By Bob Davidsson
Located midway across the Lake Worth Lagoon, between the "Billionnaire's Row" in Palm Beach and assorted McMansions along South Flagler Drive in West Palm Beach, are six islets preserved exclusively for the birds and wildlife of South Florida.
To early pioneers in Palm Beach County the heavily wooded islets were known generically as the "Mangrove Islands". They were identified collectively as the "Bingham Islands" in 1893 after the property was purchased by Charles W. Bingham (1846 - 1929).
The islands also became the "Audubon Islands Sanctuary" on Nov. 23, 1942 when the Bingham, Bolton and Blossom families, descendants of Charles Bingham, leased the land to the Audubon Society as a natural preserve for 99 years until Oct. 31, 2041.
Today the islands fall within the jurisdiction of the Town of Palm Beach. The Future Land Use Element of the Palm Beach Comprehensive Plan designates the Bingham Islands as "Conservation intended to preserve and protect unique natural areas from development and negative impacts of public use. No urban development is permitted."
The islands encompass 22 acres of land in the Lake Worth Lagoon. Along the north end of the largest island a fence separates the sanctuary from the Marjorie Merriweather Post Causeway and two Southern Boulevard (SR 80) bridges connecting the island of Palm Beach to the mainland.
The islands feature native vegetation such as gumbo limbo, paradise, mastic, buttonwood, ironwood, cabbage palms and crabwood trees. Herons and ospreys are year-round residents of the sanctuary, and seasonal visitors such as turkey vultures flock to the islands nightly during the winter months to roost.
In December 2018, Audubon Florida and local supporters of the sanctuary, with the approval of the Town of Palm Beach, completed the first of three restoration phases designed to remove invasive plant species such as Brazilian peppers and Australian pines. The goal is to restore the Audubon Islands Sanctuary to a natural state as it appeared to Seminole Indians and early pioneers in the 19th century.
Figulus, the Potters and the Bingham Family
What became the Audubon Islands Sanctuary was within the unincorporated community of "Figulus" (Latin for Potter) between the years 1881 and 1893. The community was founded by brothers George W. Potter and Dr. Richard Potter of Cincinnati.*
In December 1873, the brothers moved to the rough-and-tumble village of Lemon City in Dade County. Seeking a more tranquil homestead, George Potter visited the island of Palm Beach in 1881 and purchased a tract consisting of 160 acres, including 2,000 feet of ocean front property, the six islands in the Lake Worth Lagoon, and a small plot of land on the opposite shore of the mainland.
The second post office to open on the island of Palm Beach was established Jan. 7, 1886 by the Potters in Figulus with Dr. Potter as its first postmaster. The Potters purchased a schooner as their primary means of transport for mail service and trade along the 20-mile Lake Worth Lagoon.
The Potter family also built a dock connecting Figulus to the Mangrove Islands to the west. It was same site selected for three future bridges connecting Palm Beach with West Palm Beach.
The community of Figulus came to an end in 1893 when Cleveland, Ohio, investor Charles Bingham purchased the property from the Potter family. The investment was made on the advice of his friend and neighbor in the wealthy Euclid district of Cleveland - Henry Flagler.
Charles and Mary Payne Bingham were an Ohio power couple, making their fortune through major financial holdings in the Standard Oil Company. Their goal was to create a winter retreat in Palm Beach for their ailing son. They built the shingle-style Figulus "Bingham-Blossom House" mansion on the property for their seasonal visits.
Beginning in 1919, Charles Bingham subdivided the former Figulus property among the Bingham-Blossom-Bolton family heirs. Their six islets in the Lake Worth Lagoon appeared on county maps and atlases as Bingham Island.
The north end of Bingham Island was used to build a causeway and the two original bridges connecting the southern ends of Palm Beach and West Palm Beach. Two Southern Boulevard replacement bridges were dedicated on Sept. 15, 1950.
The section of island connecting the two bridges was renamed the "Marjorie Merriweather Post Memorial Causeway" historic site in 1974 following the death of the Post cereal heiress. Her mansion, Mar-a-lago (Ocean-to-Lake), was built between 1924-27 immediately east of Bingham Island. Today her estate is owned by President Donald Trump.
Work on a second Southern Boulevard (SR 80) replacement bridge project began in April 2017. A temporary lift bridge was completed a year later and is in use until the new permanent span is opened. The construction site is fenced off from the sanctuary, but the noise penetrates far into the preserve.
North of the Bingham Island causeway there is a popular beach used as a launching site by kayakers and paddle boarders to explore the Audubon Islands Sanctuary. Once the bridge project ends sometime in late 2021, life will return to normal in this protected natural area for both wildlife and human observers.
(c.) Davidsson. 2020.
*NOTE: Article reprinted in the October 2020 "Everglades Kite Newsletter." See also "Welcome to Historic Downtown Figulus: 1881-93" posted February 2016 in the Origins & History of the Palm Beaches digital archive. Additional articles archived below.
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