The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1920-07-09
FLORIDA GROWTH

The census figures are most inter-
| esting when studied with a view to
| measuring not only the growth of a
city, but the reasons for that growth.
In a recent issue of the Lake Worth
Herald attention is called to the rapid
growth of one progressive town,
which is so close a neighbor to West
Palm Beach. The Herald says:
The assessed property, valuation Of
West Palm Beach in 1900 was $780,
sos; in 1910 it was $47s,73o. No fig
ures are available for 1915 and 1920,
but the 1919 assessed values were S.
100000. West Palm Beach had only
1,743 of 4,094, showing that it has
doubled it's population in the 1910
and the state census of 1915 gives it
a poplation last five years.
All of the credit for the great in
crease in population of West Palm
Beach however does not belong en-
tirely to that city. Lake Worth con-
tributed considerable towards it since
this city began building in 1912, for
many people coming to Lake Worth in
the early days did not fancy pioneer
ing, and as West Palm Beach had
better school facilities, especially in
regards to their high school, many
families left Lake Worth and went to
West Palm Beach. Nearly all the
trading in the first few years of Lake
Worth's growth was done at the coun-
ty seat and this contributed to it's
wealth. The greater part of the ma
terial that went to build this town in
1912-13-14 and Is was purchased at
West Palm Beach, where the Lake
Worth pioneers also bought all their
clothing, a large part of their gro
ceries and banked their money.
Things have changed materially,
however, since the years of 1912 and
IS, and while we are waiting for the
Lake Worth census reports to be is
sued from Washington, few figures
about Lake Worth's increased popu-
lation and assessed property valua-
ton might prove interesting to some
of our readers.
Lake Worth did not exist when the
1910 census was taken. This town
came into being in April, 1912, and
the real increase in population and
in valuations has taken place with
in the last two years, for in 1918 Lake
Worth had population of about six
hundred, white only, and close es-
innate of it's 1920 census, takea- last
January, is that Lake Work has a
population of about 1900 people, all
white, showing an increase of one
hundred per cent the last two years.
The assessed valuation of Lake
Worth property in 1914 was $4,000.
The assessed valuation of property
this year approximates $4,000 900.
There are nearly ten thousand own
ers of Lake Worth property scattered
throughout every city of the United
States and Canada who are boosting
for Lake Worth, and every indication
is that Lake Worth will double its
population and its assessed property
valuation within the next two years
While the town is young and its
real growth has taken place within
the last two years, we are not so far
behind West Palm Beach and Miami
when it comes to high per centages of
increase in population and assessed
property valuations.
Lake Worth is willing to be COM
pared with West Palm Beach and
Miami III their first eight years of
existence, always having in mind that
we had no assistance from Henry NJ
Flagler nor the F e. c. r. r."