Boynton was platted in 1898, incorporated in 1920 and renamed Boynton Beach in 1941. Its three National Register sites, museum and cemeteries.

Last checked Oct. 8, 2026. Dates come from the Boynton Beach Historical Society’s timeline, the Historical Society of Palm Beach County’s Boynton and Boynton Beach history, the National Park Service’s National Register data and the City of Boynton Beach.

Boynton Beach takes its name from Maj. Nathan S. Boynton, a Michigan man who arrived by boat in 1895 and built a hotel on the ocean. The farm town that grew up west of the canal was incorporated in 1920 and took the name Boynton Beach in 1941.

Who to call

  • Boynton Beach Historical Society: BoyntonHistoricalSociety@gmail.com, P.O. Box 12, Boynton Beach, FL 33425
  • City historic preservation: Planning & Zoning, 561-742-6000; the Historic Resources Preservation Board meets the second Monday of each month
  • City library local history archives: Boynton Beach City Library, 561-742-6390
  • Schoolhouse Children’s Museum: 561-742-6780

How the town began

From the Boynton Beach Historical Society’s timeline and the Historical Society of Palm Beach County:

Year What happened
1871 Marcellus A. Williams’ survey team maps the area for the government land office
1892 Byrd Spilman Dewey buys 160 acres, known as the Hypoluxo Garden Lands
1895 Maj. Nathan S. Boynton and William S. Linton arrive and begin buying land; the East Coast Canal opens
1896 Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway reaches Boynton; the post office opens
1897 Work begins on Boynton’s oceanfront hotel
Sept. 26, 1898 The Deweys file the town plat for Boynton
1898 The Norwegian barque Lofthus sinks just north of today’s Boynton Inlet
1906 The “Rock Road,” later U.S. 1, opens between Miami and West Palm Beach
1909 The Boynton Woman’s Club is founded; Byrd Spilman Dewey’s books start a free reading room
1911 Maj. Boynton dies May 27 in Port Huron, Michigan; a wooden swing bridge crosses the canal
1913 Boynton Elementary School, designed by William Maughlin, opens on Ocean Avenue
1920 Boynton is incorporated as a town
1931 After a tax dispute, oceanfront owners split off as the Town of Boynton Beach
1939 That beach town renames itself Ocean Ridge
1941 The Town of Boynton changes its name to Boynton Beach

Early Boynton grew tomatoes and pineapples on 5-acre plots along the canal, the society says. In the early 1920s the town got electricity and its first water treatment plant, and the Boynton Beach Hotel was torn down, according to the Historical Society of Palm Beach County.

National Register of Historic Places

The National Park Service lists three places in Boynton Beach, per its National Register data:

Property Address Listed
Boynton Woman’s Club 1010 S. Federal Highway April 26, 1979
Boynton School (Boynton Beach Elementary School) 141 E. Ocean Ave. March 7, 1994
Lofthus shipwreck About 0.75 mile north of the Boynton Inlet, 175 yards offshore Jan. 6, 2004
  • The Boynton Woman’s Club building was designed by Addison Mizner and is still in use, according to the Historical Society of Palm Beach County. The city says the 1979 listing was its first preservation milestone.
  • The Boynton School is the 1913 schoolhouse on Ocean Avenue downtown.
  • The Lofthus is a Norwegian barque that sank in 1898. The NPS record’s other names include State Underwater Archeological Preserve.

The city’s own historic register

Boynton Beach keeps a local register of historic properties. Its preservation program, overseen by the Historic Resources Preservation Board, has been a state Certified Local Government since 2012, the city’s historic preservation page says. A 1996 historic site survey preceded it. The city’s historic properties map shows designated sites. The most recent designation listed is the Dr. Martha Meeks Light and Herman “Doc” Meeks House, 413 NE 12th Ave., a 1941 wood-frame house built during the segregation era, per the city’s recent designations page.

Museums, archives and cemeteries open to visitors

  • Schoolhouse Children’s Museum, 129 E. Ocean Ave., downtown. Open 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday; closed Sunday and Monday, according to the museum. 561-742-6780.
  • Boynton Beach City Library local history archives, at City Hall, 100 E. Ocean Ave., with photograph and manuscript collections described on the archives page.
  • Boynton Beach Memorial Park Cemetery and Sara Simms Cemetery, the city’s cemeteries, open 7 a.m. to dusk daily. The City Clerk, 561-742-6060, handles plot information, and burials can be searched online, the city’s cemetery page says.

What this means for you

  • The Boynton School and the Schoolhouse Children’s Museum are a short walk from City Hall on East Ocean Avenue.
  • Own an older home? Ask Planning & Zoning about local designation before you renovate.
  • Have family photos or stories? The Historical Society collects them.

Related: Boynton Beach population and growth, parks and trails and moving to Boynton Beach.

Frequently asked questions

When was Boynton Beach founded?

The town plat for Boynton was filed Sept. 26, 1898, after Maj. Nathan S. Boynton and William S. Linton began buying land in 1895. The Florida East Coast Railway and the first post office arrived in 1896.

When was Boynton Beach incorporated?

Boynton was incorporated as a town in 1920. It changed its name to Boynton Beach in 1941.

Who is Boynton Beach named after?

Maj. Nathan S. Boynton of Michigan, who bought oceanfront land in 1895 and built the Boynton Beach Hotel. He died May 27, 1911, in Port Huron, Michigan.

What places in Boynton Beach are on the National Register of Historic Places?

Three: the Boynton Woman’s Club (listed April 26, 1979), the Boynton School at 141 E. Ocean Ave. (March 7, 1994) and the Lofthus shipwreck offshore (Jan. 6, 2004).

Why is Ocean Ridge not part of Boynton Beach?

In 1931, after a tax dispute, oceanfront owners split off as the Town of Boynton Beach, which renamed itself Ocean Ridge in 1939. The original Town of Boynton then took the Boynton Beach name in 1941.