Harry Seymour Kelsey, c. 1923

Material Information

Subjects / Keywords:: Kelsey, Harry Seymour, 1879–1957
Kelsey City (Fla.)
Portraits
Mary Linehan Slide Collection
Spatial Coverage:: Florida -- Lake Park
Coordinates:: 26.79838 x -80.073079

General Note:: Harry Seymour Kelsey (1879–1957) made a fortune as a restaurant magnate in Boston in the late 1910s. When he sold his assets, he moved to Florida. After purchasing an immense amount of land, he started building Kelsey City, Florida's first planned community. Landscape architects Olmsted brothers and John Nolan designed the town, which consisted of an industrial zone, residential zone, and commercial zones. The industry included some a lumber mill, a brick factory, a dairy, and a nursery. Some of the industry was related to Mizner's developments. Kelsey auctioned residential lots in 1919, built the town and incorporated 16 Nov 1923. Although he was starting to have to sell land as early as 1925 to support the project, in 1925 Kelsey purchased the bankrupt Florida East Coast Canal and with Paris Singer built the Palm Beach Winter Club and golf course. The hurricane of 1926, IRS problems of 1927, the hurricane of 1928, and the stock market crash of 1929 were too much for the overextended Kelsey City to survive, and he gave it all up and returned to Massachusetts in 1929. By 1930, the town had only 75 residents and the state nullified the charter. In 1939, the town changed its name to Lake Park.
General Note:: Item number: SC2020-009-LP-027
General Note:: Scan gift of Lantana Public Library.

Source Institution:: Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives
Holding Location:: Boynton Beach City Library Local History Archives
Rights Management:: http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/UND/1.0/
Resource Identifier:: FI20111927 ( FIU number )
2020.009 ( Accession number )