Plantation is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. It is a part of the South Florida metropolitan area. The city's name comes from the previous part-owner of the land, the Everglades Plantation Company, and their unsuccessful attempts to establish a rice plantation in the area. As of the 2020 US census, the population was 91,750.
History
Land acquisition and drainage (1855–1930)
Before the start of the 20th century, the area that became Plantation was part of the Everglades wetlands, regularly covered by 2–3 feet of water. In 1897, the Interior Department submitted 2.9 million acres to the Florida Land Office; however, the submission was revoked the following year, due to fears it would "impinge upon the rights and interests of the Seminole Tribes."
The Everglades Plantation Company was established in January 1909, following entry into a 2-year contract with the Internal Improvement Fund trustees by Adam A. Boggs (attorney and vice president of the Miami Bank and Trust Company) and A.B. Sanders (engineer and later president of the Miami Engineering and Construction Company) to create a rice plantation in the Everglades. The agreement enabled Boggs & Sanders to rent a significant amount of land around the (then work-in-progress) North New River Canal, and also subsequently purchase the land for between $3 and $15 per acre. however, no auction actually took place and the purchased land remained under water. As a result, a lawsuit was brought against Bolles.
In 1912, the North New River Canal opened,
Broward County (originally planned under the name Everglades County but ultimately named after former governor Broward) was created by the Florida legislature in 1915 by combining portions of Dade County and Palm Beach County. however, in 1939, Peters received advice from Stephan Zacher (a ranch-owner) to find better land for his cattle in Davie, Florida.
Chauncey Clark Jr. (originally from Michigan, but living in Miami Beach) was told by Peters that, in exchange for an effective development plan, Peters would provide land options and complete drainage & access as needed. The development's name (which went on to become the name of the entire city) came from that by which the area had become known, including its Water Control District subdivision, 'Plantation'. (with a population of 300 At that time, the city population remained less than 800 people. Plantation's Volunteer Fire Dept. was subsequently formed in 1957, with Richard Stephenson appointed as the first Fire Chief. By 1958, construction was completed on the City Hall. The city's community center, designed by original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, was built in 1963, becoming the site of the first city library (which had been housed in Peters Elementary). and in 1972, a $1.03 million construction bid was accepted for a new city hall, alongside groundbreaking for construction of the Deicke Auditorium.) and Melaleuca Isles were annexed into Plantation in 1973.
Frank Veltri was elected as the city's mayor for the first time in 1975. Veltri became the city's longest-serving mayor, completing six terms over 24 years.
During the US bicentennial celebration in 1976, a 45-foot oak tree was planted in Plantation's Fifth Street Park to represent the Liberty Tree. The park was renamed Liberty Tree Park as a result.
Recent history (1980–present)
By 1980, Plantation's population had reached 48,653. The Plantation Library was renamed to the Helen B. Hoffman Plantation Library in the following year.
During the 100th anniversary of the modern Olympic Games in 1996, the relay run of the Olympic Flame passed through Plantation city center. In September of this year, a fire at the Plantation Towne Mall became the city's largest fire to date, impacting 56,000 square feet of the mall. New city developments around this time included the Volunteer Park Community Center (1999), the Park East Multicultural Garden (2001), the Community Bus Service (2001), Jim Ward Community Center (2002), Jack Carter Harmony Park (2002), Happy Tails Dog Park (2002), the Plantation Equestrian Center (2005), and the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club (2006).
In 2007, the Broward Mall was acquired by the Westfield Group, received a multimillion-dollar renovation, and was renamed to Westfield Broward. It has won this award on other subsequent years, including 2010 and 2011.
The 2010 census established the city's population at 84,955 people. During this year, the vacant former Fashion Mall was planned for auction, but the auction was canceled after the property owner paid a court judgement.
In 2011, Diane Veltri Bendekovic, daughter of previous long-running mayor Frank Veltri, was elected as mayor of the city.
