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Davie is a town in Broward County, Florida, United States, approximately 24 miles (39 km) north of Miami. The town's population was 110,320 at the 2020 census.[5] Davie is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area, which was home to an estimated 6,198,782. It is the most populous municipality labelled as a ″town" in Florida, and the third most populous such community in the United States, trailing only Gilbert, Arizona and Cary, North Carolina. Horseback riding is common as much of its historic buildings include ranches and other Western establishments.
History
R. P. Davie
Davie's Long Key Natural Area & Nature Center
Prior to European colonization, the Tequesta were the native people of what is now Davie. A few campsites and graves have been found in Davie, the oldest dating back 5,000 to 7,000 years in Pine Island Ridge.[6] After Spanish colonization, many of the Tequesta died and the remaining few escaped to Havana with the Spanish when Florida became a British colony or they assimilated into the newly arrived Seminoles in the late 18th century.[7] Davie was founded by Tamara Toussaint and Jake Tannebaum. The original name of the town was Zona. In 1909, R.P. Davie assisted then Florida GovernorNapoleon Bonaparte Broward by draining swamplands. Robert Parsell (R.P.) Davie, a developer, bought about 27,000 acres (42 sq mi; 109 km2) in the area. He built a school in Zona. In 1916, the people of the town were so grateful they renamed the town after him. It was carved out of Everglades land that was mostly underwater.
Davie has always had a reputation as a "Western" town, with many earlier buildings having "Wild West" architecture. It boasts a significant horse-owning population and once was home to many herds of cattle. In recent years, commercial and residential development has discouraged such practices, but Davie still tries to maintain a "Western" feel. Pioneer City, a western theme park, was located across the street from Flamingo Gardens. It was built in the 1960s and closed a few years later.
The Old Davie School
The Davie School, designed in 1917 by August Geiger, one of South Florida's most prominent early architects, opened in 1918 with about 90 students. The Davie School was the first permanent school in the Everglades and is now Broward County's oldest existing school building. The building was in continuous use as a school until 1980. The Davie School Foundation was established in 1984 to protect and restore the Davie School to the integrity of its earlier appearance. The Foundation in conjunction with the Town of Davie, the Broward County School Board, the Soroptimists International of Davie, the Davie Historical Society and the community at large has worked tirelessly to preserve this important piece of Broward County's history The building is now referred to as the "Old Davie School," and is maintained by a collaboration of the Davie School Foundation and the Town of Davie.
In the early 2000s two other historic buildings from the surrounding neighborhood were moved to the property adjoining the Old Davie School.
The Viele House, built beginning in 1912, is the oldest residential structure remaining in Davie and is an excellent example of vernacular architecture. It survived the hurricane of 1926 and the floods of 1947. It was continuously occupied by members of the Viele family until being moved to the Old Davie School property. Regrettably, the Viele House was sealed to accommodate a modern air conditioning system, as part of the permanent preservation plan. One of the most important features of the original structure was the non-electric "air conditioned" design of the home. Specifically, warm air was drawn up and out through the opening in the top of the attic. The natural air flow kept the home relatively comfortable, even in the hot south Florida climate. Also, as with most of the old Davie homes, the Viele House was elevated on pillars, which permitted the breeze to blow under the building.
In 2004 the former home of Colonel Charles A. & Katherine M. Walsh (1912–1932) and the Bud & Betty Osterhoudt family (1958–2004) was also moved to the site.
In the 1970s Davie had the reputation of not being hospitable to Jews. Davie was rumored to be the seat of the Ku Klux Klan in South Florida; a cross was burned on the front lawn of a new Jewish family in 1977. This provoked an outpouring of community support which persuaded the family to remain, insisting that "never would they see anti-Semitism like that again." There are Chabad houses, and a K-12 Jewish day school.
As of 2010, there were 37,306 households, with 8.0% being vacant. As of 2000, 36.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 51.8% were married couples living together, 12.6% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.1% were non-families. 22.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.64 and the average family size was 3.13.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 26.4% under the age of 18, 8.2% from 18 to 24, 33.4% from 25 to 44, 22.6% from 45 to 64, and 9.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 95.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.4 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $47,014, and the median income for a family was $56,290. Males had a median income of $38,756 versus $30,016 for females. The per capita income for the town was $23,271. About 6.9% of families and 9.8% of the population were below the poverty line, including 10.3% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
As of 2000, those who spoke only English at home made up 75.47% of the population, while those who spoke Spanish made up 18.74%, and French speakers made up 1.13% of residents. A few other languages spoken were Italian at 0.73%, Chinese at 0.53%, Portuguese 0.51%, and Haitian Creole being the mother tongue of 0.38% of the population.[10]
Education
Davie is host of the South Florida Educational Center. A number of educational institutions have campuses in Davie, including:
Colleges and universities
Alvin Sherman Library at Nova Southeastern University
Davie is a part of the Miami-Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood media market, which is the twelfth largest radio market[37] and the seventeenth largest television market[38] in the United States.
^"Contact". St. Bernadette School. Retrieved 2020-05-06. Saint Bernadette Catholic School 7450 Stirling Rd. Hollywood, FL 33024 Despite the "Hollywood, FL" city name, it is in the Davie city limits. Compare with the Davie zoning map.
