1913 Bryant and Greenwood Map of North Lake Worth, Palm Beach, Florida

This is a rare 1913 Bryant and Greenwood map and promotional brochure advertising the initial development of North Lake Worth. This is the first map we've seen promoting Florida real estate directly to the elderly, claiming it will add 'ten or more years to your life.'

A Closer Look

The map covers an area on the western shore of Lake Worth that roughly corresponds to those lots north of the modern-day Lake Worth Spillway, what at the time was mapped as 23rd to 29th Avenues and inland as far as modern-day Route 1, what on this map is named 'Country Rock Road.' Blocks are numbered with premium lots receiving a letter designation. Lot prices range from 1100 USD to just 175 USD for a property.

The verso contains promotional text targeting the development of (unsurprisingly?) elderly people and sportsmen. It includes a testimony by one Mrs. Hershberger regarding the productivity of her citrus farm. It also includes a price history for West Palm Beach, suggesting that prices are rising fast.

Historical Context

In the early 20th century, real estate speculators and developers Frederick Edward Braynt, Harold J. Bryant, and William Greenwood acquired nearly 700 acres of land in what is today Palm Beach County. Most of the acquired land was uninhabitable swampland, but the tracts also included properties on the west side of Lake Worth. The swampland they incorporated as Palm Beach Farms and promoted throughout the United States and Canada as five-acre farm tracts. As a bonus to anyone who bought a farm, they included a free 25 x 25 ft lot on the newly laid out community of Lake Worth - which they planned to call Lucerne. New property owners arrived at their lots to find they had been sold useless swampland, most of which was fully underwater most of the year. Lake Worth, however, with proximity to the Florida East Coast Railroad (FEC), prospered and most settled there on their free lots. Recognizing the opportunity, the partners incorporated Bryant and Greenwood into the city of Lake Worth. Lake Worth was so successful that in 1913, they expanded northwards, creating North Lake Worth - as here.

Florida Land Booms

In the second half of the 19th and throughout the early 20th century, Florida experienced a series of land booms and crashes. The first followed the Second Seminole War (1835 - 1842) when the government offered homesteaders who agreed to stay for five years 160 acres of free land. The second followed the arrival of the railroads to central Florida, leading to nearly 15 years of prosperity and economic growth - mostly revolving around the booming citrus industry. New settlements sprang up throughout the northern half of the state, many owned by absentee investors who never personally visited Florida. The boom collapsed in 1894-95 when a series of historic freezes wiped out the citrus harvest. Property depreciation following the freezes allowed Henry Flagler (1830 - 1913) to develop the Florida East Coast Railway. This, and the arrival of the highway system in the 1920s, led to the third Florida land boom from 1920 until the stock-market crash of 1929.

Publication History and Census

This map was printed for Bryant and Greenwood by an unknown printer. It was issued in 1913. This is the only known surviving example.