Elisha Newton Dimick

Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick (April 24, 1849 – January 6, 1919) was an American politician and pioneer of modern-day Palm Beach County, Florida. Born in Michigan in 1849, the Dimick family moved to the area now known as Palm Beach, Florida, in 1876. Dimick built his residence there in the late 1870s, and in 1880, converted it to the Cocoanut Grove House, then the only hotel between Key West and Titusville. He became a politician in the 1890s, serving one term in the Florida House of Representatives and later four terms in the Florida Senate as a member of the Democratic Party. Dimick also co-founded the Lake Worth region's first bank in 1893, the Dade County State Bank, which assisted Henry Flagler in providing compensation to workers constructing the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers. Today, the bank building is considered the oldest surviving commercial structure in Palm Beach County.

Upon the incorporation of the town of Palm Beach in 1911, Dimick became the first mayor. Additionally, Dimick built the first vehicular bridge across the Lake Worth Lagoon in 1911, the Royal Park Bridge. He served as mayor of Palm Beach until 1918 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, T. T. Reese. Less than a year later, Dimick died of cancer at 69 years old. Following his death, a statue commemorating Dimick was erected in 1921 and has stood along Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach, immediately east of the Royal Park Bridge, since 1947. Dimick's grandson, Claude Dimick Reese, served in the town government for more than 50 years, including the office of mayor from 1953 to 1970.

Early life On April 24, 1849, Elisha Newton Dimick was born in Constantine, Michigan, to Moore and Parthenia Dimick. He received the nickname "Cap" due to his affinity for wearing white hats. Marian Dimick, Elisha's sister, married Ella's brother, Albert Geer. Another brother of Elisha, Frank, married Ella's sister, Anna Geer. The Dimick and Geer families moved to Illinois in the early 1870s. Although many of the Dimicks and Geers began farming in the state to support themselves, they sought a climate more favorable to a year-round production of crops. Albert Geer traveled to Texas to examine farming conditions there. However, while en route, a stranger aboard his train convinced him to visit Florida instead.

The Dimicks and Geers soon became interested in the Lake Worth Lagoon region, prompting a visitation by the family patriarchs. Each of them supported relocating to the area, with Marian Dimick noting that they described the area as a "Garden of Eden". In September 1876, the Dimicks and Geers arrived at the shores of the Lake Worth Lagoon, where they quickly cleared land and constructed a home within three weeks. Only about a month after their arrival, a hurricane in October damaged many of their possessions. However, the hurricane did not discourage them and they instead brought more supplies to the area from Jacksonville by boat. as well as then being the only hotel between Key West and Titusville, according to an official state historic marker erected near its former site.

Early on, the Cocoanut Grove House became a center of social activity for the fledgling community, such as hosting a Christmas picnic starting in 1880 and several fundraisers for churches and schools.

The hotel generally remained closed from May to December due to a lack of visitors, although there were some years in which guests stayed at the hotel each month. Dimick, along with Edmund M. (who owned the Brelsford House) and John H. Brelsford, opened the area's first bank in May 1893, which moved into a different building around 1903. After the establishment of Palm Beach County in 1909, the bank was renamed Pioneer Bank and later the First National Bank of West Palm Beach. Since the late 1970s, the original building has been located at 401 N. Flagler Drive. While several other tenants occupied the building over the years, including a novelty and trick shop for more than 40 years, the former bank currently houses memorabilia for Palm Beach High School. In 2018, city commissioners approved a proposal to add the structure to the West Palm Beach Registry of Historic Buildings. The former bank is considered the oldest commercial building in Palm Beach County.

Royal Park Addition Dimick owned of land by 1899, who promised completion by October 1, 1911. Dimick was also a member of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks West Palm Beach chapter, Lake Worth School Board, and Property Owners Association of Palm Beach.

Florida Legislature In 1890, Dimick successfully campaigned for a Florida House of Representatives seat to represent Dade County as a Democrat. Upon his inauguration in 1891, he succeeded William D. Albury. During Dimick's term as representative, he chaired the Indian Affairs Committee, while serving on the Commerce and Navigation and the Engrossed Bills committees. After representing Dade County for one term, he was succeeded by Frederick Streeter Morse in 1893. Taking office in 1897, Dimick succeeded Robert Morrow. In May 1897, Dimick introduced a bill to officially incorporate Miami, about 10 months after residents voted to establish the city. In 1899, Dimick began pushing for new divorce laws in Florida on behalf of Flagler, who wished to divorce Ida Alice Shourds on the grounds of her declaration of insanity.

During his final term as state senator, Dimick along with Thomas Tipton "T. T." Reese, Harry Redifer, and Enoch Root sought improvements to the allegedly unsanitary and unsightly area known as the Styx, a section of Palm Beach reserved for black workers at Flagler's hotels. They first discussed the matter with the West Palm Beach Board of Trade in January 1904, while Dimick later spoke with the state health officer. This eventually led to local officials demolishing the Styx by 1912, with many of the residents relocating to the West Palm Beach neighborhoods of Northwest and Pleasant City. In 1905, Dimick was replaced by future Florida Senate president Frederick Mitchell Hudson. the Palm Beach Life magazine described him as being "instrumental" for the establishment of Palm Beach County in their December 1981 edition. Consequently, members of the Property Owners Association of Palm Beach relayed this information to Louis Semple Clarke and Dimick, the organization's president, and urged them to seek an attorney to draft incorporation papers. The Florida Legislature approved the incorporation of Palm Beach later that year. Palm Beach negotiated with West Palm Beach on providing firefighting services via the Flagler Alerts, eventually agreeing on a rate of $250 per response until establishing its agency in 1921. One of the first large expenses incurred by the town was the addition of electrical services in 1914 for $7,000. in addition to holding the office of city council member for 38 years.

Throughout 1918, Dimick's health deteriorated, and on December 26, medical staff at Johns Hopkins University diagnosed him with oral cancer. The cancer progressed enough that surgery to remove a tumor was unsuccessful, leading to his death on January 6, 1919. The Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks' West Palm Beach chapter hosted Dimick's funeral service on January 10 at the Royal Poinciana Chapel in Palm Beach. Later that day, he was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in West Palm Beach. The statue remained in West Palm Beach at the State Board of Health Building until 1947, when Palm Beach mayor James M. Owens Jr. requested that the statue be moved to Palm Beach, which Florida Comptroller Clarence M. Gay approved. Although Owens preferred for its relocation to the memorial fountain adjacent to the town hall, the statue was instead placed in the median of Royal Palm Way, just east of the Royal Park Bridge, where it remains to this day.