9While North Palm Beach itself is relatively young--just about retirement age--the history of this area is as broad as the horizon. Long before this village was founded in 1956, the Jeaga tribe lived and thrived here. In 1883, perhaps with a mind to farm pineapples, two men began purchasing local plots, becoming the area's first landowners. From there, through fits and starts, this idyll of small-town life began to take shape. The population surged in 1956 when Pratt & Whitney built a facility west of town, making the village a destination for professionals and their families. Former village historian Rosa Sophia traces the long and fascinating history of North Palm Beach, touching on the little known and providing broader understanding of the people and events that nurtured the undeniable community atmosphere that exists today.