HISTORY OF LAUDERDALE-BY-THE-SEA
 

Lauderdale-By-The-Sea traces its roots to the 1920s. In February 1924, developer William F. Morang purchased and platted the property of Lauderdale-By-The-Sea from Henry S. Moody and John C. Gregory. Several years later, Melvin I. Anglin, a building contractor and real estate investor from Gary, Ind., bought the land with the intention of starting a new community in Florida. Anglin later became the Town's first Mayor. 

Lauderdale-By-The-Sea was first incorporated on Nov. 30, 1927, but its charter was revoked by the state in 1933. Fourteen years later, the Town reincorporated on Nov. 30, 1947 with the help of Charter Committee Chairman Glenn Friedt Sr. Lauderdale-By-The-Sea celebrated its 50th anniversary in 1997. 

While numerous other coastal cities in Florida allowed the development of huge condominium complexes on the beach, Lauderdale-By-The-Sea strived to maintain its small charm and ocean views by limiting building heights, which it still does to this day. 

The Town has undergone dramatic growth in the past 40 years. In 1960, the Town's population was 1,300 residents. The number of permanent residents residing here more than doubled in October 2001, when Lauderdale-By-The-Sea successfully annexed the Intracoastal Beach Area, a coastal neighborhood just north of the Town.

Town resident Martha E. Munzer, who has since passed away, wrote a wonderful history of the Town in 1989. Click here to read A Living History.

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