The city's 60th anniversary in 2013 saw the publication of a new book dedicated to its history: Images of America: Plantation. Demolition of the former Fashion Mall then began in 2016 (leaving the existing hotel, office and parking areas), to make way for Plantation Walk (previously known as 321 North In September 2018, a settlement was reached, dismissing legal conflicts between the area's bankruptcy trustee and other parties previously involved in the redevelopment. The development was targeting completion in 2021.
The American Express office in Plantation closed in 2017 when the company moved to a facility in neighboring Sunrise, Florida. In response to the move, committee review began on 'Plantation Midtown': a new mixed-use development, encompassing the site of the former American Express office.
On July 6, 2019, 23 people were injured, two seriously, by a gas explosion at the Market on University shopping plaza on South University Drive, which caused extensive damage to it and nearby buildings. The explosion occurred due to People's Gas, a division of TECO Energy, failing to close and lock a gas line after a customer request dating back to December 2018, in violation of Federal and Florida law.
In June 2020, following the George Floyd protests some residents called for the city, along with certain local schools whose names include the word "plantation", to be renamed due to the connotation of the word "plantation" with slavery in the American South. There were many suggestions for new names, one of the main suggestions being Jacaranda, the name of various plazas and neighborhoods in the city. Other suggestions included Evergreen, North Davie, Greene City, and Everglades City. The city's name has no direct links to slavery and other residents expressed opposition to renaming.
In 2021, Westfield Mall returned to its previous name of Broward Mall following the fall of the Westfield Group.
Geography
thumb|East-facing aerial photo of Plantation. Flamingo Road (bottom) separates Plantation from [[Sunrise, Florida|Sunrise.|alt=]]
Land size
As of the 2010 census, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (0.87%) is water.
Location and surroundings
Plantation is in central Broward County and is bordered by Lauderhill to the northeast, Sunrise to the north and west, Davie to the south, and Fort Lauderdale to the east.
Climate
Plantation has a tropical rainforest climate (Af), bordering a tropical monsoon climate (Am) due to the driest month of December's precipitation being near the 60mm threshold separating these categories.
On average, August is the hottest month, with an average high of , whilst January is the coolest month, with an average low of and a record low of .
Full monthly statistics for the city are as follows:
Racial and ethnic composition
{|class="wikitable sortable collapsible mw-collapsed" style="font-size: 90%; text-align: right;"
!Historical demographics
!style="width: 5em;"|2020
!style="width: 5em;"|2010
!style="width: 5em;"|2000
!style="width: 5em;"|1990
!style="width: 5em;"|1980
|-
|style="text-align:left"|White (non-Hispanic)
|41.4%
|53.7%
|68.0%
|84.0%
|94.8%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Hispanic or Latino
|28.0%
|20.4%
|13.1%
|8.1%
|3.5%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Black or African American (non-Hispanic)
|20.7%
|19.4%
|13.4%
|5.8%
|0.9%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Asian and Pacific Islander (non-Hispanic)
|4.5%
|3.8%
|2.9%
|1.8%
|rowspan="3"|0.8%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Native American (non-Hispanic)
|0.1%
|0.2%
|0.1%
|0.1%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Some Other Race (non-Hispanic)
|1.1%
|0.5%
|0.4%
|0.1%
|-
|style="text-align:left"|Two or more races (non-Hispanic)
|4.2%
|2.0%
|2.1%
|N/A
|N/A
|-
!style="text-align:left"|Population
!style="text-align:right"|91,750
!style="text-align:right"|84,955
!style="text-align:right"|82,934
!style="text-align:right"|66,692
!style="text-align:right"|48,501
|}
{| class="wikitable" style="text-align:center;"
|+Plantation, Florida – Racial and ethnic composition<br><small></small>
!Race / Ethnicity <small>(NH = Non-Hispanic)</small>
!Pop 2000
!Pop 2010
!
