1674-6 John Collins08/23/92 10:53 SOUTH DADE NEWS LEADER P.01
South Dade News Leader
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P.O. Box 339, Homestead, FL 33090 • 15 N.E. First Road, Homestead, FL 33030 • (305) 245-c311
;'J 1e:5a SOUTH DDE NEWS LEADER
Early Lantana, Her Neighbors and More .1�
by Mary Collar Linehan, ca. 1971 (?)
U of Miami Library,
PF, 319, .L23L56, c. 2.
AFYI'ER IV
HOW IT WAS --' IN THE 1890s
HYPOLUXO BEACH / MANALAPAN
The beach at the south end of Manalapan was first
known as Hypoluxo Beach, A certificate of or,ianita•
tion of Hypoluxo Beach, dated January 6, 1892 and
filed June 13, 1892 states "that s company to be
known as Hypoluxo Beach ie being formed in the
Suite of New Jersey (Red Bank, Monmouth County).
Tht object of the company was to purchase real estate
and for the improvement and Sale o an e, the
building of houses and other erections, thereon, and to
build and own a dock or docks, wharf or wharve3, and
bwn boats, vessels, and other conveyances for
transportation of property or passengers, andlto lease,
mortgage, sell and convey said lands and property —
in Dade County, Florida, Capital stock -- 850,000,500
shares. One share $100. Commence business with
820,000 divided into 200 shares of par value of 8100,
The company was to exist from January 6, 1892 to
January 6, 1942,"
The stock holders were:
John S. Collins of Moorestown, N.J. 40 shares
David Baird of Manalapan, N.J, 40 shares
John T, Lovett of Little Silver, N.J. 40 shares
George E. Tilton of Red Bank, N.J, 8 shares
Elnathan T, Fields of Middleton, N.J. '75 shares
iaAn Item from The Tropical Sun, February 4, 1892:
E.T. Field arrived at Hypoluxo on the 28th with a
orce of men — preparing to build, His land is known
s Hypoluxo Beach.
On March 3, 1892 an ad, in large type, appeared in
The Tropical Sun:
HYPOLUXO BEACH
E.T. Field, Superintendent
SITUATED AT SOUTH END OF LAKE WORTH
BOUNDED ON WEST BY LAKE WORTH AND
ON THE EAST BY TEE ATLANTIC OCEAN
EVERY LOT FRONTING ON LAK:2, AND OCEAN
From an article by Lillie Pierce Voas in The Lake
' Worth Historian, 1896:
Two years ago the company that bought
Hypoluxo Beach property built a two and a half
story cottage, which is open dwing the winter
season to the public. It is on ideal resort for those
desiring quiet, combin:;; with healthful breezes
and comfort. It i, on th'' ::r–row ridge of the "shoe.
string farm", ono side facing the Atlantic, the other
eloping away down throu;;,i the coconut palms to
Lake Worth,
40
P. 02
fish
fine, at a simalll n boat can bs lla nchn a� ete ltiBhotel
Eglri
weather, and being rowed out a few yaede oast tip
easily filled with red 'napper, grouper, sheep -445d
and other kind, of fish for which no name is known.
A row up the lagoon Is also pleasant, dotted as it
is with the small island,, There are a peat many
blue and white herons that make the scene pie.
turesque; but we must remind the tourist that
there Is a heavy fine for shooting our birds.
John S. Collins and E.T. Field visited the Biscayne
Bay area in the 1890s and saw the potential of the land
there. Field and Ezra Osborn unsuccessfully tried to
operate a coconut plantation, About 1910 Collins ac.
quired a large tract of ocean front property where
Miami Beach is today, He raised potatoes, vegetables,
and tropical fruits. In 1911 Collins, then 73, was joined
by his son-in-law, Thomas J. Pancoast. Together they
were responsible for the first bridge across Biocayne
Bay, Collins Avenue in Miami Beach is named for
John S, Collins.
