At Home With the Bryans
When looking at key times in early Fort Lauderdale history, members of the Bryan family pop up almost everywhere. For those who read a little city history, the name Philemon…
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Old Lauderdale
30 posts
Racist, Corrupt – and Sheriff
Sheriff Walter Clark was a liar, a friend to organized crime and a lawman who helped terrorize Broward’s black community. It should be apparent to anybody today that a man…
King of the River
He’s not as well known as the Stranahans, nor was he unfathomably wealthy like Henry Flagler. But like them, Edwin T. King was influential in the birth of Fort Lauderdale.…
New Forts, New Chiefs
Major William Lauderdale and Chief Sam Jones are the two most famous protagonists of the battles between the Army and Seminoles. But others came later. For those who have a…
Next Stop, New River
Oil magnate and railroad builder Henry Flagler couldn’t imagine a town at what would become Fort Lauderdale, but he reckoned it would make good farming land. As Brightline prepares to…
The Lauderdale Cannonball
Before fame, jazz legend Cannonball Adderley put his musical skill to work in local clubs and at Dillard High School. He played his alto sax with Miles Davis on the…
Going Underground
We might not give it a second thought today, but when the New River tunnel was proposed, it was one of the great local controversies of its time. Many of…
The Big Blow
Much has been written about the aftermath of the devastating 1926 hurricane. But what was it like to actually live through it? No real hurricane warnings were possible in the…
War on the River
He’s not as well-remembered as Maj. Lauderdale, but Lt. Levin Powell’s work in South Florida helped change warfare. Not many people would connect the Vietnam War to South Florida circa…
Welcome to Colohatchee
Before Wilton Manors and Oakland Park, a farming community thrived north of Fort Lauderdale. About the same time city pioneer Frank Stranahan was setting up shop at his trading post…