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The Rosemary Scrub Natural Area is a fragment of a large ridge of predominantly scrub habitat that ran north-south between Lake Worth and an inland lake/marsh system that contained Lake Osborne and the former Lake Webster. The first major disturbance on this ridge was the clearing in 1890 of a sand road that ran between Lantana in present-day Palm Beach County and Lemon City at the north end of Biscayne Bay in Dade County. No record of this road's location has been found, but it presumably ran somewhere to the east of the Natural Area. Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast (FEC) Railroad was constructed in 1895, approximately one mile east of the project. It was followed in the early 1910s by the Dixie Highway, which was built immediately east and parallel to the railroad. In the mid 1920s, Dixie Highway was incorporated into the new U.S. Highway 1. In the late 1920s, the Seaboard Airline Railroad was constructed 300 feet west of the site. The Florida East Coast Canal was dredged in the early 1900s to a width of 50 feet and a depth of 5 feet through Lake Worth, which lies one mile east of the site. This canal was taken over by the federal government and renamed the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway in 1927. It was dredged to 100 feet wide and 8 feet deep in the 1930s. Also in the 1930s, the E-4 Canal was dug through the lake/marsh system one-half mile west of the Natural Area, draining Lake Webster and lowering water levels in Lake Osborne. Prior to 1940, very little development occurred in the vicinity of the site. U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) 1940 aerial photographs show farming activities on the lands between U.S. Highway 1 and Lake Worth, and the beginnings of agricultural clearings west of the Seaboard Railroad. A gridwork of cleared sand roads for the defunct Greynolds Highlands subdivision is visible west of U.S. 1. After World War II, development accelerated. In 1946, the County Commission accepted a public right-of-way for Miner Road that ran east from U.S. 1 on the section line, crossing the site and the Seaboard tracks. This right-of-way was cleared and a sand road established. In 1948, the State acquired a 300-foot right-of-way between the site and the Seaboard Railroad for a limited-access highway. Also at this time, residential subdivisions were being platted and constructed west of U.S. 1 in the vicinity of Miner Road. In the 1950s, residential development growth continued. A 1953 USGS aerial photo showed three new subdivisions being cleared west of U.S 1. The sparse vegetation in the photo seems to indicate that a wildfire had occurred several years earlier. In 1956, the Rolling Green Ridge subdivision was platted east and south of the site. The North Ridge Estates subdivision to the north of the site was platted in 1957. Construction began on Rolling Green Ridge in 1959, but the development ran into financial difficulties and the houses bordering the project were not built until 1962. The houses in North Ridge Estates were built beginning in 1960. Seacrest Boulevard was the access road to these developments, so it presumably was built in the late 1950s. Both subdivisions were essentially built out by 1965, although Palm Beach County Property Appraiser's aerial photographs indicate that some minor infill building on vacant lots occurred into the early 1970s. In 1961, an easement was granted to Florida Power & Light Co. for the high-voltage electrical transmission line that runs along the northern border of the site. The line was presumably constructed shortly thereafter, because a 1965 Property Appraiser's photograph shows that vegetation had regrown under the line. The convenience store that exists on the east side of the site was built in 1964 as the surrounding subdivisions neared completion. The disturbed areas on the east side of the site were apparently created about this time, as a result of land clearing associated with road and convenience store construction. In the mid-1970s, Interstate Highway 95 was constructed on the 300-foot right-of-way on the west side of the site. This right-of-way had been left in native vegetation, and had connected the site to other natural areas. Construction of I-95 left the Natural Area as an island of native vegetation. Use of the sandy, unpaved portion of Miner Road declined after Seacrest Boulevard was built, and ended completely when I-95 was built without an overpass for Miner Road. This roadbed is completely overgrown today. Additional clearing occurred in the disturbed areas on the southern border of the project at the time I-95 was constructed, but it is unclear whether the clearing was a result of construction activities or to meet city requirements for a mowed strip next to residential housing. In 1981, the owners gave an easement to the City to construct a water main across the site and under I-95. The water main was installed shortly thereafter, just south of the unused Miner Road right-of-way, in an area that also contained water and sewer lines built during the construction of the Rolling Green Ridge subdivision. A wildfire occurred in the scrubby flatwoods portion of the site around 1985. The Rosemary Scrub was previously owned by the developers of the Rolling Green Ridge subdivision. It was apparently set aside for a future shopping center site at the intersection of two major roads, Seacrest Boulevard and Miner Road. The severing of Miner Road by the construction of I-95, as well as a general decline in the surrounding neighborhoods, decreased the site's potential for commercial development. An unsuccessful attempt was made in the mid-1980s to build the Shoppes of Seacrest commercial development on the eastern portion of the site. The decline in the surrounding neighborhood has made the site unattractive for residential development. In 1992, an interchange was built at I-95 and Gateway Boulevard, which is one-half mile south of the natural area. A concrete sound barrier wall was constructed at the same time that extended northward from the interchange along the east side of I-95 to a point 100 feet north of the southern boundary of the site. In 1996, a similar wall was extended southward to a point 100 feet south of the northern boundary of the site. In January 1995, the County and the City purchased the eastern 4.94 acres of the Natural Area from the Resolution Trust Corporation for $243,000. In March 1995, the remaining 8.65-acre tract in the western portion of the site was purchased from Janmar Properties, Ltd. for $200,000. Matching state funds from the Florida Communities Trust's Preservation 2000 Program were received in February 1996. |
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 Coastal Resources |
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Lakes,
Estuaries and Lagoons |
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Mosquito Control |
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Natural Areas |
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Permitting and Regulation |
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