A Short History of the NPBCC (WD) 4-15-2004AP�.��. �
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A Short History of
The North Palm
Beach Country Club
Harry Kelsey, East Coast
Finance Company started buying
land as early as 1919 by acquiring
100,000 acres in this area. East
Coast was the original developer of
Kelsey City, now Lake Park. The
Florida East Coast Canal (now the
Intracoastal Waterway and owned
by the Federal Government) was
also included in his purchases. It
was run as a private toll waterway,
A nine -hole golf course was built
south and north of the Earman
River in 1925-26, with a wooden
pedestrian bridge connecting them.
Paris Singer, of the sewing machine
family, owned the Everglades Club
in Palm Beach. He wanted a golf
course for his guests so he
persuaded Mr. Kelsey to build a 9 -
hole golf course on the present
Country Club site in 1925. It was
called the Palm Beach Winter Club.
This necessitated a road being built,
which later became part of USI.
Sand was pumped from Lake
Worth to build a site for the
original clubhouse. It operated
seasonally.
1iltloAGE OF NORTH PALM! BEACH
HISTORIAN
The company filed for
bankruptcy during the depression.
A devastating hurricane was also a
factor. Oakes Corporation, headed
up by .Sir Harry Oakes, bought the
Winter Club, Kelsey City lots, the,
Kelsey City Golf Course, and most
of the' land that was to become
North Palm Beach at rock -bottom
prices. Mr. Oakes was a Canadian,
by way of Maine. He had made his
fortune in gold mining and was one
of the richest men in the world. 'He
came to Florida to escape high
Canadian taxes _ (sound familiar).
The Clubhouse became one of Sir
Harry's homes after he added a
south wing. (This wing later
housed the North Palm Beach
Library.) There were also barns on
the property for Mrs. Oakes horses.
Sir Harry Oakes later moved to the
Bahamas -and was murdered in
Nassau, Bahamas in 1943. His
friend, the Duke of Windsor, was
the Bahamian Governor at that
time. His murder was never
solved. After Sir Harry died, Mrs.
Oakes could not sell the Winter
Club until their 'son reached 21. In
1956 the Winter Club and other
interests ended up in John. D.
MacArthur's hands.
Richard E. and Herbert A.
Ross bought the North Palm Beach
area from the MacArthur interests
later in 1956. Other principals
were John A. Schwencke and Jay
H. White. Estimated cost,
including improvements, was
estimated at approximately $9M.
They made extensive
improvements at the Country Club.
They refurbished it and added a
kitchen. The village -was offered
the property in 1959.
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After a great deal of study, the
Village purchased it for
$110259000. It was taken to the
public for a special referendum
vote for General Obligation Bonds..
The vote was 601 for and 80
against. (Thank you 601.) We got
145+ acres, all buildings, golf carts,
sprinkler system, trucks, and
equipment. This included attorney
fees, bonds, and marketing
expense. An additional $400,000+
was also voted upon to build a new
clubhouse and swimming pool.
The bonds were sold at an interest
rate of 4.07% and were paid off in
1988.
Unfortunately the Oakes
mansion was torn down.
This information was gathered
from A History of North Palm
Beach, available for reference at
the North Palm Beach Library.
Judy Capone,
jbcaponegyahoo.com