In 1903-04 the Hypoluxo Beach Company deeded
the land to Elnathan T. Field, In 1912 the Hypoluxo
Beach property became the property of Samuel Good.
man, Later that year it was purchased by A. Romeye
Pierson of Glenridge, New Jersey. Pierson eventually
owned from Lantana /Ocean Avenue to 600 feet south
of the present South Lake Worth Inlet. Today this
tract of land has again been subdivided but a member
of the Romeyn Pieraon family continues to reside on e
portion of the original George H.K. Charter
homestead. In 1912 the land was spoken of as "Won.
derland", It consisted of 124 acres with a 13,000 foot
frontage on the Atlantic Ocean. The price wu
840,000,
Romeyn Pierson died February 13, 1919, a resident
of Glenridge, New Jersey, who spent the winters at
Manalapan. He left a widow and two children: A. Ro•
eneyn Pierson, Jr. and Madeline (Mrs, John W.
Sande). Madeline had a daughter Nancy. Madeline
later became the wife of Judge Jerome Gedney, 4
prominent judge in Palm Beach County, They built e
home just to the north of the Pierson home,
Manalapan is ten miles from the heart of Palm
Beach, near enough for the residents to attend social
or cultural events, take care of business yet secluded
enough for them to enjoy the quiet life. Lantana,
across the Intracoastal Waterway, also provides aomo
-etervlcee,
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O8,23 -P2 10:55 SOUTH DADE NEWS LEALEP
ere AlA goes from the ocean front to
ile north of the inlet, has been the
f at least two noteworthy event*. During prohibi-
t tion it was et this spot that the rum runners
j transferred their goods from the ocean to the lake on
iw, the occasions when they did pot feel that it wall safe to
' ' use the inlet.
Some Manalapan homes are mansions, some are
beach homes and villas. The second event occurred on
June 16, 1955, The people of Palm Beach County were
shocked to learn of the disappearance of Judge Curtis
E. Chillingworth and hie wife, Marjorie, 'from their
beach home on the north Bide of the curve. It was later
1 learned that the abductors had come by boat, -taken
the Chillingworthe out to sea and thrown them over-
The curve where
the lake front, one m
site o
:
. ,t T L
P. 03
OrMS
board. The note: :list and author, Jim Bishop,
wrote of the trial in 771e Murder dict of Judge Peel,
Simon and Schuster, 192.
Many people of nota have homey in Manalapan,
both on the ocean front :Ind on the south end of
Hypoluxo Island, which is within their incorporated
limits. In recent years the island has been extended
southward and developed by William Benjamin as
point Manalapan. As Into as 1956 there were only 17
ram thee living in Mana1apn One home near the inlet
has roome on the lake Irma and ocean front as well es
a room or two under Ocean Boulevard. •
The LaCoquil.le Club io on the ocelltn front just to
the south of the Lantana beach. There are also some
villa& as part of the club complex.
•
MAPOF
•. 14YPDLUXD •BEACH.
- " DADE-COUNTY. .
FLORIDA .
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ll ... own"-, a.... w -r w•. o.. rr 1.. w• A .w r OA r r.r. ...
.ij /.•4M MwM Www.•
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I _ N . • ••• . Al.. .•e . . •.11t.!• ,1 A. •.,....�.....•..».p.r
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M A P
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MYPCLUXO QLA:H, Dodo
. .County, Florida.
•
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"'aYPQttX0 asACM. .. .
•
Situated neer the South end or lake forth, In Latitude between
26° 39• and 26° 351. Sounded on tee Y•et by Laws worth. Bounded
elelnoat touches the a Shore. See-bathinglevery dantio Ocean, The ut y Ino
thettpwerd,
the East 67 Tear.
Olinate unsurpassed in toe United Stotee, No Popo. 80 helario.
80 Morels Lend. Is underlaid wltr. Rook on'Coeen Front below meter,
lig Jetties or Bulkhoede needed to protect the bluff. gluft'rrtec
e tt, to 25 tt. obosa ate Ocean. several thousand o0ooanut tree.
