Frederick Peters moved his family to South Florida in 1931 to escape the harsh Midwest winters. He purchased 10,000 acres along State Road 7/441, which had been built to connect Miami-Dade to Palm Beach County, and at that time was isolated and far west of any existing development. Mr. Peters hired noted architect Russell Pancoast to develop a City master plan, which included an ordinance preventing homes next to each other from looking alike, minimum lot size restrictions and separate commercial, industrial and residential zoning districts. The first construction took place on East Acre Drive by Chauncey Clark. The idea was to entice people to buy “long acres,” which were one-acre lots with 2/3 of the land dedicated to gardens and fruit trees. The plan was to create a co-op farmer’s market where residents could pool their produce and sell it for a profit.

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With a population of less than 500 and a budget of $1,288, the City of Plantation was incorporated on April 30, 1953. The first Council Meeting was held on May 11, 1953 in an old feed warehouse near the intersection of East Acre Drive and Broward Boulevard. This site would be later used for the construction of the first City Hall, Fire Station and Police Department. Ellsworth D. Gage was the first Mayor of the City. Today, we have a population of nearly 85,000 with 55 diverse cultures.