Celebrating our 125th annual Pioneer Picnic on Saturday, May 1, 2021!
DUE TO COVID-19, THE 124TH PIONEER PICNIC (May 2, 2020) WAS VIRTUAL VIA ZOOM--link here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI
Millie & Jacob Gildersleeve were given posthumous membership on May 6, 2017. Millie was the midwife that helped deliver many pioneer babies with Dr. Potter, and Thomas was a farmer. Descendants, the Harper family, submitted them for membership and are active members of the LWPA.
Fannie & Samuel James were given posthumous membership on May 5, 2018. Fannie is also honored with an award given in her name by the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. After Samuel's death, Fannie continued collecting real estate, started the Jewell post office, and sold her land that would become Lake Worth Beach. Fannie was highly regarded in the pioneer community and as a postmaster. They have no living descendants.
Thomas & Priscilla Peppers were given posthumous membership on May 1, 2021. Priscilla worked for Cap Dimick, and Thomas collected rents for homeowners who rented homes in the Styx. Descendant, Willie A. Miller, Jr., submitted these Styx pioneers for membership. Willie has quickly become an active member of the LWPA.
Jesse Fox arrived in Merritt Island with 3 daughters in 1883. He was a Union Army veteran. His eldest daughter, Adah Fox (Saunders) was a seamstress that became the first self-made female millionaire in PBC. Descendant Larry Grosser submitted and were posthumously approved on May 1, 2021.
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Robert and Sara(h) arrived in LaGrange (Titusville area) in 1872. Their son Sherman resilvered mirrors at the Royal Poinciana Hotel in the 1890's. Descendant Larry Grosser submitted and were posthumously approved on May 1, 2021.
The Lake Worth Pioneers’ Association was formally organized in 1894 by 84 of the original pioneers who lived around the lake. It became legally chartered by the state of Florida in 1897. Membership was limited to pioneer families and their descendants who settled on the shores of Lake Worth on or before December 31, 1893. Later, when the state charter was applied for, an associate membership was created to include those coming here up to and including 1895 (recently extended to 1900), as well as pioneer families living on the east coast of Florida from Titusville southward prior to December 31, 1893.
The families of those early pioneers have met for many years at Pioneer Park. Originally a cemetery and park, established before 1900, it encompassed the verdant grounds forming the site of the Norton Gallery before the Gallery opened in 1941.
Descendents of the original pioneers still meet the first Saturday of May to continue the tradition of the Pioneer Picnic at The Norton Museum of Art. And yes, some of the pioneers are still buried under The Norton!
This quote was shared by one of the Thomas & Priscilla Peppers descendants ( Constance Ward) during the 2021 induction. Very fitting with one of our organization's goals which is to pass down the knowledge of the Lake Worth Pioneers and their unique history:
"Tell it to your children, and let your children tell it to their children, and their children to the next generation."
Thank you for sharing these oh so appropriate words with us Constance. Fitting indeed.
Proudly celebrating our 125th annual Pioneer Picnic on 5-1-2021 at The Norton Museum for member families.