The Tropical Sun
Encyclopedia
The Tropical Sun was South Florida's first newspaper, established in 1891 and based in Juno Beach
, Florida
, which was the county seat
of Dade County
(which then extended from modern-day Martin County
south to Dade's southern boundary at Florida Bay
). The Tropical Sun covered the events of the Florida land boom of the 1920s
and its subsequent bust in preceding the Great Depression
in South Florida. It also documents the growth of tourism, the presence of malaria in Florida prior to World War II, and other issues related to the struggles of the developers of south Florida’s Atlantic coast. The only rival to the Tropical Sun was The Miami Metropolis, which eventually became The Miami News
, and The Miami Evening Record, now The Miami Herald
.
The Tropical Sun was published as a weekly for most of its history but, also, as a semiweekly between 1903 and 1906. Miami and Dade County
saw an increase in tourists after 1906 when Henry Flagler’s railroad opened service to Key West. Before this date, tourist traffic to Key West
would have involved travel by city. The location of The Tropical Suns offices in Juno, Florida, "set back from the (railroad) track some thirty feet and from the wharf about fifty yards" is telling of both the newspaper’s and south Florida’s relationship with and their reliance on tourism. Between 1891 and 1895, The Tropical Sun was published in Juno, Florida. From 1895 to 1926, it was published in West Palm Beach, Florida. For a time beginning in 1914, the newspaper published both as a weekly under The Tropical Sun title and as a daily under the title, the Daily Tropical Sun.
Archives of the newspaper today are kept by the Palm Beach County Historical Society in the basement of the 1915 Palm Beach County Courthouse.
Juno Beach, Florida
Juno Beach is a town in Palm Beach County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,262 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 3,391. Juno Beach is home to the headquarters of Florida Power & Light...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, which was the county seat
County seat
A county seat is an administrative center, or seat of government, for a county or civil parish. The term is primarily used in the United States....
of Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
(which then extended from modern-day Martin County
Martin County, Florida
Martin County is a county in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 126,731. The U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimate for the county is 138,660. Its county seat is Stuart, Florida.- History :...
south to Dade's southern boundary at Florida Bay
Florida Bay
Florida Bay is the bay located between the southern end of the Florida mainland and the Florida Keys. Its area is variously stated to be , or , or . Nearly all of Florida Bay is included in Everglades National Park. The southern edge, along the Florida Keys is in the Florida Keys National Marine...
). The Tropical Sun covered the events of the Florida land boom of the 1920s
Florida land boom of the 1920s
The Florida land boom of the 1920s was Florida's first real estate bubble, which burst in 1925, leaving behind entire new cities and the remains of failed development projects such as Aladdin City in south Miami-Dade County and Isola di Lolando in north Biscayne Bay...
and its subsequent bust in preceding the Great Depression
Great Depression
The Great Depression was a severe worldwide economic depression in the decade preceding World War II. The timing of the Great Depression varied across nations, but in most countries it started in about 1929 and lasted until the late 1930s or early 1940s...
in South Florida. It also documents the growth of tourism, the presence of malaria in Florida prior to World War II, and other issues related to the struggles of the developers of south Florida’s Atlantic coast. The only rival to the Tropical Sun was The Miami Metropolis, which eventually became The Miami News
The Miami News
The Miami News was the dominant evening newspaper in Miami, Florida for most of the 20th century, its chief concurrent competitor being the morning-edition of The Miami Herald. The paper started publishing in May 1896 as a weekly called The Miami Metropolis. The Metropolis had become a daily paper...
, and The Miami Evening Record, now The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald
The Miami Herald is a daily newspaper owned by The McClatchy Company headquartered on Biscayne Bay in the Omni district of Downtown Miami, Florida, United States...
.
The Tropical Sun was published as a weekly for most of its history but, also, as a semiweekly between 1903 and 1906. Miami and Dade County
Miami-Dade County, Florida
Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...
saw an increase in tourists after 1906 when Henry Flagler’s railroad opened service to Key West. Before this date, tourist traffic to Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
would have involved travel by city. The location of The Tropical Suns offices in Juno, Florida, "set back from the (railroad) track some thirty feet and from the wharf about fifty yards" is telling of both the newspaper’s and south Florida’s relationship with and their reliance on tourism. Between 1891 and 1895, The Tropical Sun was published in Juno, Florida. From 1895 to 1926, it was published in West Palm Beach, Florida. For a time beginning in 1914, the newspaper published both as a weekly under The Tropical Sun title and as a daily under the title, the Daily Tropical Sun.
Archives of the newspaper today are kept by the Palm Beach County Historical Society in the basement of the 1915 Palm Beach County Courthouse.
External links
- The Tropical Sun historic newspaper is freely available with full text and full page images in the Florida Digital Newspaper Library