
11,871 Okeechobee County
33,693 West Palm Beach
3,661 Delray Beach
1,326 Boynton Beach
723 Boca Raton
2,438 Stuart
8,040 Fort Pierce
1,658 Okeechobee
1970 POPULATION
6,791,418 Florida
348,993 Palm Bch. County
28,035 Martin County
50,836 St. Lucie County
11,233 Okeechobee County
57,375 West Palm Beach
28,506 Boca Raton
19,366 Delray Beach
18,115 Boynton Beach
330 Port St. Lucie
4,820 Stuart
29,735 Fort Pierce
3,715 Okeechobee
1999 POPULATION
15,307,457 Florida
1,039,814 Palm Bch. County
121,514 Martin County
186,905 St. Lucie County
35,510 Okeechobee County
83,254 Port St. Lucie
81,132 West Palm Beach
69,994 Boca Raton
53,589 Delray Beach
55,483 Boynton Beach
13,846 Stuart
38,401 Fort Pierce
5,102 Okeechobee
Sources: U.S. Census, Univ. of Fla., city and county records
