A Century of Progress

The Delray Beach Chamber has been fostering the city’s culture, mystique and economy since 1912

IT HAS SURVIVED, under one name or another, for nearly 110 years—through the Great Depression, a World War, multiple recessions and hurricanes, and a global pandemic. Through it all, the Greater Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce has remained committed to its mission of unifying and bolstering Delray Beach’s business community for the betterment of the city and its residents. The Chamber’s history begins in parallel with the United States’ own national Chamber of Commerce, established in 1912 by President Taft. That same year, Delray hatched its own Boosters Club, the forerunner of today’s Delray Beach Chamber. In fact, records indicate that as early as 1902, Delray Beach had launched a civic organization fighting for the interest of its residents; that’s when the Ladies Improvement Organization formed to “promote the building of homes instead of tents,” according to documents from the Delray Beach Historical Society. “The visionaries and entrepreneurs of Delray Beach at the time most likely experienced typical concerns and challenges of building and growing a town, especially a farming town that was carved out of a wilderness,” says Winnie Diggans Edwards, executive director of the Delray Beach Historical Society. “Their vision was to oversee the building and progress of the town and community. The early days of the Booster’s Club and the Board of Trade, as it became known, worked to incentivize and support newcomers. They wanted to build a community to which residents, visitors and investors were attracted. World wars, the Florida Land Bust of the 1920s and devastating weather happenings certainly contributed to impede the town’s growth at certain times. The Chamber of Commerce met every challenge.” In 1925, Delray Beach’s Board of Trade officially changed its name to the Delray Beach Chamber of Commerce, with Leroy Diggans—grandfather of the Historical Society’s Winnie Diggans Edwards—serving as its first president, a position which he held intermittently for seven years. Early Chamber dues were $1, and every citizen was a member. The Chamber leadership’s most visible accomplishment during its inaugural year was the building and promotion of what it called “The World’s Biggest Mailbox,” part post office box and part roadside attraction. The 12-foot high letter receptacle, constructed to advertise the “Ocean City” to the rest of the world, received

Delray Beach Historical Society

3 N.E. First St., Delray Beach, FL 33444 (561) 274-9578

all the attention it had hoped for: The Kiwanis Club, Civitan Clubs and Boy Scouts all mailed correspondence there, and Mr. Diggans himself delivered letters from the mailbox to the train depot. Children were awarded prizes for who wrote the best, and the most, letters, about Delray; several foreign countries and every state in the union received letters from Delray’s giant mailbox. Though the Great Depression caused the Chamber to shutter from 1928 to 1939, it recovered along with the rest of the nation, and has remained a powerful advocate ever since. It has continued to elect local luminaries to its presidency and board, people with surnames familiar to residents and visitors of the city. Kenneth Ellingsworth, executive director of the chamber for 33 years starting in 1959, worked politically and civically for years to make Delray Beach a better place to live. In his capacity at the Delray Chamber, he was a founding member or participated in the founding of the Delray Affair, Delray Economic Leaders Political Action Committee (DELPAC), Council of 100, Leadership Delray Beach, Atlantic Avenue Association, Delray Art League, the Florida Tennis Championship and the Delray Beach Historical Society. The Chamber now grants a Ken Ellingsworth Community Service Award each year. Ken’s legacy lives on: Coleman Ellingsworth is carrying on in his grandfather’s footsteps by serving as a Delray Chamber Ambassador and on the YPAD Leadership Committee. Vince Canning, whose family ran a historic shoe business on Atlantic Avenue for nearly 70 years, became president in 1963. Ben Sundy, of the pioneering Sundy family, helped establish a public park on Lake Ida during his time as a Chamber director; his legacy lives on in the verdant Sundy House, a historic restaurant and boutique inn in downtown Delray. The Chamber elected its first woman president, Barbara Smith, in 1985. In 1986, the Chamber hosted the city’s Diamond Jubilee, in honor of Delray Beach’s 75th anniversary, with nearly a month’s worth of activities and merchandise, including window decorating, the “Great Diamond Caper,” a photo contest, historical trivia, crossword puzzles and commemorative coins and books—an event that presages Delray’s later designation as the Most Fun Small Town in the U.S. The Historical Society’s Winnie Diggans Edwards provided much of the information for this article, and she encourages those with a passion for Delray Beach to visit the Society and explore its exhibitions and free research

in the city archives. “Celebrating our rich cultural heritage through visuals and storytelling in unique and engaging ways ensures our town’s narrative remains alive,” she says. “Passing down the stories and educating the community is at the core of our mission of creating a legacy for the future. With Delray’s rapid growth and changing landscape, there is an increased demand for historical perspective and the resources we provide. “Heritage tourism is an increasingly important part of Florida’s tourism industry,” she adds, noting that historic preservation brings nearly $7 billion each year to Florida’s economy. “The Historical Society provides a unique museum experience, educational opportunities for children, youth and families, increased knowledge about our cultural heritage and fun and engaging gatherings that celebrate who we are as a community.” The Delray Beach Historical Society campus consists of three historic cottages, history exhibits, the city archive and year-round programming, located at the corner of Swinton Avenue and Northeast First Street. For information, call (561) 274-9578 or visit delraybeachhistory.org.

The land encompassing today’s Lake Ida was once a swampy Native American camp during the Second Seminole Wars of 1841-1842. In the late 1890s, before Delray Beach became a city, the coastal area was home to the Orange Grove House of Refuge, a life-saving emergency service for Atlantic Ocean mariners. For the beautiful 1-mile coastline of Delray Beach, seen by many as the city’s greatest asset, we can thank three women, Sara Gleason, Belle G. Dimick Reese and Ella M. Dimick Potter—spouses and heirs of some of the region’s early businessmen—who dedicated the beach to the public in 1899. In 1896, the first train arrived on tracks built by Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway, establishing Delray Beach’s first farms for exporting winter produce. Delray Beach was settled as the Town of Linton, named after a pioneer family, in 1904; former railroad clerk W.W. Blackmer led the charge to rename the town “Delray” in 1908 in homage to an area of his old stomping ground of Detroit.

Ten Historical Facts About Delray Beach

1 6 In 1904, Japanese farmer Jo Sakai organized Yamato, a farm colony on the border of Boca Raton and Delray Beach. His venture did not succeed, but the land thrives today as the Morikami Museum and Japanese Gardens. The pineapple’s status as the symbol of Delray Beach dates to 1904, when a pineapple canning factory created a new industry for the fledgling city. The Delray Beach Public Library is one of the city’s oldest extant institutions, opening in 1914. It still exists, on the corner of Atlantic and Swinton avenues. In the 1920s, Delray Beach was home to at least six famous cartoonists, including two nationally syndicated artists—H.T. Webster and Fontaine Fox—who established their offices in the Arcade Building, atop the trendy Arcade Tap Room. Eight years before it evolved into the Delray Affair, the city’s largest event was known as the Gladiola Festival, which celebrated Delray’s farming heritage, attracted movie stars and parade floats, all in celebration of the titular flowering plant from Africa—which, in the 1940s, grew in 11 nurseries between Delray Beach and Boynton Beach.

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