Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick, later the town's first mayor, established Palm Beach's first hotel, the Cocoanut Grove House, in 1880, but Standard Oil tycoon Henry Flagler became instrumental in transforming the island of jungles and swamps into a winter resort for the wealthy.

[16] Carriers delivered mail by foot or boat from Palm Beach and other nearby communities to as far south as Miami, a round trip of 136 miles (219 km).

[25] Prior to the 1910s, many African Americans in the area lived in a segregated section of Palm Beach called the "Styx",[26] with an estimated population of 2,000 at its peak.

[31] Some of Mizner's clients included Anthony Joseph Drexel Biddle Jr., Paul Moore Sr., Gurnee Munn, John Shaffer Phipps, Edward Shearson, Eva Stotesbury, Rodman Wanamaker, and Barclay Harding Warburton II.

[41] Early in World War II, the United States Army established a Ranger camp at the northern tip of the island, which could accommodate 200 men.

[39] John F. Kennedy was elected President of the United States in 1960, and selected as his Winter White House La Querida,[39] which his father bought in 1933.

[46] The town council responded in 1979 by approving an ordinance establishing the Landmarks Preservation Commission, which identifies and works to protect historic structures.

[39] Wilmot's staff served the 10 sailors sandwiches and freshly brewed coffee in her gazebo and offered martinis to journalists reporting on the incident.

Smith had been accused of committing rape at La Querida, but a trial at the Palm Beach County Court resulted in his acquittal on December 11, 1991.

Another notable mayor, Paul Ilyinsky, son of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and heiress Audrey Emery, was elected to the office in February 1993.

[58] The FBI conducted a search warrant at Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022, approved by Magistrate Judge Bruce Reinhart after a criminal referral by the National Archives and Records Administration relating to classified documents.

The Providencia was traveling from Havana to Cádiz, Spain, with a cargo of coconuts harvested in the Crown Colony of Trinidad and Tobago in the British West Indies, when the ship wrecked near Palm Beach.

[61] The town is on an 18-mile (29 km) long barrier island between the Intracoastal Waterway (locally known as the Lake Worth Lagoon) on the west and the Atlantic Ocean on the east.

The Intracoastal Waterway coast was primarily low-lying and swampy; marshy sloughs generally lay between the two features,[66]: IX-4  though an oolitic limestone ridge stood along some parts of the island's westward side.

Since 1883, the environment has been significantly altered by developing land, the filling of the sloughs, and a receding coastline due to erosion, but the Atlantic ridge is still the dominating topographical feature of the island and acts as a seaward barrier.

[67] Palm Beach town officials may deploy law enforcement officers to strategically place roadblocks to limit access to the island during unsafe conditions.

[82][83] The town's affluence and its recreational facilities, shops, restaurants, social scene, and "community-oriented sensibility" were cited when it was selected in June 2003 as America's "Best Place to Live" by Robb Report magazine.

[112] Palm Beach had the 40th-highest percentage of Russian residents in the United States in 2000, with 10.30% of the populace – tied with Pomona, New York, and the township of Lower Merion, Pennsylvania.

[131] Once a year, the Palm Beach Charity Register magazine publishes a guide to charitable events held in the town and other nearby localities.

The garden has a statue of Pan (originally designed in 1890 by Frederick William MacMonnies), the ancient Greek god who protects and guards flocks.

[149] Phipps Ocean Park includes the Little Red Schoolhouse, the first school building in southeast Florida (built in 1886), restored and moved from its original location near where the Flagler Memorial Bridge stands today.

[172] The market is served by stations affiliated with major American networks including WPTV-TV/5 (NBC), WPEC/12 (CBS), WPBF/25 (ABC), WFLX/29 (FOX), WTVX/34 (CW), WXEL-TV/42 (PBS), WTCN-CD/43 (MYTV),[173] WWHB-CD/48 (TBD),[174] WHDT/59 (Court TV),[173] WFGC/61 (CTN),[174] WPXP-TV/67 (ION),[173] as well as local channel WBWP-LD/57 (Ind.).

[176] The Landmarks Preservation Commission (LPC), established by an ordinance approved by the town council in 1979, studies and protects historic structures in Palm Beach.

Delayed response times and high insurance rates eventually led Palm Beach to establish its own fire-rescue department in December 1921.

[197] Today, the Palm Beach Fire Rescue has three stations, retains 82 employees – 75 full-time and 7 part-time, and annually responds to approximately 2,600 calls.

However, following a 2014 town council meeting with FPL workers and a related voter-approved ballot question in 2016, it was decided a town-wide undergrounding project would be undertaken at a cost of approximately $90 million.

Sewage is collected via 41 miles (66 km) of mainline pipes at the more than 40 pumping stations, which are capable of transporting over 100,000 US gallons (380,000 L; 83,000 imp gal) of water each minute.

Prior to the arrival of Henry Flagler in the 1890s, a few wealthy or otherwise notable people already resided in Palm Beach, including businessman and Autocar Company founder Louis Semple Clarke and scientist Thomas Adams, a pioneer of the chewing gum industry.

Smith previously served as an Ambassador of the United States to Cuba, while Ilyinsky was the son of Grand Duke Dmitri Pavlovich of Russia and heiress Audrey Emery.

[23] Two United States Presidents have been part-time residents, John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump, with both designating their respective Palm Beach properties as a Winter White House.