Hugh Taylor Birch State Park
HISTORY
Birch State Park is a tropical oasis that was once home to Hugh Taylor Birch, a prominent Chicago attorney, real estate investor, and naturalist, who deeded 180-acres of his hidden paradise to the State of Florida in 1941.
Opened to the public as a state park in the early ‘50s, his priceless gift remains an enduring legacy of green for residents and tourists to enjoy. Birch also gave his daughter, Helen, 35 acres to the south of the park as a wedding present and oversaw the construction of what is now Bonnet House Museum and Gardens (later given to Florida Trust for Historic Preservation).
Last but not least, Birch gave the City of Fort Lauderdale its economic engine when he donated almost three-miles of beach with the stipulation that it remain visible and accessible to the public forever. This gift is why Birch was recently inducted into the Fort Lauderdale Hall of Fame and dubbed, “The Father of Fort Lauderdale Beach”.
Birch’s Railroad
During the Park’s heydey, from the mid-60s to the mid-80s, a sightseeing train took visitors around the park trails in a three-mile loop!
Historical Images
Clay Bartlett, Hugh Taylor Birch, Helen and Frederic Bartlett – Circa 1924 
Hugh Taylor Birch and Coconut Palm 
Hugh Taylor Birch and Daughter Helen Louise Birch Bartlett 
Hugh Taylor Birch and Mariah Root 
Hugh Taylor Birch at his Home 
Hugh Taylor Birch Scholar 
Hugh Taylor Birch at Antioch College, Baseball Club