← Tales From South Florida: History of the People and Places That Shaped South Florida
Tales From South Florida: History of the People and Places That Shaped South Florida
Hugh Taylor Birch and The Bonnet House: Pioneers of South Florida
00:15:25
Loading summary
Transcript5 lines
- [00:01]
A
Welcome to Tales from South Florida. I'm your host, Bill Monte, and I invite you to take a walk with me. Or as we like to say around here, take a talk with me down memory lane. Today's story is about a man whose quiet decision shaped modern Fort Lauderdale in ways most people who live here never realize. His name was Hugh Taylor Burch. And if you've ever visited Birch State park, walked along Sunrise Boulevard at the beach there at A1A, or toured the beautiful Bonnethouse Museum and Gardens, well, you've experienced his legacy. But the story behind those places is not just about land and development. It's about one man's determination to preserve a piece of South Florida so that it would not disappear forever. Let's get started.
- [00:54]
B
These are the Tales from South Florida for you with your host, Bill Monte.
- [01:07]
A
Hugh Taylor Burch was born in 1848 right outside of Chicago, Illinois. He grew up during the turbulent years of the Civil War era and eventually built a successful career as an attorney in Chicago. He worked with powerful industrial interests of the time, including legal work connected with John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Company. And like another famous name of the time who also worked for Standard Oil, Henry Flagler, he shaped Florida for years to come. By the way, if you missed the episode on Henry Flagler, I'll put a link in the show notes for you, or just visit talesfromsouthflorida.com and get caught up on that and many other episodes. Like many wealthy northerners in the late 1800s, Birch began looking for a warm place to escape the harsh Chicago winters. And in 1893, he traveled to South Florida. Now, what he found, I'm sure you know, was nothing like the Fort Lauderdale that we know today. At the time, Fort Lauderdale was barely a town. It had only recently begun to recover from the Seminole wars. There were only a few homes, a trading post, and the remnants of old army forts along the New River. Barrier island along the Atlantic coast was mostly untouched wilderness. There was thick jungle vegetation, mangroves, sand dunes, wildlife everywhere. And Hugh Taylor Burch fell in love with it. While others saw swampy land with little value, Birch saw beauty and potential, and he began buying up property along the barrier island just north of the New River. Eventually, he owned more than three miles of oceanfront land, buying much of it for about $1 per acre. Today, that same land would be worth hundreds of millions of dollars. But Burch was not interested in development. He loved the natural environment, and. And each winter, he returned from Chicago to enjoy swimming in the ocean, fishing in the Coastal lagoons and cultivating tropical plants. He built a small home on the property and spent quiet months enjoying what he called one of the most beautiful places he had ever seen. Burch was married to Mariah Root Burch, and together they had three children. Their sons were Carlton Burch and Hugh Taylor Burch Jr. And they had a daughter, Helen Louise Burch. But heartbreak came early. Carlton died at the age of five in 1880. Two years later, their son Hugh Jr. Died at just 19 years old in 1907. Then in 1913, Burch's wife died. By this point, only one of Hugh Taylor Burch's children remained, and that was his daughter Helen, who became the center of his life. In 1919, Helen married Frederick Clay Bartlett, a successful Chicago artist, architect and muralist. He was already well known for his large scale murals and paintings in prominent buildings across the United States. As a wedding gift, Burch gave the newly married couple 35 acres of his oceanfront property along the barrier island in Fort Lauderdale. I guess he wanted his little girl close to him at all times. That gift would become the Bonnet House. Construction began around 1920, with Frederick Bartlett himself designing the home. Bonnet House was unlike anything else in South Florida at the time. Instead of a traditional mansion, Bartlett designed a series of structures arranged around a tropical courtyard. The architecture blended Caribbean influences, plantation style elements and Mediterranean design. But what made Bonnet House truly special was the surrounding environment. The estate preserved a remarkable mix of natural habitatsome that we have mentioned already. The coastal sand dunes, mangrove wetlands, a freshwater lagoon, a maritime forest, and lots and lots and lots of beachfront. In essence, Bonnethouse preserved a piece of the original barrier island ecosystem. Frederick and Helen spent winters there, filling the house with art, music and creativity. And the home quickly became a unique artistic retreat. Sadly, their time together was short. In 1925, Helen Birch Bartlett died of breast cancer at the age of 42. For Hugh Taylor Burch, the loss was devastating. He had now outlived his wife, both sons and his only daughter. Frederick Bartlett eventually remarried in 1931. His second wife was Evelyn Fortune Lily, ex wife of Eli Lilly. Anybody wants some zepbound? And she was an artist in her own right. Evelyn embraced Bonnet House and helped expand its gardens and artistic environment. She would eventually become instrumental in preserving the property for future generations. Now, during the 1920s and the 1930s, Fort Lauderdale began transforming rapidly. The Florida land boom brought developers, hotels and new residents to the area. Roads were carved through the barrier island. Beachfront property became extremely valuable. But Birch, now in his later years, had a very different vision. He wanted to protect the wilderness he had fallen in love with decades earlier. In 1941, at more than 90 years old, Hugh Taylor Burch made an extraordinary decision. He donated approximately 180 acres of his property to the state of Florida. And his condition was simple. The land must be preserved as a public park. That land became Hugh Taylor Birch State Park. Today, it sits right in the middle of Fort Lauderdale beach, surrounded by hotels and high rise buildings. Inside the park, however, visitors can still experience the natural environment that Birch loved. You can still see those coastal hammock forests. You can walk the peaceful trails. You can see the wildlife habitats and enjoy the freshwater lagoons. It is truly one