Palm Beach County Resources

Palm Beach County was created in 1909. It was named for its first settled community, Palm Beach. The County was carved out of what was then the northern half of Dade County. Henry Flagler was instrumental in the county’s development in the early 1900s
with the extension of the Florida East Coast Railway which ran through Palm Beach County in connecting Jacksonville to Key West.

Palm Beach County is one of three counties that comprise the South Florida Metropolitan Area, and is the area’s second oldest county. Its largest city and county seat is West Palm Beach (Central County), who has an incorporated population of over 100,000 and an unincorporated population of 250,000. Boca Raton (South County), is the second largest city, and has a population approaching 100,000 residents.

All of Palm Beach County is served by the School District of Palm Beach County. As of 2006, it was the 4th largest school district in Florida and the 11th largest school district in the United States. As of August, 2006, the district operated 164 schools, including 25 high schools, and, as of July 22, 2006 had an additional 33 charter schools, with seven more scheduled to open in August, 2006. Newsweek listed three Palm Beach County high schools in the top 50 schools in the list 1200 Top U.S. Schools.

~ Historical Society of Palm Beach County ~