In the 1870's H.F. Hammon was the first pioneer to file a homestead claim in the "Lake Worth Region," on what is now Palm Beach and. H.D. Pierce was second to file a claim, settling on Hypoluxo island. The most influential settler in the early years was E.N. "Cap" Dimick, who got his nickname because he favored white caps, not because he was a sailor. Dimick built the first hotel in Palm Beach and was the first Mayor, and was elected to the state senate. These early settlers used the Lake Worth waterways to travel in the region, rather than try to push through the thick plant growth on land.

Pioneer life came to and end in Palm Beach in 1893 with the arrival of Henry Flagler, one of the founders of Standard Oil, who began buying land and had the massive Royal Poinciana Hotel and his own marble palace, Whitehall, built here. Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway was extended to Palm beach and he purchased land on the other side of Lake Worth and founded the city of West Palm Beach, "for his help."

World War II was responsible for several developments in Palm beach county. German U-boat attack were common in waters off the Florida coast, some of them within sight of land. The Boca Raton Army Air Field was set up by the Army Air Corps as a training site and radar training base. Following the war, the property was later split; half became a municipal airport and the other half Florida Atlantic University, with the former runways being used for student parking lots.