!% 2000
!% 2010
!
|-
|White (NH)
|56,411
|45,599
|style='background: #ffffe6; |37,976
|68.02%
|53.67%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |41.39%
|-
|Black or African American (NH)
|11,101
|16,470
|style='background: #ffffe6; |18,961
|13.39%
|19.39%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |20.67%
|-
|Native American or Alaska Native (NH)
|107
|146
|style='background: #ffffe6; |135
|0.13%
|0.17%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.15%
|-
|Asian (NH)
|2,359
|3,221
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4,146
|2.84%
|3.79%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.52%
|-
|Pacific Islander or Native Hawaiian (NH)
|36
|46
|style='background: #ffffe6; |26
|0.04%
|0.05%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |0.03%
|-
|Some other race (NH)
|337
|422
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1,003
|0.41%
|0.50%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |1.09%
|-
|Mixed race or Multiracial (NH)
|1,723
|1,679
|style='background: #ffffe6; |3,815
|2.08%
|1.98%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |4.16%
|-
|Hispanic or Latino (any race)
|10,860
|17,372
|style='background: #ffffe6; |25,688
|13.09%
|20.45%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |28.00%
|-
|Total
|82,934
|84,955
|style='background: #ffffe6; |91,750
|100.00%
|100.00%
|style='background: #ffffe6; |100.00%
|-
|}
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, Plantation had a population of 91,750. The median age was 41.3 years. 19.5% of residents were under the age of 18 and 17.6% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 89.6 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 86.8 males age 18 and over.
100.0% of residents lived in urban areas, while 0.0% lived in rural areas.
There were 36,653 households in Plantation, of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living in them. Of all households, 46.1% were married-couple households, 17.0% were households with a male householder and no spouse or partner present, and 29.8% were households with a female householder and no spouse or partner present. About 26.4% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.0% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older.
There were 38,596 housing units, of which 5.0% were vacant. The homeowner vacancy rate was 0.9% and the rental vacancy rate was 6.8%.
Also as of 2010, 66.0% of the 34,190 total households were family households, 47.7% were husband-wife households, and 28.5% included a child under 18 years. 26.3% of all households were made up of individual householders living alone, and 8.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.01.
Economy
A 2012 survey of business owners identified a total of 13,674 companies within the city. the University of Phoenix (South Florida Campus), and TradeStation. Companies with former locations in Plantation include American Express (1975 to 2017),
Malls
Plantation was home to two malls, situated across the street from one another: the Westfield Broward Mall (south of Broward Boulevard), When first opened, the 6,661-yard course was known as the West Side Golf Course, and was owned by the city of Fort Lauderdale; however, the course was renamed in December 1928 when it was leased by Fort Lauderdale. Though originally a public club, it became a private club in 1957, when it was sold by the city of Fort Lauderdale. The North Course was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence, then re-designed by Tom Pearson (1999) and Kipp Schulties (2006).
The first club not owned by Fort Lauderdale, the Plantation Golf Course and Country Club, was designed by Robert 'Red' F. Lawrence and original city master plan architect Russell Pancoast, opening in 1950. Lago Mar was purchased from its original builders in 1980 and re-designed in 2009 by Kipp Schulties, reopening on January 1, 2010. The club includes teeing grounds from 5,811 to 6,756 yards and other facilities such as private tennis courts.
alt=Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club in July 2024|thumb|Plantation Preserve Golf Course & Club in July 2024
Another public (though privately owned) club within the city is the Jacaranda Golf Club: a 285-acre, 7,247 yard course designed by Mark Mahannah and built 1970, then redesigned by Bobby Weed in 2006.
Work on a new city-owned golf course began in 2002, when the city purchased the property of the original Plantation Golf Course and commenced the new 'Plantation Preserve' development. This development work resulted in the Plantation Preserve Golf Course and Club: a 214-acre, 7,148 yard course, designed by Robert von Hagge, Michael Smelek, and Rick Baril, which was dedicated in April 2006.
