The Bryans of Fort Lauderdale descend from William Bryan, a Revolutionary War veteran from Bladen County, North Carolina. Members of his family moved south through Georgia to Florida in the early nineteenth century. William's great-grandson, Philemon Nathaniel Bryan, was born in Hamilton County, Florida in 1844, served in the Confederate Army, and moved south to Volusia County after the Civil War. There he acquired extensive citrus groves, and a large general store. He also served as mayor of the town of New Smyrna. He and his wife, Lucy Murray, had seven children.
Florida East Coast Railway
When the "Great Freeze" of 1894-95 wiped out Philemon Bryan's Volusia County groves, he accepted an offer from Henry Flagler, whom he knew from his many business ventures, to cut and grade a ten mile link of the Florida East Coast Railway to the village of Fort Lauderdale. Work was completed with the help of son Tom and a crew of black laborers in 1896, at which point Philemon decided to start a new life on the banks of the New River. By 1900 his wife Lucy, son Reed, and daughter Constance had joined him, with other family members coming soon afterward. Sons Reed and Tom served as land agents for the railroad in the early 1900s.The first train through Fort Lauderdale to Miami, 1896 (below).
New River Inn and the Bryan Homes
Soon after his arrival, Philemon Bryan erected a wood framed home near the railway station, which he enlarged and operated as the Bryan Hotel. In the early 20th century, fellow pioneer Ed King constructed homes for Philemon and Lucy, and sons Reed and Tom, as well as a larger hotel using hollow concrete blocks cast from beach sand.
New River Pioneer Farming
In addition to their holdings near the railroad, the Bryans acquired land upriver, where they built a wooden house and planted citrus, tomatoes, and beans. Tom and Reed developed a system of tramways, packinghouses, and barges to transport produce to the railroad for shipment north.Tomatoes loaded onto a barge (shown below). Busy scene at the loading dock by the Florida East Coast railway station, ca. 1910.
Wetlands to Farmlands
In 1904, Napoleon Bonaparte Broward successfully ran for Governor of Florida supporting reclamation of the wetlands by digging drainage canals.Governor Napoleon B. Broward (shown above), standing in foreground with hand in pocket, inspecting construction of dredge Okeechobee at Sailboat Bend on New River, 1906.
Creation of a City and a County
From the beginning the Bryans were interested in civic improvement. In 1906, Tom donated a one-room building for Fort Lauderdale's first school for black children. Sales of the new land opened by drainage drew many settlers. The Bryans and other community leaders saw the need to incorporate, and the City of Fort Lauderdale was born in 1911.
Paving the Way to the Future
Tom Bryan was instrumental in developing much of the infrastructure of the new city, including the first road to the beach in the late 1910s and Port Everglades in the 1920s. He also served a term as state representative, flying to sessions at the state capitol piloted by early Fort Lauderdale aviator Merle Fogg. The road to the beach, Las Olas Boulevard, was constructed by the Bryan and Snyder Company in 1916 and 1917 and launched a new era of tourism for Fort Lauderdale.
Artifacts - Bryan Family
First Row from Left to Right: Philemon Nathanial Bryan, Camille Bryan with Reed Asa Bryan Jr. and his son Reed Bryan the third, James Hawthorne Bryan, Lucy Murray BryanSecond Row from Left to Right: Perry Bryan, Tom M Bryan, Reed Bryan, Reed Asa BryanCenter: Certification of recognition to Tom Bryan for his leadership in the creation on Broward County 1915.
