Kimberly Stansell Weismantle

Davie - Images of America Kimberly Stansell Weismantle

In 1908, Robert Parsell Davie, a developer from Colorado, purchased 28,000 acres of reclaimed land in the Everglades. He started a 10-acre experimental farm--the Davie Tract--to demonstrate the possibilities of farming in the Everglades and promote the land to prospective buyers. Some of these early pioneers came from the Panama Canal Zone and called this place Zona. They lived in tar paper houses or canvas tents, while others built permanent homes that remain today, including community buildings like the 1918 Davie School. The name Davie was officially chosen in 1914, and the town incorporated for the first time in 1925--electing well-known horticulturalist Frank Stirling as the first mayor. Davie became renowned for its successful citrus groves and, later, the rodeo. As the population rapidly grew between 1960 and 1980, Davie cultivated a Western theme to hold on to its unique rural legacy.