Education
thumb|Aerial photo of [[American Heritage School (Florida)|American Heritage School]]
According to a 2013–2017 American Community Survey estimate, 93.4% of the city have attained high school graduation or a higher level of education. 25.4% have a bachelor's degree, and 17.4% have a graduate or professional degree.
Public high schools
- Plantation High School
- South Plantation High School
Plantation middle schools
- Plantation Middle School
- Seminole Middle School
- Bair Middle School in Sunrise, Florida (serves parts of Plantation)
Public elementary schools
- Central Park Elementary School
- Mirror Lake Elementary School
- Peters Elementary School
- Plantation Elementary School
- Plantation Park Elementary School
- Tropical Elementary School
- Sawgrass Elementary School in Sunrise (serves parts of Plantation)
Private schools
- American Heritage School and American Academy
- The Blake School
- Our Savior Lutheran
- St. Gregory's Parish School of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Miami
Higher education
- University of Phoenix
Media
Plantation is part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the sixteenth largest media market, the eleventh largest radio market, and the sixteenth largest television market in the United States.
The city's primary daily newspapers are the South Florida Sun-Sentinel and The Miami Herald, and their Spanish-language counterparts El Sentinel and El Nuevo Herald.
Plantation has also been used as a filming location for feature films, such as Caddyshack in 1980 (the Plantation Country Club was used for the film's pool scenes), and There's Something About Mary in 1998 (the film's high school is actually Plantation City Hall, located at 400 NW 73rd Avenue).
Notable people
thumb|upright=0.65|[[XXXTentacion]]
thumb|upright=0.65|[[Richard Bleier]]
thumb|upright=0.65|[[Candace Cameron]]
thumb|upright=0.65|[[James Randi]]
- Somy Ali (born 1976), former Bollywood actress, writer, model, filmmaker, and activist
- Melanie Amaro (born 1992), singer, first season winner of The X Factor USA
- Daniel Berger (born 1993), professional PGA Tour golfer
- Randy Bernsen, guitarist and jazz composer
- Horatio Benedict "H.B." Blades Jr., NFL player
- Richard Bleier (born 1987), MLB pitcher with the Boston Red Sox
- Chris Britton, MLB player
- Valeri Bure, NHL player
- Candace Cameron, actress
- Audra Cohen, tennis player
- Kassidy Cook, Olympic diver
- Steve Curry, MLB player
- Alberto Cutié, Episcopal priest and pastor of St. Benedict's Parish
- Wayne Federman, actor, comedian, and biographer of Pistol Pete Maravich
- Blake Geoffrion, NHL player
- Mike Gioulakis, cinematographer
- Chad Henne, NFL player
- Carl Hiaasen, novelist and journalist
- Rob Hiaasen, journalist and editor
- Michael Hill, MLB executive
- Greg Ira, racing driver
- Tyler Kinley, MLB player
- Ty Law (born 1974), NFL player
- Barry Leibowitz (born 1945), American-Israeli basketball player
- Jonathan Lewis (born 1997), soccer player
- Jake Long, NFL player
- Jaycob Megna, ice hockey player
- Camila Mendes, actress
- Alicia Minshew, actress
- Bob Norman, journalist
- James Randi, stage magician and scientific skeptic
- Darrelle Revis, NFL player
- Josh Robinson, NFL player
- John Roselli (1905–1976), mobster
- Ryan Shazier, NFL player
- Ski Mask The Slump God (legal name Stokeley Goulbourne; 1996), rapper
- Patrick Staropoli, ophthalmologist and professional stock car racing driver
- Sloane Stephens, professional tennis player
- Patrick Surtain, NFL player
- Zach Thomas, NFL player
- Allen West (born 1961), congressman
- XXXTentacion (full name Jahseh Dwayne Ricardo Onfroy, 1998–2018), rapper
See also
- Florida land boom of the 1920s
- Broward County, Florida
- Everglades
References
Further reading
Schuler, Shirley (2013). Images of America: Plantation. Arcadia Publishing. .