Who Was the Wealthy Person That Made Palm Beach a Tourist Destination?

By Michael Ferguson

Palm Beach is a popular tourist destination located in Florida. It has been visited by millions of people from all over the world since the late 19th century. The wealthy person who made Palm Beach a tourist destination was Henry Flagler, an American industrialist and business magnate.

Henry Flagler was born in Hopewell, New York on January 2, 1830. He worked in his father’s grain business before joining the Pennsylvania Railroad Company in 1865.

He quickly rose through the ranks and eventually became president of the company. During his tenure at the company, he built thousands of miles of railroad track across the country, including lines in Florida.

In 1878, Flagler visited Florida for the first time and fell in love with what he saw. He decided to invest heavily in Florida and built a number of hotels along its east coast.

One of these hotels was The Royal Palm Hotel, which opened in Palm Beach in 1888. This hotel was an immediate success and helped to attract thousands of tourists to Palm Beach each year.

Flagler also began investing heavily in real estate in Palm Beach and built a number of businesses that helped to develop the area’s economy. His investments included a luxury hotel called The Breakers Hotel as well as The Whitehall Mansion, which is now a National Historic Landmark due to its significance as one of Flagler’s most impressive accomplishments.

Additionally, Flagler also helped to develop transportation infrastructure throughout Florida by constructing several railroads including the Florida East Coast Railway (FEC). This railway connected Miami and West Palm Beach and allowed tourists from around the world easy access to Palm Beach from other parts of Florida and beyond.

Conclusion: Henry Flagler was the wealthy person who made Palm Beach a tourist destination by investing heavily into its development through building luxurious hotels such as The Royal Palm Hotel and The Breakers Hotel as well as creating transportation infrastructure such as FEC railway connecting Miami and West Palm Beach that allowed tourists easy access to this stunning area.