Plantation, Florida


Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census the population was 84,955. It is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their attempts to establish a rice plantation in the area.

History

Land acquisition and drainage (1855–1930)

Before the start of the twentieth century, the area that became Plantation was part of the Everglades wetlands, regularly covered by 2–3 feet of water. In 1855, Florida state passed the Internal Improvement Act and established the Internal Improvement Trust Fund, the trustees of which act as a government agency to oversee management, sale, and development of state land. In 1897, the Interior Department submitted 2.9 million acres to the Florida Land Office; however, the submission was revoked the following year, due to fears it would "impinge upon the rights and interests of the Seminole Tribes." The Seminole people regularly used the area for hunting, fishing and camping, and also used the nearby Pine Island Ridge as a headquarters during the second and third Seminole Wars.
In 1899, Florida Governor William Sherman Jennings began an initiative to drain the Everglades. To establish Florida's entitlement to the land, Jennings obtained a new patent for land "aggregating 2,862,280 acres." Following his election in 1905, Jennings' successor, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward appointed Jennings as general counsel of the Internal Improvement Fund and continued the initiative for complete drainage of the Everglades. Broward described the drainage as a duty of the trustees, and promised to create an "Empire of the Everglades".
The first attempts to drain the Everglades began in 1906, with the building and launching of two dredges into the New River: The Okeechobee began cutting from the river's south fork, and The Everglades began cutting from the north fork up to Lake Okeechobee. The first waterway opened after the drainage attempts was named The Holloway Canal, after Captain Holloway.
Following a meeting at the 1908 Democratic National Convention, Broward and Jennings established a deal with Richard 'Dicky' J. Bolles: The fund trustees granted Bolles of overflowed state lands at $2 per acre, with an agreement for the State to use 50% of the $1 million proceeds purely for drainage and reclamation, and another agreement to establish 5 main canals. Following this, Bolles founded the Florida Fruit Lands Company, becoming the Everglades' first private developer.
The Everglades Plantation Company was established in January 1909, following entry into a 2-year contract with the Internal Improvement Fund trustees by Adam A. Boggs and A.B. Sanders to create a rice plantation in the Everglades. The agreement enabled Boggs & Sanders to rent a significant amount of land around the North New River Canal, and also subsequently purchase the land for between $3 and $15 per acre.
It was later discovered that the area leased to Boggs & Sanders already belonged to Dicky Bolles, as part of the 500,000 acres he had purchased; however, the Everglades Plantation Company was able to retain the land, despite Bolles' claims. Sanders led further reclamation efforts for the area, including the digging of 60 miles of ditches. Boggs & Sanders were also granted extensions to their 2-year contract, on the grounds that the land remained under water.
In 1911, Bolles held a land lottery at $20–24 per acre, granting residential lots in the 'Town of Progresso' to anyone purchasing farmland of five acres or more in the drainage land;' however, no auction actually took place and the purchased land remained under water. As a result, a lawsuit was brought against Bolles.
In 1912, the North New River Canal opened, and the Sewell Lock, the first lock in Florida, and one of the oldest remaining structures in Broward County, was built on it, just outside of what is now Plantation. The new lock enabled access between the Everglades and Lake Okeechobee by water.
The lawsuit against Bolles was settled in November 1913, with Bolles retaining the $1.4 million already received, but prohibiting any further collection until the land was drained and surveyed. Bolles was also arrested in December of that year, but was subsequently found innocent.
Drainage of the land largely failed, with most of it reverting to the state for taxes; however, two local farmers, O. L Daniel and Dewey Hawkins began buying it, acquiring approximately 6,000 acres and 4,000 acres respectively.'
In the years following their original agreement, contract negotiation escalated into legal battles between the Everglades Plantation Company and the Internal Improvement Trustees. These disputes ended in 1914, in the company's favor. The Trustees no longer insisted on continuation of the rice plantation attempts and, from this point, the company focused primarily on land sales.
Broward county, was created by Florida legislature in 1915, by combining portions of Dade county and Palm Beach County.
Driven by the success of the drainage projects, the Florida Land Boom took place between 1920 and 1925, seeing rapid growth in population and land sales. The boom reached its peak in the fall of 1925 and subsequently collapsed in 1926.
The land boom was closely followed by two severe hurricanes striking the area, significantly impacting the established communities and killing thousands. The first, in September 1926, reached wind speeds of 140 MPH, and the second, in September 1928, reached wind speeds of 135 MPH. In response, additional flood control laws were established, and millions of additional dollars were spent on drainage efforts across the Everglades in the subsequent decades.

