Wellington Living
Wellington’s History
Wellington was originally the world’s largest strawberry patch. In 1951,Charles Oliver Wellington, a very successful accountant in New York, made a decision to purchase 18,000 acres of swampland as an investment property in South Florida. Wellington began as a planned unit development approved by Palm Beach County in 1972. Shortly after the land purchases, the State of Florida passed legislation creating the Acme Drainage District. The initial purpose of the district, created in 1953, was to provide for drainage and flood control on the assembled acreage and make the property suitable for agriculture. In 1953, fewer than 100 individuals resided in the area. Today, the Village is an affluent and thriving community with A Rated schools,world’s premier equestrian facilities and tremendous diversity. The Village of Wellington was officially born on December 31, 1995.
Wellington Today
Wellington is world-famous for equestrian and polo events. It is host to both the Winter Equestrian Festival and the National Horse Show. In addition, it is one of the top polo destinations in the world attracting the world’s most accomplished polo players. The Village of Wellington has a large, recently renovated public library, multiple recreation centers, a number of public parks and ball fields, and hosts seasonal events such as the annual Top Gun model aircraft show and holiday parades. There are a number of entertainment and cultural venues – such as the Kravis Center for the Performing Arts and the Norton Museum of Art – in nearby West Palm Beach. The Village is also known for its dedicated equestrian community, and a large population of families with young children (mostly attributable to it having some of the consistently highest-performing schools in the state). It also has a large regional mall The Mall at Wellington Green, along with a many other nationally known retailers (such as Best Buy, Costco, BJ’s, Sports Authority, Whole Foods and the like) located in outdoor shopping venues along the major commercial highways.
Beach activities are a mere half hour’s drive time, due east, to the beautiful and largely unspoiled Palm Beaches. For variety, from Wellington you can access some of the country’s most well-known beach scenes with Fort Lauderdale less than one hour away or, for the beach with an international flavor, head to Miami’s South Beach approximately a one and half hour’s drive.
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