Press Alt + R to read the document text or Alt + P to download or print.
This document contains no pages.
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