Initial development (1931–1952)

Future Plantation founder, Frederick C. Peters, the millionaire heir to a St. Louis shoe business, moved to Goulds, Florida in 1931, beginning both potato and cattle businesses; however, in 1939, Peters received advice from Stephan Zacher to find better land for his cattle in the Davie area. With most large tracts of land in Davie already established as groves, Peters purchased further north for approximately $10–25 per acre, financed with a $350,000 mortgage. The land was previously owned by Dewey Hawkins and by Boggs' and Sanders' Everglades Plantation Company.
With the aim to create a farming-cooperative-based, rural alternative to suburban Dade Country, Peters built the city's first ranch buildings, which were designed by Stephan Zacher. In 1942, he had Leslie E. Bitting begin moving Peters' cattle to the area, and look after the building.'
Between 1944 and 1945, Peters shifted from the idea of building a farming cooperative, hiring architect Russel T. Pancoast to assist with creation of the city master plan, and C. Kay Davis to establish a water control system. In 1946, a special-purpose local government, named the Old Plantation Water Control District, was also chartered by the state to commence drainage of the area previously intended for plantation development, and oversee its secondary canals.'
Chauncey Clark Jr. was told by Peters that, in exchange for an effective development plan, Peters would provide land options and complete drainage & access as needed. Clark Jr.'s plan for 40 acre ranches, clubs, golf courses and an airfield failed to attract investment, but his father, Chauncey Clark Sr., established an alternative plan for single-acre lots with 2-bedroom houses and a 20-tree orchard in each. Miami's Robert Law Weed designed the first homes, which were then built in 1947, on East Acre Drive under the name Plantation Homes Inc. The development's name came from that by which the area had become known, including its Water Control District subdivision, 'Plantation'.
Clark's advertising referred to Plantation as "the Dream City" with "Rich Living at Small Cost" and Peters' advertising described "A Full Acre With Every Home."' A two-bedroom home with an acre of land and 20 fruit trees was sold for $10,241, and property was valued at $200 an acre;' however, early into construction, many of the homes were destroyed by flooding, caused by 93 consecutive days of rain and two hurricanes.' Despite the setbacks, 15 houses were under construction at the time the hurricanes passed.' Clark also repaired and restored all of the homes damaged at his own personal expense. During this same year, road-builder Finley Smith began plans to expand Broward Boulevard from State Road 7 to the Holloway Canal.'
In 1948, Chauncey Clark Jr.'s home was the first completed, and Clark moved into the house with his family.' Construction operations expanded, alongside a dedicated sales group, with approximately three houses being completed and sold per week.' A total of approximately 120 homes were built that year,' and the city's population grew to 30 families in size.' That year, Ann Carter also gave birth to Eugene Carter, the first child born in the city.' 1948 also saw completion of new dikes and a pumping station on the East Holloway Canal,' and formation of The Plantation Community Church.
In September and October 1948, two further hurricanes impacted the area, causing further flooding and the breakage of a work-in-progress dike during the second hurricane.' Rapid repairs and extensions to the dikes, new cofferdams, and pumping were used to end the flooding;' however, house sales halted in 1949, due to the repeated flooding. Although work continued on new roads, dikes and houses, Clark's Plantation Homes Inc. was dissolved, with the assets going to Frederick C. Peters.'
1949 also saw the opening of Plantation Pumping Station No. 2, the founding of the Plantation Women's Club, and the founding of the Plantation Homeowners' organization. At this time, there were 40 occupied homes in the area.
1950 then saw completion of the Plantation Golf Course and Country Club, which was built with the intent to encourage extension of Broward Boulevard further west.

City incorporation (1953–1963)

