Briny Breezes a Florida Vacation Paradise

Briny Breeze – a Town Started by Ward Miller

By Lynn Thomas

Briny Breezes gets its start when a lumberman by the name of Ward Miller arrives from Michigan and purchases 43 acres of beachfront property in 1919.  There Miller builds a two story Spanish styled home (on the oceanfront parcel that would later become the Briny Breezes Clubhouse) and starts his Shore Acres Dairy Farm.

During the Florida land boom of 1925, Miller changes the name of his dairy farm to Briny Breezes. By subdividing the land into lots, he sells nearly $2,000,000.00 worth of land before the Great Depression hits.

Miller decides to farm strawberries and vegetables in the remaining fields and soon attracts the interest of vacation campers, known as “Tin Can Tourists” who ask if they can camp on his land by the sea. He agrees to allow them to camp in exchange for purchasing some of his fruits and vegetables from his roadside stand.

By 1937, Miller has invested in an advertising campaign sending fliers to the northern papers to advertise “America’s Trailer Park Paradise”

The ad states: “Families from the north are living here, paying $3 a week rent.”

1951 Briny Breezes Florida

In the early 1920’s my Grandfather explored Delray Beach and the surrounding areas with two friends… looking to invest in the balmy coastal area. The men purchased a mile of oceanfront land in Delray Beach… which they later lost during the Great Depression.

But while in South Florida during one of his trips, my Grandfather came upon the unique little paradise of what would become the ocean front area now known as Briny Breezes. He loved it so much, that he would spend most of his remaining winters there.

Since the 1920’s my family enjoyed the rich tropical beauty of the oceanfront living in Briny Breezes

At some point between the 1925 land boom and the early 1930s, my grandparents camped on Miller’s land… and continued to do so for many years to come.  My Grandfather loved everything about Briny: the surf, the sun, the tropical fruits… but most of all he loved deep sea fishing.

My grandparents visited and camped in Briny Breezes for many years with their daughter (my mother); and they stayed for awhile during World War II while my father was in the Army and overseas.

I remember my mother saying: “  We’d be on the lookout for U-boats off the coast of Briny Breezes during the War.”

1939 – 1945 The W.W.II Years – German submarines torpedo ships off the coast. Campers are asked to keep blinds closed at night.

My mother also recalled how in the early days, there were many porpoises jumping in the water off the Briny Breezes beach.

We loved staying in Briny Breezes and during our stay not only explored Florida, but Cuba as well.

My family vacationed there until the early 1960’s; visited my grandmother there until 1970; and my parents lived there for a short time during the 1970’s.

My Grandfather continued to camp there until 1954, the year before his death. MyGrandmother continued to winter there until her death in 1970.