It is part of the South Florida metropolitan area. As of the census , Palm Beach had a year-round population of 9, The Jaega arrived on the modern-day island of Palm Beach approximately 3, years ago. Between and , the Seminoles were expelled from the area. Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick , later the town's first mayor, established Palm Beach's first hotel, the Cocoanut Grove House, in , but Standard Oil tycoon Henry Flagler became instrumental in transforming the island of jungles and swamps into a winter resort for the wealthy.
Flagler and his workers constructed the Royal Poinciana Hotel in , The Breakers in , and Whitehall in ; extended the Florida East Coast Railway southward to the area by ; and developed a separate city to house the hotel workers and other laborers.
This later became West Palm Beach. The town of Palm Beach was incorporated on April 17, Forbes reported in that Palm Beach had at least 30 billionaires, with the town ranking as the 27th-wealthiest place in the United States in , according to Bloomberg News. Many famous and wealthy individuals have resided in the town, including United States presidents John F. Kennedy and Donald Trump. Native Americans previously inhabited the island of Palm Beach, with the Jaega people arriving at least 3, years ago.
White settlers began arriving in modern-day Palm Beach by Hammon made the first homestead claim in along Lake Worth. At the time, the lake area had fewer than 12 people. By , the Tustenegee Post Office was established in modern-day Palm Beach, becoming the lake area's first post office.
A fire destroyed the hotel in October Henry Flagler , a Standard Oil tycoon, made his first visit to Palm Beach in , and described the area as a "veritable paradise". Potter to plot 48 blocks for West Palm Beach , a city to house workers at his hotels, and construction began on the Royal Poinciana Hotel.