Plantation was incorporated as a city on April 23, 1953. The Plantation Homeowners Association appointed Ellsworth D. Gage as the city's first Mayor, with Paul Stoner, Winslow Freeman, George Bartold, Walter Bartels, and Wilfred J. Perry Lohman elected to the City Council; however, none of these early city officials took any salary from the position. A building originally intended as a community center, but being used as a warehouse, was used for the first city council meeting, city hall, fire station, and police station. This building, originally known as the Hoffman Building, is now the kitchen area of Deicke Auditorium.
On August 1, 1954, the Miami Herald publicly unveiled the new city plan, calling Plantation "The City of the Future".
In 1955, S. Robinson Estey was elected as the city's second Mayor. Plantation Police Dept. was also organized in the same year, with the first police car and officer, who ran the department alone for several years, on call 24 hours a day. At that time, the city population remained less than 800 people.
The city's fire department's barbecue fundraiser began in 1956, and remains one of the city's annual traditions. Plantation's Volunteer Fire Dept. was subsequently formed in 1957, with Richard Stephenson appointed as the first Fire Chief. The city's first industrial plant opened on Sunrise Blvd in 1957, as did Plantation Community Church's first sanctuary and the Sunshine State Parkway, which connected Miami and Fort Pierce. By 1958, construction was completed on the new City Hall. A new fire station was also built on Broward Blvd, with Frederick T. Peters appointed as the new city Fire Chief.
Plantation's budget had grown to over $170,000 by 1959. That year, the city's first school was dedicated: Berenice Todd Peters Elementary School was a 24-classroom, 725-child school, built on ten acres of land gifted by Frederick Peters. Hank Donath was also appointed as the city's first Police Chief, with the operating costs of the police department covered by cigarette taxes.
In 1960, the city adopted the slogan "The Dream City", including matching license plates.
The Plantation Library, based out of Peters Elementary School, was founded in 1961, with Mrs. Helen B. Hoffman as chairwoman and members of the Plantation Woman's Club as volunteer workers. In 1962, Edwin Deicke donated $100,000 to the city for expanding and renovating the Hoffman Building. Also in 1962, the city's Chamber of Commerce was founded and the Doctors General Hospital was opened.
The city's population reached 8,500 in 1963, and its original motto, "From the Wilderness, this City", was made official, with adoption of a corresponding city seal. The Latin translation of this motto was later found to include a spelling error; however, future mayor, Frank Veltri opted not to change it. The city's Community Center, designed by original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, was also built in 1963, becoming the site of the first city library.

Gulfstream developments (1964–1979)

Following the death of Frederick C. Peters in July 1964, the Peters family sold of undeveloped land west of University Drive, at approximately $3,000 per acre, to the Gulfstream Land Development Company, led by president John H. Cleary. The land is purchased for development of the Jacaranda community, the intent of which was to build a Broward County equivalent to Coral Gables.
Other expansions during this time included Plantation Elementary School in 1965, The Florida Air Academy in 1969, Plantation High School and Plantation General Hospital in 1966, and a new facility for the telecommunications company Motorola in 1969.
The city's population reached 23,523 by 1970, and in 1972, a $1.03 million construction bid was accepted for a new city hall, alongside groundbreaking for construction of the Deicke Auditorium.
Plantation Acres and Melaleuca Isles were annexed into Plantation in 1973. Deicke Auditorium and the new Plantation City Hall were dedicated in May and December of that year respectively. Also in 1973, the Gulfstream consortium acquired the remaining land from the Peters family holdings. Moving away from Plantation's original rural direction, Gulfstream instead targeted commercial, industrial and home office establishments, beginning agreements with Motorola, American Express, and those who would build the Broward Mall. The Plantation Historical Society was founded the following year by Genevieve Veltri, Dorothy O'Hare, Lois Brickhouse, and Marilyn King, with their first meeting held in the Veltri home, and Veltri elected as the first president.
Frank Veltri was elected as the city's Mayor for first time in 1975. Veltri would go on to become the city's longest-serving mayor, completing six terms over 24 years. That same year, the financial services company, American Express moved its 'Southern Region Operations Center' to a newly constructed building in Plantation, beginning with 1,000 employees.
During the US bicentennial celebration in 1976, a 45-foot oak tree was planted in Plantation's Fifth Street Park to represent the Liberty Tree. The park was renamed to Liberty Tree Park as a result. In 1977, the city and Broward County jointly acquired land which was previously a part of the Peters family farm, and began work on the Plantation Heritage Park, using a grant from the Land and Water Conservation Fund.
The Broward Mall opened in 1978, on what had previously been cow pasture land. At the time, it was the largest mall in the Southern United States, spanning 1 million square ft. 1978 was also the year of the city's silver anniversary, which was celebrated with three days of events and included the burying of a time capsule, to be updated every 25 years.
In 1979 the Florida Air Academy closed, and the land was sold to the Jewish Community Center.

