{"id":265024,"date":"2026-05-09T18:26:15","date_gmt":"2026-05-09T18:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/265024\/"},"modified":"2026-05-09T18:26:15","modified_gmt":"2026-05-09T18:26:15","slug":"fort-lauderdale-florida-history-beaches-facts","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/265024\/","title":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale | Florida, History, Beaches, &#038; Facts"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">Fort Lauderdale,  <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/city\" class=\"md-crosslink autoxref \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">city<\/a>, seat (1915) of Broward county, southeastern <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Florida\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Florida<\/a>, U.S. It lies along the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Atlantic-Ocean\" class=\"md-crosslink autoxref \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Atlantic Ocean<\/a> at the mouth of the New River, about 25 miles (40 km) north of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Miami-Florida\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Miami<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">The area was originally inhabited by Tequesta Indians, although they were gone when the first recorded settlers arrived about 1788. A fort, built there in 1838 during the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Seminole-Wars\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Seminole Wars<\/a> and named for its commander, Major William Lauderdale, gave its name to the town, which was not permanently settled until about 1893. The city was laid out in 1895, and the following year the Florida East Coast Railway came through. In 1935 the city began holding an annual National <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw\" data-term=\"Collegiate\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Collegiate\" data-type=\"MW\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Collegiate<\/a> Aquatic Forum, designed to attract college students on school vacations; this was the beginning of Fort Lauderdale\u2019s popularity as a destination for spring breaks. The city developed as a shipping and commercial centre and residential resort.<\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/topic\/Intracoastal-Waterway\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Intracoastal Waterway<\/a> is connected to Fort Lauderdale\u2019s Bahia Mar Yacht Basin and the deepwater port, Port Everglades, which is the deepest harbour in Florida. Port Everglades is a port of entry and ranks with the ports at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Jacksonville-Florida\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Jacksonville<\/a> and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Tampa\" class=\"md-crosslink \" data-show-preview=\"true\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Tampa<\/a> in volume of cargo handled. Fort Lauderdale itself is interlaced with recreational waterways and has extensive boating facilities, which have given rise to a busy marine industry. Other major factors in the city\u2019s economy include tourism, manufacturing (including radios), and high-technology industries. The city\u2019s extensive beaches are the focus of local tourism.<\/p>\n<p><a class=\"link-module shadow-sm d-block qa-quiz-module\" href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/quiz\/guess-the-city-by-its-river-quiz\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\"><\/p>\n<p>        <img decoding=\"async\" loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/tower-bridge-over-river-thames-london-england.jpg\" alt=\"Tower Bridge over the Thames River in London, England. Opened in 1894. Remains an Important Traffic Route with 40,000 Crossings Every Day.\" class=\"rounded-sm mr-15\" width=\"70\"\/><\/p>\n<p>Britannica Quiz<\/p>\n<p>Guess the City by Its River Quiz<\/p>\n<p><\/a><\/p>\n<p class=\"topic-paragraph\">The city\u2019s educational institutions include Broward <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw\" data-term=\"Community\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/Community\" data-type=\"MW\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Community<\/a> College (1959), <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/place\/Nova-Southeastern-University\" class=\"md-crosslink \" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Nova Southeastern University<\/a> (1964), and Fort Lauderdale College (1940; now part of Florida Metropolitan University). Attractions in the city and nearby <a class=\"md-dictionary-link md-dictionary-tt-off mw\" data-term=\"communities\" href=\"https:\/\/www.merriam-webster.com\/dictionary\/communities\" data-type=\"MW\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">communities<\/a> include museums of art, science, and archaeology; Flamingo Gardens, a botanical garden and aviary; the International Swimming Hall of Fame; Bonnet House (c. 1920), a historical home with art galleries; and Hugh Taylor Birch State Recreation Area. Inc. 1911. Pop. (2010) 165,521; Fort Lauderdale\u2013Pompano Beach\u2013Deerfield Beach Metro Division, 1,748,066; Miami\u2013Fort Lauderdale\u2013Pompano Beach Metro Area, 5,564,635; (2020) 182,760; Fort Lauderdale\u2013Pompano Beach\u2013Sunrise Metro Division, 1,944,375; Miami\u2013Fort Lauderdale\u2013Pompano Beach Metro Area, 6,138,333.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Fort Lauderdale, city, seat (1915) of Broward county, southeastern Florida, U.S. It lies along the Atlantic Ocean at&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":265025,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[1111,31644,31643,31642,249,251,250],"class_list":["post-265024","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-fort-lauderdale","tag-article","tag-britannica","tag-encyclopeadia","tag-encyclopedia","tag-fort-lauderdale","tag-fort-lauderdale-headlines","tag-fort-lauderdale-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265024","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=265024"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/265024\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/265025"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=265024"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=265024"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=265024"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}