Frederick S. Dewey and his wife, Byrd Spilman Dewey (“Birdie”) settled on the west shore of the lake as early as 1890. Their home, which they named “Ben Trovato,” was located in what would become West Palm Beach, north of Holy Trinity Church.
Fred was a trustee of the First Union Congregational Church of Lake Worth. Birdie, who loved cats, wrote a book about them, entitled Ih Blessed Isle and Its Happy Families. She also wrote a romance for The Lake Worth Historian of 1896. They were both active in buying and selling real estate, which was fast increasing in value.
Fred was a secretary to Henry M. Flagler and was his representative for the Model Land Company. When Major Nathan S. Boynton began construction on the Boynton Beach Hotel, the many workers needed living quarters. Fred purchased land on the mainland in 1897 and divided it up into lots to be sold. Thus began the town of Boynton, which Fred had recorded in 1898.
Fred and Birdie eventually sold their West Palm Beach property and moved to Boynton, where they named their new home “Ben Trovato.”
It is not known when Fred and Birdie left South Florida. Fred, a Civil War veteran, died in the Old Soldiers’ Home at Sawtelle, Santa Monica, California.
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