Recent history (1980–present)

By 1980, Plantation's population had reached 48,653. This year is when the city was first designated as a 'Tree City' by the Arbor Day Foundation. The Plantation Library was renamed to the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library in the following year.
In 1983, the city opened Plantation Central Park: a 77-acre recreation complex, including any Olympic swimming pool, gym, and spaces for softball, football, soccer, tennis and basketball. That same year, the former Plantation Chamber of Commerce building was moved over a mile by truck to a new location. The intent was for the building to be used as a museum building by the Plantation Historical Society; however, it was subsequently vandalized and fell from its foundation, requiring demolition as a result. Instead, an alternative, Plantation Historical Museum is dedicated in June 1985.
The city's landscape department established the 'Plantation Landscaping Award for Nurturing our Town' awards in 1984, developed as part of the Tree City USA program to reward outstanding landscaping and maintenance. The same year also saw the first opening of the Plantation Heritage Park to the public.
In 1988, 10 years after the opening of the Broward Mall, two new shopping malls were opened in the city: The Fountains Shopping Mall and the Fashion Mall at Plantation.
The population reached a 66,116 by 1990. The following year, Plantation's PLANT awards recognized Marjory Stoneman Douglas as the "First Lady of Conservation" for her efforts to preserve the Everglades.
The insurance company Kemper National Services first opened operations in Plantation in 1993, and in the following year, announced plans to double its office space in the city and hire up to 800 additional employees. At the time, the city's largest employers were American Express, followed by Motorola.
During the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in 1996, the relay run of the Olympic Flame passed through Plantation city center. In September of that year, a fire at the Plantation Towne Mall became the city's largest fire to date, impacting 56,000 square feet of the mall. Following the fire, the area was re-built as Plantation Towne Square, including a new Publix anchor store.
The year 2000 census established the city population at 82,934, spanning 15 distinct ethnic groups. New city developments around this time included the Volunteer Park Community Center, the Park East Multicultural Garden, the Community Bus Service, Jim Ward Community Center, Jack Carter Harmony Park, Happy Tails Dog Park, the Plantation Equestrian Center, and the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club.
Plantation celebrated its 50-year golden anniversary in 2003, with a one-week celebration and updating of the city's time capsule.
Hurricane Wilma hit Plantation on Monday, October 24, 2005, causing significant damage and power outages. The resulting damage led to the subsequent closure of the Fashion Mall in 2006.
In 2007, the Broward Mall was acquired by the Westfield Group, received a multimillion-dollar renovation, and was renamed to Westfield Broward.
The city was first named one as of the nation's "100 Best Communities for Young People" by America's Promise Alliance in 2008. It has won this award on other subsequent years, including 2010 and 2011
The 2010 census established the city's population at 84,955 people. During this year, the vacant former Fashion Mall was planned for auction, but the auction was cancelled after the property owner paid a court judgement.
In 2011, Diane Veltri Bendekovic, daughter of previous long-running mayor Frank Veltri, was elected as mayor of the city.
The city's 60th anniversary in 2013 saw the publication of a new book dedicated to its history: Images of America: Plantation.
The developers of the previously closed Fashion Mall filed for bankruptcy in October 2014. The property was then sold in a bankruptcy auction on April 2015 for $37.7 million. Demolition of the former Fashion Mall then began in 2016, to make way for 'Plantation Walk' : a new $350 million complex including 700 apartments, 200,000 square feet of retail and restaurants, and remodeled versions of the existing 160,000 square foot office tower and Sheraton hotel. In September 2018, a settlement was reached, dismissing legal conflicts between the area's bankruptcy trustee and other parties previously involved in the redevelopment. The development is now targeting completion in 2021.
The American Express office in Plantation closed in 2017, when company relocated to a newly built facility in neighboring Sunrise. In response to the move, committee review began on 'Plantation Midtown': a new mixed-use development, encompassing the site of the former American Express office.
On July 6, 2019, 23 people were injured, two seriously, by a gas explosion at The Fountains shopping plaza on South University Drive, which caused extensive damage to it and nearby buildings.

Geography

Land size

As of the 2010 census, the city has a total area of, of which is land and is water.

Location and surroundings

Plantation is located in central Broward County at . It is bordered by Lauderhill to the northeast, Sunrise to the north and west, Davie to the south, and Fort Lauderdale to the east.

Climate

Plantation has a tropical rainforest climate, bordering a tropical monsoon climate due to the driest month of December's precipitation being near the 60mm threshold separating these categories.
On average, August is the hottest month, with an average high of, whilst January is the coolest month, with an average low of and a record low of.
Full monthly statistics for the city are as follows:

Demographics

Population and race

Age and gender

As of 2010, the median age of the city's population was 39.7 years, with the age distribution of 23.5% 19 years or younger ; 26.9% from 20–39 years; 30.0% from 40–59 years; 17.5% from 60–84 years; and 2.1% 85 years or older.
The population was 52.6% female, with a 53.5% female population aged over 18 years.

