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Kelsey's 1920's VP recalls Origins; Oakes Mansion Area 10-26-78our Tows 'VP Recalls 0� S192 e se Oakes aniion Area l,g1ns,9* By ... Geoffrey Birt and well and living in West Palm Beach By Charles A. Branch spry and alert in Former Vice President to Harry S- - and certainly the engineer, Lake Park; One of the oldest A former eng ch had taken the Kelsey, Founder of L st charming -- buildings in northern every way, Mr, Bran Oakes mo we him Developer of the Sir Harry 0, i -i County, Is the mansion we time from which called Mansion', N.P.B. Palm Beach takes mansion, Y, until we met last Monday call today the Sir Henry 0 Saturday, recollections. Harry S. Kelsey, as a young man, adjacent •to the North palm I Beach morning, to type. his first I given This is basic historical materia- g began by promoting restaurants f Country Club its origins, we hand not only by a surviving around Boston, then around New York. Beginning to research at first who was When lie had more than 100 he sold Al C Moore, wife of. eyewitness' but by a man chain about 1920. called Mrs,an enthusiastic amateur. active at the top of affairs of those boom them to alestaurant N.P.B's may Kelsey With his profits he came to Florida and ,,you should talk with Mr. and development days when properties• north and historian. she advised, . "He and the, NPB golf course and area began investing in Charles Branch,"' met 'Mr• ch y west of Palm Beach. lielped build it. When we were founded. tseif has -a charm 11-1 West Palni Beach, he formed the lie turned out Bra_i'ich'.s chronicle i retaining all SURPRISE! 1. . . I .. .. Branch.... elsey's, vice president in the way it is written . and is being East Coast Finance Corp to.be.-Rarry.s..-K n a short series of articles, tile Stock in the company save for a few of the roaring 20s when Kelsey ) be held by other the days - A presented i r changes in shares required to Bert was buying thousands of acres and with only a few very mino Mr. I its officers of the companMiss Kelsey City which grew u so as to preserve Houran. originating Kels p coniposition I was tile attorney Winters to become Lake Park. There was no authenticity Injections of our own reasurer. . ch in those days. editori, have been carefully the secretary -t North Palm Bea cl_type� notes Page Tilus, we -located one of northern Palm identified, and placed in parentheses Contitilled on -rs alive c ,�Ippdi ea 11 Cort, "p D IF A '( 7. 1 P 1C L I B R) A, R The former Oakes mansion is today's Nortir Palm Beach Country Club. - _ Y V `I TS CT 13B #6 Our Town Continued From Page 1 Kelsey Ci'*ty Pioneer Reeal�s"Beginnings X KPisev and Mr. Kelsey plotted Kelsey. City (now Lake Park) which zoned city in Florida. Olmstead thus became the first Bros., of Boston, were his planners. Then Kelsey began selling lots; he incorporated the city, and bega construction of the streets and a waterworks. He also sold off an ocean front strip from the Palm Beach Inlet northwards for about two miles. The buyer was Anthony Biddle, the famed New York banker. Beach Also sold at this period were lots in .Riviera lying •C• in south of Silver Beach Road and west of the F.E Railway. Kelsey likewise sold acreage in Prosperity Farms Estate, north of the Earman River and south o the Intracoastal Canal. Kelsey had acquired the Intracoastal Canal from St. Augustine to Miami. By about 1925 some 60% of all lots in Kelsey City had been sold by his ECFC • Blakely- Kelsey's Nurseryman around the Mr. Kelsey promoted many. businessesoccupied (Kelsey City) railroad area, including 20 acres occuu by the Drake Lumber Co. Banks had been form and other companies — allied with the building trade. These were . formed by his friends and supporters. To add to the beautification of the area, Kelsey formed the Kelsey City Nursery co. and placed Mr. Samuel Blakely, in charge. Mr. Kelsey constructed the Kelsey City golf course on the north side of Palmetto Dr. (The area of today's Twin, City. Mali) . The 18 -hole course was designed by a Chicago golf course architect: of the fifth The second, third, fourth and part fairways were north of the Earman River, where the present, North Palm Beach library and elementary school are now located. is DePu se er Architect Was Lou y g (At this time Paris Singer -- member of the Singe SewingMachine Co. family and Palm Beach pioneers elevate the land for that purpose. Kelsey. Singer had Singer entered into a road construction contract with with g a rroposed — had become acquainted ch Everglades the Florida state road department to give them Addison M right-of-way from Kelsey City to the Intracoastal Canal been the entrepreneur of the Palm Bea inner had A g Club which his friend architect d been named `Paris" (This was long before North Palm Beach was born). The designed. Paris, incidentally, had would be between the Paris proposed new 24 -ft. wide road because he had been born in , and maintained ' life. G.B.) two golf courses (The Kelsey City Course and what is all his strong French relationships When Paris Singer began construction of his Blue now the NPB course. G • B •) • torn Elberton, Ga.., had It Left incomplete Herman and J.Y,.Arnold 1, f Hotel on Singer Island. was e Cit �, They Heron Hot ( g contracted to build 400 houses in Kelsey y• when the great depression came), he contacted Mr• o build also the clubhouse ... Lum- 18 -hole golf now assigned t Kelse about the construction of an Y � at the edge of at the foot of Palmetto Driv . were Continue -d on Page 14 course ... Lake Worth (In those days, Lake Worth's banks were approximately where U.S. 1 is now located. This was Pp course where the NPB idea a apparently the first of golf PP links are today. G.B.). Dea our ToW11 Mr. Singer had a French architect friend, Louis He drew the laps for a golf clubhouse and p e Continued .f rvm g tuber Co• • • Mr. Lu Puyseger. hotel. Me anwhile, Mr. Kelsey began buying back he had sold since he needed the bet was delivered from the llrake Anderson dredged a slip about 100 -ft• ea st of the site of the some of the land property for the new venture which was to become the the clubhouse. The Kelsey City Nursery furnished Palm Beach Winter Club, he had decided (thus d the resent North Palm Beach golf course(The p plantings and shrubbery. oundersof today's Arnold brothers became the two ears ago, died about originate and the mansion known to this generation as the Sir Arnold Construction Co • J.Y. know today as Herman isnowretired. So what w k Henry Oakes mansion. G.B.). Enter The Arnold Brothers En and many major the "Oakes Mansion was the first the Arnold by ' Palm Beach had only its Everglades At that time construction jobs undertaken country club and the short golf holes around The Iaotel. _Only the old established residents of Construction Co • G • B' )' Continued) (To Be C ii�rst hand account of Breakers ' r Golf Club Palm Beach were welcome...(Hence a Winter a good, Beach visitors seemed to be g icle will include a The second art Kelsey's p Beach Jan, S, 192 opening of Club for snubbed Palm venture to promote. G.B.) v p to dredge e N.P.Country $� the N.P.B. Winter Club on what is today er of realtor Louis B - of J• C Bills [Fath Mr. Kelsey directed Mr. Anderson a from the Intracoastal Canal to the site of the Site... Stories 9s Kelse 's financial Bills....and the beginnings of Haa•r3' Kelsey P clubhouse (Oakes mansion), using the soil to problems • •] p