of the last remaining natural areas along the Broward county coastline. Birch also donated land for public use, including areas that later became parts of Sunrise Boulevard, A1A, and public beachfront access. Because of these contributions, Hugh Taylor Burch is often referred to as the grandfather of Fort Lauderdale Beach. Even in his 90s, Burch continued to spend winters on his Florida property. He built a final home on the land, called Terramar, which means land to the sea. The home stood within what is now the state park. From there, Birch could look out over the Atlantic Ocean on one side and the coastal lagoon on the other. Hugh Taylor Burch died on January 7, 1943, at the age of 94. By that time, Fort Lauderdale had already begun growing into the city we know today. But because of Birch's foresight, a significant part of the original barrier island landscape remained protected as far as Bonnet House. After Frederick Bartlett died in 1953, his wife, Evelyn Bartlett, continued living inside the home. She maintained the property and its art collections for decades. She was very protective of it. Eventually, Evelyn arranged for the estate to be preserved. In 1983, Bonnet House was donated to the Florida Trust for Historic Preservation, and today it operates as the Bonnethouse Museum and Gardens, and it is listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You can still tour the historic home, view the artwork of Frederick and Evelyn Bartlett, and explore the preserved gardens and ecosystems surrounding the estate. It remains one of the most unique historic homes in all of Florida. The the modern skyline of Fort Lauderdale beach is filled with hotels, condominiums, and restaurants. But hidden among that development are two remarkable places that connect us to the past. The Bonnet House and Birch State Park. Both exist because of one man, Hugh Taylor Burch, who recognized the value of the natural environment long before conservation was common. He could have sold his land to developers and become even wealthier. Instead, he chose to protect it. And because of that decision Generations of South Floridians and visitors can still experience a piece of the original Florida coastline. So the next time you walk through Birch State park, or wander the gardens at Bonnet House, or walk along the beach at A1A right around sunrise Boulevard, remember the man whose quiet vision preserved those places, A Chicago lawyer who discovered a wild stretch of Florida coastline more than a century ago and decided it was worth saving. You know, my connection to both of these places is that when we first moved here in 1965, my father and mother decided, for reasons I was never told, but we would have most of our birthday parties at Birch State Park. At that time, we lived in what was called West Hollywood, so we were maybe about a half mile east of University Drive, right off of Johnson Street. So Birch State park was not around the corner for us. I'm not sure how we ended up having the birthday parties there. And I have seen postings on Facebook and different social media sites that talk about a train at Birch State Park. I don't remember that. I don't know if it still was running at the time, but apparently there was a train in the park. I do remember that you could rent canoes, which we did often. I remember that when trying to have our. Our picnic and the celebration, the food and the birthday cake, et cetera, raccoons were a big problem. They were constantly coming really close to the picnic tables. I vaguely remember the house, which I believe is terra mar, that we talked about in the episode that is now the visitor center for Birch State Park. It was really a beautiful place. There was also a tunnel, I believe, that I understand is now closed, that led from the park to the beach. So once you got into the park, if you wanted to go to the beach, you didn't have to worry about crossing the traffic on A1A. You walked right underneath it, over to the beach, and then back again when you needed to. Yeah, really, really a beautiful place. And it was probably about 10 years ago on Father's Day, that we visited the Bonnet house again. The first time I had done it as an adult. I do remember going as a child on that Father's Day. It was extremely hot. It was. Everyone was a little bit grumpy by the time we left there. But it's exactly as I was describing to you. It is a unique blend of all of these different architectural types around this courtyard. The artwork is amazing. The grounds are amazing. So listen, if you live in South Florida, you live in the Fort Lauderdale area, and you want, like, a really great afternoon or a day Go spend some time at Birch State Park. Go across the street basically to the Bonnet House. You're going to have yourself a great time. If you're heading down to South Florida and you're looking for a great place to spend some of your vacation time, I again I suggest Birch State Park. I suggest the Bonnet House. I ask you to please remember at this time to subscribe to, like to comment, to share. That really helps grow our channel and it is so appreciated. I invite you to join us at talesfromsouthflorida.com where you can find past episodes, you can find our Spotify playlist, you can go to our YouTube channel from there and you can just have a wonderful time. Hope to see you, and you can even help support us by buying Norman, our dog producer, a treat. I appreciate that too. And if you'd like to drop me a line about this or any of the other episodes, you can go into the Speak Pipe link in the show notes below or just write to me@talesfromsouthfloridagmail.com. i look forward to hearing from you my friends. Until the next time that we take a talk down memory lane together, I remind you to please be safe and be kind.
- [14:26]
B
Let's take a talk down memory lane cause the stories around here are just insane. Pirates, World, Desporto and Wolfies too. Palm beach, the Key west, that's where we grew. These are the tales from South Florida for you with your host, Bill Monte.
- [14:56]
A
Hello friends, Bill Monte here, and I'm inviting you to join me on the podcast Bill Monte's Guide for Getting Older. Now, this is not a podcast about being old. No, it's about understanding the world we're growing older in. How we care for each other, how we protect what we've built, and how we make sense of the systems that are supposed to look out for us, especially when we need them the most. Bill Monte's Guide for Getting Older. It is available wherever fine podcast can be found and I look forward to talking with you soon.