Language

As of the 2000 census, first language distribution in the city was 78.01% English, 13.00% Spanish, 2.24% French Creole, 1.31% French, 0.72% Hebrew, 0.72% Portuguese, 0.59% Italian, 0.55% German, 0.46% Arabic and 2.40 for all others.

Employment and income

According to a 2013-2017 American Community Survey estimate, the per capita income for the city was $35,897, the median household income was $69,531, and the median family income was $78,839. The median earnings for a full-time, year-round male worker was $54,188, compared to $44,537 for the female equivalent.
The estimate also identified 9.0% of the city's population below the poverty line, including 11.8% of those under age 18 and 5.2% of those age 65 or over.
The largest area of occupation was in management, business, science, and arts occupations, followed by sales and office occupations.

Households

As of 2010, there were a total of 37,587 housing units in the city, 9.0% of which were vacant.
Also as of 2010, 66.0% of the 34,190 total households were family households, 47.7% were husband-wife households, and 28.5% included a child under 18 years. 26.3% of all households were made up of individual householders living alone, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.

Economy

A 2012 survey of business owners identified a total of 13,674 companies within the city. An economic census, also from 2012, determined that total retail sales in the city amounted to $1.72 billion.
Specific companies with operations in Plantation include DHL, the University of Phoenix, and TradeStation. Companies with former locations in Plantation include American Express, and Motorola.

Malls

Plantation was home to two malls, situated across the street from one another: the Westfield Broward Mall, and the Fashion Mall ; however, the Fashion Mall was closed in 2006 and is currently in the process of being re-developed for the Plantation Walk project.

Golf and country clubs

The oldest club in the city is the 293 acre Fort Lauderdale Country Club, which was first founded in 1926. When first opened, the 6,661 yard course was known as the West Side Golf Course, and was owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale; however, the course was renamed in December 1928 when it was leased by Fort Lauderdale. In 1951, the club was expanded with a second 18-hole, 6,915 yard 'North Course'. Though originally a public club, it became a private club in 1957, when it was sold by the city of Fort Lauderdale. The club's original 'South Course' was designed by Joseph A. Roseman, Hebert Charles Tippet, and George Richardson Sr., and subsequently re-designed by Charles Ankrom and Kipp Schulties. The North Course was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence, then re-designed by Tom Pearson and Kipp Schulties.
The first club not owned by Fort Lauderdale, the Plantation Golf Course and Country Club, was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence and original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, opening in 1950. Following discovery of a Native American burial mound on the site of the 14th hole during construction, each hole on the course was given a different Native American name to honor the area's previous Seminole and Tequesta residents. In addition to the golf course, the club included a swimming pool, tennis courts, and a clubhouse.
Another of the city's private golf courses is the 162 acre Lago Mar Country Club. Established in 1969, Lago Mar was purchased from its original builders in 1980 and re-designed in 2009 by Kipp Schulties, reopening on January 1, 2010. The club includes teeing grounds from 5,811 to 6,756 yards and other facilities such as private tennis courts.
Another public club within the city is the Jacaranda Golf Club: a 285 acre, 7,247 yard course designed by Mark Mahannah and built 1970, then redesigned by Bobby Weed in 2006.
Work on a new city-owned golf course began in 2002, when the city purchased the property of the original Plantation Golf Course and commenced the new 'Plantation Preserve' development. This development work resulted in the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club: a 214 acre, 7,148 yard course, designed by Robert von Hagge, Michael Smelek, and Rick Baril, which was dedicated in April 2006.

Education

According to a 2013-2017 American Community Survey estimate, 93.4% of the city have attained high school graduation or a higher level of education. 25.4% have a Bachelor's degree, and 17.4% have a graduate or professional degree.
Plantation is served by Broward County Public Schools.
Public high schools
Plantation middle schools
Public elementary schools
Private schools
Higher education
Plantation is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the sixteenth largest media market, the eleventh largest radio market, and the sixteenth largest television market in the United States.
The city's primary daily newspapers are the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald.
Plantation has also been used as a filming location for feature films, such as Caddyshack in 1980, and There's Something About Mary in 1998.

Notable people