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Palm Beach County didn’t always look the way it does today. In the late 1800s, much of the land was uninhabited and covered in swamps, but that didn’t stop someone with a vision from buying the land.
Hamilton Disston spent $1 million to purchase land in 1881. That may sound astronomical for the time; however, for four million acres, this came out to 25 cents per acre. The purchase included the northern edge of the Everglades, which Disston had drained. This revealed fertile soil perfect for farming.
Thus began the reconstruction that drew people to settle and inhabit the area.
– Rebecca Hastings, The 100 Companies