1674-24 John Collins8-A 8-A
He was a member of the execu-
Ave board of the Committee of One
Hundred for many years and was
a leader in the. activities of the
Miami Beach Rotary club and the
Surf club. He was active In the'
councils of the national Republican
party, being a close personal friend
of Senator Vandenberg and other
party leaders. Pancoast was a
member of the Friends Church.
On July 13, 1921. Pancoast and
four other men met and forms•
laced plans for organizing the
Miami Beach Chamber of Com-
wmCn began business with
only an umbrella and a table and
• chair on the sidewalk at Fifth
street and Alton road. the present
site of the Beach Chamber of Cont-
merce building. Pancoast was
elected president when the organi- -
zation was first formed. and was
re-elected president each year.
Much o! the progress made by
Miami Beach was attributed by
Pancoast to the chamber of com-
merce. which he headed a score of
years. Zoning. the new post office
building. tourist promotion. length•
ening of the winter season. and the
creation of a summer tourist sea.
son have .been among the scores
of accomplishments of the organl•
zation under Pancoast's leadership
When he founded the chamber of
commerce, Miami Beach was a vil-
lage erected on the foundation of
a sandspit and mangrove swamp.
The town's past was nebulous: its
future was uncertain.
Liked To Review Record
He Ilked to relax Into a remi-
niscent mood and 1.0 review the
resort's remarkable record. Ile
would recall that there were no •
residents along Miami Beach when
he first came South. Smith's
Casino on the southern end of the
beach was about the only building.
and 1t could be reached only by
boat.
His chief hobby .and avocation
for years has been Miami Beach and
its Improvement. lie indulged in
golf occasionally. When he was a
youngster he used to travel long
distances In. New Jersey to fish.
After he moved to Miami Beach,
center of the world's best fishing
. waters. he w88 too busy to enjoy
that sport. He invariably was
called "Uncle Tom" at chamber of
commerce dinner meetings.
The Pancoast home at 2600 Col.
Ilns avenue. overlooking Pancoast
lake. was one of the first structures
erected In the resort.
Wrote Foreword For History
A history, of The city entitled
"The Magic of Miami Beach" was
published In 1938, and Pancoast
took a great deal of Interest in its
distribution. For the author, Charles
Edgar Kash. Pancoast wrote the fol-
lowing foreword:
"The Magic of •Miami Beach Is
more than a book to me. For 26
years it has been part of 'my life
and the lives of many who put their
shoulders to the wheel hem doing
their part to make .the city what it
Is today. The Magic o! Miami
Beach lies and originates in its in•
comparable climate. but Its build- \
Ing was one of great faith and
courage.
"Still young among the clues of
the nation. Miami Beach has stepped
out of its Jungle. gone through its
gold rush days. and has now set-
tled down to produce in Its stride
a 'yearly program of expansion
which makes it one of the wonders
of the world!'
Along with Flagler. Collins and
Fisher. Pancoast ranks as one of
the founders and pioneer builders
who envisioned and brought to frui-
tion a city of homes in south Flor-
ida.
From the very beginning, Pan-
coast Instated that Miami Beach be-
come a city of homes. a place for
pleasant year-round residence. and
not merely another seasonal resort
- made up of hotels. He encouraged
home building and promoted pub-
licity designed to attract a high
class of people from all over the.
country to come to Miami Beach to
make their homes.
—THOS J PANCOASr (1BIT— • • • •
—MOLD FOR RELEASE • .
toms— Jetistip Pancoast was
barn-fu'y Ig: 1815: at Moores tow:
N. J. His .parents were Josiah
Ounn P0800851 and 'Mrs. Sarah Mid-
' dleton Thorn Pancoast. After a
boyhood.
g aduated fromlFrien Pancoast
In M000restown.
On January 17. 1889. Pancoast
harine
Col-
I�ss, daughter of John S. Collins f
Moorestown. They had six sons.
Three of them. Norwood
yoke Henry,
Tbomas Lawley
The three living som are Josiah
Arthur. builder and president of the
Pancoast Hotel; Russell Thorn. a
prominent architect of M la mi
Beach; and Norman Lester. man-
ager of the Pancoast Hotel.
For six yearn before his marri-
age. Pancoast was connected with
Edward T. Steele & Co. of
Philadelphia. dealers in wholesale
cloth. from 1866 until 1912, he
was a member of the firm of Col-
lins & Pancoast. dealers In build-
ers' and farmers' supplies at Mer•
his partner
father-Imlaw. John S. Collins.
During 1911.12. Pancoast served as
president of the First National.
Bank a etne To Area llo 1915
In 1912. Collins. who had estab-
lished a plantation at Miami Reach
to grow coconuts. mangoes. avo-
cados and tropical fruits on 1.(30)
acres of aetnl-swamp land. pentuad•
ed his son -In-law to tome down and
see what he was accomplishing In
his tropical paradise across the bay
from the little town of Miami. Pan-
coast came. got sand 1n his shoes,
became convinced of the future pos-
sibllltles of south Florida and par -
Ocularly o! Miami Beach, and stayed
to become one of the pioneer de-
velopers of this region.
On 110y 22.1913. Pancoast led the
first motorcade across the Collins
bridge, the first structure joining
Miami Beach to the mainland. He
had joined Collins In promoting the
building of the nds
ran bridge.
out before theonstr construction was
completed. Collins and Pancoast
managed to borrow money. from
Carl G. Fisher, Indianapolis indus-
trialist. to finish the project. Col-
lins was so grateful for the life-
saving loan that he gave Fisher
290 acres of land on the beach as
a bonus. With this as a nucleus.
Fisher began the development of
his chain of resort hotels.
Soon after arriving in Miatnl
Beach. Pancoast became e interested
In land developm
president of the Miami Reach lm•
provement Company. president of
the Allison Realty Company. and
vice president of the Bay Shore
Company. three firms that were
largely Influential in founding and
developing the Aar Mayor
Dancoast also served as vice
president of the First National
Sank of Miami Reach and of the
Pancoast Hotel Company for many
years. For two years he was presi-
dent of the Miami Beach city coun-
cil. and served as mayor of that city
from 1918 until 1920
R
MO)1OR