Named for Napoleon Bonaparte Broward, a former Florida governor, Broward County was formed in 1915 from portions of Palm Beach and Dade counties. While the railroad came to Southeast Florida in 1896, and several coastal communities sprang up, much of the present county remained swampland, unsettled and sparsely inhabited, until the Everglades were drained in the early 1900s.
The end of the First World War heralded a period of rapid growth that ended abruptly in the mid nineteen-twenties. Having no deepwater port facilities at the time, the area relied on the railroad, not only for building materials, but for goods of all kinds. When the demand exceeded the limited capacity of the railroad, expansion slowed drastically, a situation that lasted until the end of World War Two.
From the end of the Second World War until the present, the population has multiplied many times, and had reached nearly 1.3 million by the early 1990s. With its sub-tropical climate, Broward County continues to attract new residents and visitors and the economy is presently based on tourism, retailing, construction, light industry and services.
There are twenty-eight incorporated towns and cities in the
county. The largest, at around 150,000 people, is the county seat, Fort Lauderdale. Deeds
are registered with the
County
Records Division in Fort Lauderdale.
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Broward County History
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