'Om,. In Dearing) ',}',:
','p ATURel. GROwThi . and caber
C•bbeas tele, liubber, Mosaic, des Craps, 'Iren.Ood,
:large growing tree) saying sheds now on the property.
' Kaon let is 100 rt: Mid. or. Morin and Stilth line•.
Soon Xeetlis sn bush end lake front.
.goon Iot eonteinn a nice building site.
toe Ines% pertsot .es.erags easily scoontllehod.
8eturAl Droin.80 Lneurpese°d.
H
Filed Sovenber 16 1596
Peoorded In flet book
"A", pogo 52, Dada
County P.ccrds.
Alto
Filed May 27, 1910
:Recorded In Plat Boca
1, page 68, ht
4seth Ceun07 IDoorda•
Romeyn Pierson Home
•i "• George H.K. Charter
• ■
•
- After 1912.
I4omeetead)
Manalapan (On
(Tilton)
'lista of ? 0rt6o 1c, . t9le7 27, 1910
CO,ulty Of Film •SI010 '
I h.robyrC.rtify,irntt ane`shove and foregoing is a true and
correct eopF or Map se 0100 sane•apossra of record Ln Cede Co,
Fla. in boa Mo.•A Ot Plats at page 52.
;'•'�':•,v.�tiM;FRED E. 2100(0, clerk Circuit Co
qy V. M. l2100(0,ope • D. C.
i
10:56 SOUTH DADE NEWS LEADER p.04
GEORGE H.K. CHARTER
The first resident in what is now lvlanalapan was
George H.K. Charter, a young man from Vermont,
who homesteaded on the beach ridge from the south
end of the lake to the north end of the lagoon 21/4
miles. He called it his shoestring farm as he said he
could stand on the ridge and with a twist of his body
throw coconuts into the lake or the ocean,
A Dade County Dead Book states; George Charter
frons U.S. Receiver — July 23, 1887. All of fractional
Sec. 11 end other lands 63.20 (Twp. 46. Range 43),
This is just one of several entries. Accounts and
records indicate that he was here before 1882.
One of the first things George did was to plant a
grove of coconut trees about half a mile north of the
haulover (now the South Lake Worth Inlet). He built
a sturdy dwelling from shipwrecked materials near
the grove, which he called "Buzzard's Roost." Even
today when the updrafts are just right many buzzard&
are seen soaring over the treetops aa you drive along
the Ocean Boulevard in that area.
George was young and strong. Stories about him
relate that he never wore shoes, and that he could
carry a 100 pound sack of supplies under each arm.
Frank Lyman remembers hearing that George was
strong enough to pick up a #200 pound sack of rock
salt from the bottom of a glades boat (Indian dugout)
and wade waist deep to place the salt on the dry
ground, The salt was used to season 'gator hides. Back
then killing alligators was not illegal,
Another story le that one time George came to the
M.B. Lyman General Store in Lantana. Speaking in
barely • .whisper he tilt it be know *at hq had
Pneumonia in onr lung — the iiFdtir+Q AR the gther
•side of hie chest hu ROARMI "jfat thio One le aifight."
Other stories tell of hja iia*lt of sit0;,iting.
About 1881 he sold his belch a{ figs pr arty for
87,500 and bought 40 eeree to the south 'in what was
later known as the towneiteof Boynton. He paid 81.26
an acre. Two months later he sold it to fired S. Dewey
for $10.00 en acre.
The Tropical Sun, February 4, 1892, Vol. V, No. 00
reports in The Palm Beach l3reezee column; Mr, Fred
5, Dewey had purchased the only remaining piece of
property belonging to George Charter near Hypoluxo.
Now Mr. Charter says he is ready to start for Jamaica,
From other reports we know that he changed his
deatination, heading for his home in Brattleborough,
Vermont — to be married. When he reached Jackson•
ville he became ill with a brain fever and died there.
