A Brief History of Parkland, Florida

The City of Parkland was founded in 1963 by cattle farmer Bruce B. Blount, who purchased more than 1,000 acres of northwest Broward County’s undeveloped Everglades land with his father. In the late 1950s, Blount decided to parcel off plots of his land - BBB Ranches. With the help of Florida House Representative Emerson Allsworth, a charter passed and the City was named Parkland. 

Building a Community

Some of the first residents of Parkland were able to buy five acres of land for as little as $15,000. The 1970s brought expansion and development and, over the next decade, Parkland grew to more than 20 times its original size. Residents formed a volunteer firefighter organization, hired police officers, and opened the first library in the concession stand at Quigley Park. Despite its population boom, Parkland remained a rustic, country community with the arrival of the first paved roads in the 1980s and the first traffic light in the 1990s. 

Progress and Vision

Today, the City of Parkland stretches west from State Road 7 / US-411 to the Everglades and north from the Sawgrass Expressway to Loxahatchee Road. At the time of incorporation in 1963, there were less than 100 residents, and now Parkland has grown to nearly 38,000 residents and expanded from just 420 acres to more than 8,000. Within the city limits there are 11 beautiful parks with spectacular trails for families, dogs, and horses to enjoy, a more than 1,000-year-old Native American midden, a City library with special programming for residents of all ages, and a thriving community. 

Sources:
Frank J. Cavaoli, Ph.D. and Kenneth A. Cutler, Esq. A History of Parkland, Florida. Self-Published, 2022.
James Weiss, The History of Parkland, Florida. Parkland Historical Society, 2013.

Learn about Parkland’s history and its historic landmarks.

Learn about the Margate-Blount archaeological site.