Boynton Beach
—  City  —
Motto: The Gateway to the Gulf Stream
Location within Palm Beach County and the state of Florida
Coordinates: 26°31′41″N 80°4′35″W / 26.52806°N 80.07639°W / 26.52806; -80.07639Coordinates: 26°31′41″N 80°4′35″W / 26.52806°N 80.07639°W / 26.52806; -80.07639
Country	United States
State	Florida
County	Palm Beach
Settled	1894
Incorporated (city)	1920
Government
• Type	Commission-Manager
• Mayor	Jose Rodriguez
• City Manager	Kurt Bressner
Area[1]
• Total	16.25 sq mi (42.1 km2)
• Land	15.88 sq mi (41.1 km2)
• Water	.37 sq mi (1.0 km2)  2.3%
Elevation	9 ft (6 m)
Population (8 April 2007)[2]
• Total	66,714
• Density	3,803.5/sq mi (1,468.5/km2)
	2006 estimate
Time zone	Eastern (EST) (UTC-5)
• Summer (DST)	EDT (UTC-4)
Zip Code	33424-33426, 33435-33437, 33472-33474
Area code(s)	561
FIPS code	12-07875[3]
GNIS feature ID	0279303[4]
Website	www.boynton-beach.org

Boynton Beach is a city in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 60,389 at the 2000 census. As of 2006, the city had a population of 66,714 according to the University of Florida, Bureau of Economic and Business Research.^[2] Boynton Beach is a principal city of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had a 2006 estimated population of 5,463,857.^[5] Despite the city's name, it has no beachfront; rather, it is located across the Intracoastal Waterway from the oceanfront municipalities of Ocean Ridge and Briny Breezes.

History[link]

Nathan S. Boynton

In 1894, two years before Henry Morrison Flagler built his railroad, a former American Civil War major named Nathan Boynton first set eyes on the area that now bears his name. Boynton hailed from Port Huron, Michigan. He was so impressed by the natural beauty of the year-round sunshine and pristine beaches, he built the famous Boynton Hotel, where he also spent winters with his family. The first settlers, whom Boynton had brought along from Michigan, soon realized that many fruits and vegetables thrived in the fertile climate. Pineapples, tomatoes, mangoes, and citrus fruit were packed in crates and shipped by the ton on the newly-built Florida East Coast Railroad to satisfy the appetites of hungry Americans across the country. Major Boynton died on May 27, 1911 in Port Huron, but the hotel carried through until 1925.

Boynton Beach was originally incorporated in 1920 as the Town of Boynton. The name "Boynton Beach" actually was first used by a community that broke off from Boynton in 1931. In 1939 that first Boynton Beach changed its name to Ocean Ridge. The Town of Boynton itself took the name "Boynton Beach" in 1941.^[6]

In 1926, the Seaboard Air Line Railway entered what was then simply Boynton, spurring land development a mile inland near the Seaboard station, including the town's first planned subdivision, Lake Boynton Estates.^[7] As land became more valuable, areas along the Intracoastal Waterway and the Federal Highway in Boynton also saw housing developments. To the west, many dairies were founded so that the Boynton area became the main milk supplier for Palm Beach County.^[8] By the 1970s, the dairies were no longer profitable and these lands too were converted to housing developments.

Hurricane Wilma struck Boynton Beach on Monday, October 24, 2005, causing widespread damage to homes and businesses. In 2006, the city government authorized the demolition of the historic Seaboard rail station, which had survived intact in private hands since passenger service to the station halted in 1971.^[7] 2006 also saw an increase in gang-related violent crime. This increase mirrored a similar increase across Palm Beach County. A gang-related shooting at the city's popular Boynton Beach Mall on Christmas Eve of 2006 caught national attention on many networks, such as CBS.^[9] As of 2009, countywide gang violence has fallen three percent.^[10] In January 2012 the mayor, Jose Rodriguez, was suspended from office by the state governor for trying to influence a police investigation into his personal affairs.^[11]

Geography[link]

Boynton Beach is located at 26°31′41″N 80°04′35″W / 26.528099°N 80.076363°W / 26.528099; -80.076363.^[12] According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 16.25 square miles (42 km²), of which 15.88 square miles (41 km²) is land and .37 square miles (1 km²) is water (2.3%).

Demographics[link]

As of 2010, there were 36,289 households out of which 19.8% were vacant. As of 2000, 22.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.4% were married couples living together, 10.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.2% were non-families. 33.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.87.

In 2000, the city's population was spread out with 19.9% under the age of 18, 6.4% from 18 to 24, 28.1% from 25 to 44, 19.8% from 45 to 64, and 25.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.9 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.5 males.

In 2000, the median income for a household in the city was $39,845, and the median income for a family was $47,546. Males had a median income of $32,503 versus $26,399 for females. The per capita income for the city was $22,573. About 7.4% of families and 10.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 17.9% of those under age 18 and 7.2% of those age 65 or over.

In 2000, native speakers of English accounted for 80.09% of all residents, while speakers of French Creole comprised 7.51%, Spanish was at 7.30%, French consisted of 1.02%, Italian at 0.97%, and German made up 0.87% of the population.^[13]

As of 2000, Boynton Beach had the twenty-eighth highest percentage of Haitians in the United States, at 6.50% of the city's population.^[14]

Schools[link]

Like all of Palm Beach County, Boynton Beach is served by the School District of Palm Beach County. As of 2006, it was the fifth largest school district in Florida and the twelfth largest school district in the United States.

Elementary schools:

• Citrus Cove Elementary School
• Crosspointe Elementary School
• Crystal Lakes Elementary School
• Forest Park Elementary
• Manatee ElementarySchool
• Freedom Shores Elementary School
• Galaxy Elementary School
• Hagen Road Elementary School
• Poinciana Elementary School Magnet school for math, science and technology.
• Rolling Green Elementary School
• Sunset Palms Elementary School