George had a brother, Charlie, who lived on the
beach ridge for some years. He raised hogs for a living,
fattening them on coconuts. Later Charlie moved to
Boynton where he made hls home on the canal bank,
.jay S/; cc, from aura Sfrec/ looking Cas!,
Jbcksocv/lle, J./a.
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Jaeltsonvills in the early 1900s.
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08/23/92 10:58 SOUTH DADE NEWS LEADER
F. 05
MANALAPAN 192 _-1930
In recent years a well known spot on Hypoluxo
l.::and has been the Manalapan Club. From History of
i:tautiful Poles Beach, 1928 by J. Wadsworth Travers
VA; learn some of its history: "A distinct asset of j.an•
Lana is Hypoluxo Island, a natural beauty spot and
truly exotic. The southern end is covered by the 36 -
acre estate of the John M. Demareete and it is a real
garden of Eden . This ie the original H.D. Pierce
homestead, beautified. In a grove of 460 coconut palm
teas, extending from the patio of the house to the
lake, Mr. Demarest has lain an 8 -foot brick walk, with
total width of walk of 16 feet. Mr. Demarest says
t!:at the fresh oysters, crab, and many varieties of fine
fish are becoming more in evidence every day, ae the
result of the opening of the new inlet,"
John Demarest had come to Palm Beach in 1920
and had discovered this lovely homesite on Hypoluxo
Island in 1924. He ,promptly acquired It, then'
organized the Ocean Island Corporation and became
the president. The purpose of the organization was to
secure a mile strip of the finest ocean frontage on the
Fast coast, with the ocean at the front door and the
lake at the hack door. C. Phipps, John S, Phipps and
Harold Vanderbilt each acquired 600 feet and Ed-
nund E. Allyne acquired 600 feet. Mr. Allyne hired
the emminent architect, Howard Major, to design a
house of Cuban style architecture facing the ocean.
Today this home is in Manalapan. A. Atwater Kent,
•,f radio fame, built a home next to the Allyne estate.
Harold Vanderbilt, .great grandson of Cornelius
Vanderbilt, had a home on the ocean in Palm Beach.
When. the Ocean Boulevard was built between his
home and the beach he chose to leave Palm Beach. In
1930 he built a 8250,000 n:c,...ion at 1100 South Ocean
Boulevard in Manalapan,, Letween the road and the
beach, opposite the south aid of the inland.
Harold Vanderbilt wile the Manalapan Town
Council for 32 years and sewed as mayor for 12 years.
Mr. Vanderbilt was aeao .latod with the New York
Central Railroad for forty years, He died in July, 1970
at the age of 80. At the time of hie death he left over
845 million to Harvard and Vanderbilt Universities.
In 1933 he married Gertrude Conway of
Philadelphia. Sho died at I..r summer home in Rock
Cliff, Rhode Island on Au(ti;at 6, 1978 at the age of 77.
Among many bequests to hospitals was one for
81,000,000 for the John F. Kennedy Hospital in
Atlantis, west of Lantana.
During World Will' lI Mr, and Mrs. Vanderbilt took
the Red Cross First Aid Course when it was given at
the Lantana School. A: the end of the course the class
was invited to their Lome for a Sunday brunch. On
occasion they entertained other civic groups in Lan-
tana.
Before many year land passed the Demarest Estat
became the home of Colonel and Madam Jacques
Baleen. She was Cou:,u::lo Vanderbilt, Harold's sister,
and she had been the Duchess of Marlborough before
marrying Colonel B;akc,ir. Several times during World
War I1 Winston Churchill waa a guest at the Balser
Home, The paper boy, Roger Collar, could tell whey
they were entertaining guests as extra papers were or
dered so that each guest had his own paper.
Fred Turnquist, the very capable black caretaker
lived in the gate house of the Demarest-Balaan Estate
for many years.
Balsan Estate on Hypoluxo Island (later the Manalapan Club). Southside.
(HSPBC)