The Dexter Hubel family from Michigan were the first known settlers to the area that is now known as Ocean Ridge. The Dexter Hubel home site was located between what is now SR A1A and the ocean by the end of Ocean Avenue.
Ocean Ridge was originally called the Town of Boynton Beach. In 1931, this town was created by an Act of the Legislature of the State of Florida. Before this, the area now known as Ocean Ridge was considered part of the town of Boynton. At that time, Boynton included the land that now belongs to Ocean Ridge, Boynton Beach, Briny Breezes, and the southern portion of Manalapan.
In 1885, settlers began arriving from the Midwest in large quantities. By the 1890s, the area was heralded as the most tropical part of the state, ensuring the most even temperatures.
The original town of Boynton was named after Major Nathan S. Boynton, who was a Port Huron, Michigan resident. In 1894, Boynton toured the Ocean Ridge area with U.S. Representative William Seelye. Both men were interested in Ocean Ridge real estate and establishing colonies of northerners on the east coast of Florida. Boynton went on to purchase the Dexter Hubel original property. In 1897, he completed construction of the Boynton Beach Hotel on the ocean, just south of the end of present-day Ocean Avenue. The hotel consisted of 45 rooms and six cottages, and served as a showplace. Over 75 percent of the guests were from Boynton’s home state of Michigan, and would use the hotel in Florida as their winter home.
By the early 1900s, a gentleman by the name of Addison Mizner sought to build a hotel on property he owned on Parker’s Mile (which would later be renamed as McCormick Mile). This site was located next to the current Ocean Club. Residents of Boynton Beach at this time opposed the idea of Mizner constructing further development and went so far as to threaten him at gunpoint. Subsequently, Mizner ultimately brought property in nearby Boca Raton and built his hotel there.
The first bridge of Ocean Ridge was built at Ocean Avenue in 1911.
By 1920, Boynton was incorporated as a town. In that same year, residents of the town approved a bond issue to purchase an oceanfront park. By 1928, the Boynton Beach Casino was built on the present site of the Boynton Beach municipal beach. The casino was intended to be used as a meeting place (not a gambling resort), but the casino was ultimately torn down in 1967. Later, several Ocean Ridge homes and Ocean Ridge condos would be built in this same area.
Today, the residents of Ocean Ridge describe the town as low-key and pleasantly secluded. Residents enjoy the peaceful solitude and tranquil living within the landscaped neighborhoods that boast beautiful Ocean Ridge homes and luxurious Ocean Ridge condos. There are also several parks in town as well, including the City of Boynton Beach Public Beach, Ocean Inlet Park, and more.
For more information about Ocean Ridge homes and Ocean Ridge condos, please call the professionals of Mizner By The Sea Realty at (561) 391-2007.
