Custom Search

Florida State...

Florida Landscape

Florida

Florida Counties

Click Image to Enlarge

Florida Counties

In 1821, there were only two counties in Florida: Escambia to the west and St. Johns to the east. From these two counties were formed 67 today.

In 1968, the electors of Florida granted local voters the power to adopt charters to govern their counties. Charters are formal written documents that confer powers, duties, or privileges on the county.

To date, there are 19 charter counties in Florida. Collectively these counties are home to more than 75 percent of Florida's residents.

Palm Beach County, Florida

Palm Beach County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: West Palm Beach
Year Organized: 1909
Square Miles: 2,034

Court House:

P.O. Box 1989
County Courthouse
West Palm Beach, FL 33402-1989

Etymology - Origin of County Name

Palms and beaches.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Palm Beach County was created in 1909. It was named for its first settled community, Palm Beach, in turn named for the palm trees and beaches in the area. The County was carved out of what was then the northern portion of Dade County, and stretched northward to Brevard county, comprising part of the areas now occupied by Okeechobee and Broward counties, and all of Martin and Palm Beach counties, initially including all of Lake Okeechobee, making it the largest county in Florida at the time. The southernmost part of Palm Beach County was separated to create the northern portion of Broward County in 1915, the northwestern portion of Palm Beach County became part of Okeechobee County 1917 and Martin County was created from northernmost Palm Beach County in 1925. About three-quarters of Lake Okeechobee was removed from Palm Beach County in 1963 and divided up among Glades, Hendry, Martin and Okeechobee counties

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 2,386 square miles (6,181 km²).1,974 square miles (5,113 km²) of it is land (making it the largest Florida county by area) and 412 square miles (1,068 km²) of it is water, much of it in the Atlantic Ocean and Lake Okeechobee. The total area is 17.27% water.

Neighboring Counties:

North: Martin County
East: North Atlantic Ocean
South: Broward County
West: Hendry County

Cities and Towns:

- Atlantis	city	Incorporated Area
- Belle Glade	city	Incorporated Area
- Boca Raton	city	Incorporated Area
- Boynton Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Briny Breezes	town	Incorporated Area
- Cloud Lake	town	Incorporated Area
- Delray Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Glen Ridge	town	Incorporated Area
- Golf	village	Incorporated Area
- Greenacres	city	Incorporated Area
- Gulf Stream	town	Incorporated Area
- Haverhill	town	Incorporated Area
- Highland Beach	town	Incorporated Area
- Hypoluxo	town	Incorporated Area
- Juno Beach	town	Incorporated Area
- Jupiter	town	Incorporated Area
- Jupiter Inlet Colony	town	Incorporated Area
- Lake Clarke Shores	town	Incorporated Area
- Lake Park	town	Incorporated Area
- Lake Worth	city	Incorporated Area
- Lantana	town	Incorporated Area
- Manalapan	town	Incorporated Area
- Mangonia Park	town	Incorporated Area
- North Palm Beach	village	Incorporated Area
- Ocean Ridge	town	Incorporated Area
- Pahokee	city	Incorporated Area
- Palm Beach	town	Incorporated Area
- Palm Beach Gardens	city	Incorporated Area
- Palm Beach Shores	town	Incorporated Area
- Palm Springs	village	Incorporated Area
- Riviera Beach	city	Incorporated Area
- Royal Palm Beach	village	Incorporated Area
- South Bay	city	Incorporated Area
- South Palm Beach	town	Incorporated Area
- Tequesta	village	Incorporated Area
- Wellington	village	Incorporated Area
- West Palm Beach (County Seat)	city	Incorporated Area

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

County Resource Guide

Counties: US Map

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Custom Search