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In 1915, the South Florida communities of Fort Lauderdale, Dania, Pompano, Hallandale, Deerfield, and Davie joined together to form a county. They named it Broward, in honor of the governor whose Everglades drainage program had brought them such prosperity. Today, Broward is FloridaA[a¬a[s second largest county, with 1.6 million people. Photographer Aaron Eugene Hyde came to Fort Lauderdale in 1933, at the age of 16, to begin a 40-year career, serving as one of the countyA[a¬a[s few professional photographers and the photographer for the Broward edition of the Miami Herald. Gene recorded fascinating people, places, and times pivotal in the countyA[a¬a[s development. His photos evoke nostalgia for the not-that-distant past, a way of life Broward County residents will never see again.
About the author
Author Susan Gillis, local historian and curatorial consultant, presents here over 200 images from the Gene Hyde Collection of the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society. Gillis is also the author of Fort Lauderdale: The Venice of America and Fort Lauderdale in Vintage Postcards and co-author of Images of America: Fort Lauderdale. A native Floridian, she has lived for many years in Oakland Park, at the center of Broward County.
