It is the largest city in Palm Beach County, and at the time of the census , its population was , West Palm Beach is located approximately 68 miles km north of Downtown Miami. Europeans found a thriving native population, which they categorized into separate tribes: the Mayaimi in the Lake Okeechobee Basin and the Jaega and Ais people in the East Okeechobee area and o the east coast north of the Tequesta. When the Spanish arrived, there were around 20, Native Americans in south Florida.
By , by the time the English gained control of Florida, the native peoples had been all but wiped out through war, enslavement, or European diseases. Other native peoples from Alabama and Georgia moved into Florida in the early 18th century. They were of varied ancestry, but Europeans called them all Creeks. In Florida, they were known as the Seminole and Miccosukee Indians. The Seminoles clashed with American settlers over land and over escaped slaves who found refuge among them.
They resisted the government's efforts to move them to the Indian Territory west of the Mississippi River. Between and , three wars were fought between Seminoles and the United States government. By , there were very few Seminoles remaining in Florida. The area that was to become West Palm Beach was settled in the late s and s by a few hundred settlers who called the vicinity Lake Worth Country.
These settlers were a diverse community from different parts of the United States and the rest of the world. They included founding families such as the Potters and the Lainharts, who would go on to become leading members of the business community in the fledgling city.
Most settlers engaged in the growing of tropical fruits and vegetables for shipment to the north via Lake Worth and the Indian River. By , the U.
