Vacationers have been flocking to the Daytona Beach area for more than a century. During the late 1800s, the area caught the attention and imagination of many wealthy northern tycoons who found the land favorable for investment. One such mogul, Matthias Day, was the founding father of what was then called Daytona. He had built the first hotel, the Palmetto House, in 1874.



The trend continued with other entrepreneurs endeavoring to build a city of commerce and vision. Commodore Charles Burgoyne began by building a community center in Daytona Beach in the early 1900s. Burgoyne organized concerts along the riverfront actively promoting the town's events to travelers. Later, John D. Rockefeller discovered Ormond Beach's immaculate golf courses and made his winter home at The Casements.

Daytona Beach not only inspired those who wanted to test the limits of speed, but also those who have desired to test the limits of society. Daytona Beach's role in the history of civil rights is significant. On March 17, 1946, Jackie Robinson played in the first integrated spring training baseball game with the Montreal Royals, a farm team of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Later he became the first African-American to play in the Major Leagues. Today, Robinson's name identifies the stadium in Daytona Beach and a life-size statue of him has been cast at the entrance.



Another important civil rights figure in Daytona Beach was Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune, founder of Bethune-Cookman College (now called Bethune-Cookman University). Dr. Bethune, who was later appointed to government positions by Calvin Coolidge, Franklin Roosevelt and Harry Truman, established a school in 1904 to educate the daughters of African-American workers on the railroads. Today the school has an enrollment of 2,300 students, and visitors can learn about her life's achievements at her former home, now a museum on the College's sprawling campus.

Automobile racing became a regular pastime along the hard-packed beaches at the turn of the 20th Century. Ormond Beach became known as the "birthplace of speed" due to the various land speed records set there. In 1947, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing was founded in Daytona Beach. Motorsports gained new ground in 1959 with the opening of the Daytona International Speedway, which continues to satisfy hundreds of thousands of speed-hungry fans each year. Today, the Daytona Beach area entertains approximately 8 million visitors each year. Visitors come from around the world to relax and recreate on one of the most beautiful, family-friendly beaches in Florida.

For more information about the history of the Daytona Beach area, be sure to visit the Halifax Historical Museum located in downtown Daytona Beach.