History of Daytona Beach, FL
Daytona Beach boasts a rich history that includes more than a century as a desirable resort area. In the early days, however, the region now occupied by Daytona Beach was inhabited by the Timucuan Indian tribe, which flourished in fortified villages that they built along the waters of the Atlantic. Unfortunately, disease and battles with settlers would eventually result in the demise of the tribe and the area was later claimed by Spain.
The United States’ ownership of the land that is now Florida began in 1821 when the U.S. acquired it from Spain. It wasn’t until about 20 years later, however, that settlements began to spring up and it wasn’t until after the Civil War that Florida began to be recognized for the vacation mecca it is.
Daytona Beach was founded in 1870 and incorporated six years later. The founding father of the town was Mr. Matthias Day, an entrepreneur who opened the first Daytona Beach Hotel – the Palmetto House – in 1874. The town really burgeoned, however, when the St. John’s and Halifax River Railway started to come through Daytona in the 1880s. The town would later become a stop on the Florida East Coast Railway.
By the early 1900s, the area was already being recognized as a great vacation spot and more entrepreneurs began opening hotels, community centers, and other facilities for both residents and winter visitors who began coming from the North in large numbers. Wealthy Americans like John D. Rockefeller came to play golf and wound up building large homes near the beach and spending their winters in the Daytona area.
Around the same time, budding automobile inventors came to Daytona to test out their inventions on the smooth sand beaches here, the same beaches that still welcome cars today. Auto and motorcycle races began on the beach, according to records, as early as 1902, and soon, land speed records were being broken left and right. The city eventually earned the name “The Birthplace of Speed”, with the first stock car race taking place on the Daytona Beach Road Course in 1936. The National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing was formed in Daytona in 1947, and a dozen years later, the Daytona International Speedway opened. With a seating capacity of nearly 168,000, the track still attracts hundreds of thousands of visitors each year for a large number of races including the Daytona 500, dubbed the “Great American Race.”
Racing certainly brought visitors to the area and many
chose to hang around for a week or two and enjoy the sunshine. Others chose
to make it their permanent or winter home. And though the 70s, 80s, and 90s
saw the city suffer some decline, efforts to rejuvenate the area have been
successful. Today, the local visitors’ bureau notes that about 8 million
guests now make their way to Daytona Beach each year to enjoy year-round
good weather, world-class racing, comfortable resorts, interesting
attractions, and “The World’s Most Famous Beach.”
Return to Daytona Beach Guide Home Page