Community

In the 1930's, the Inverrary area of Florida had no name and was devoted mostly to truck farming. In 1959, the City of Lauderhill was established  At the time, the territory was about as far west into the Everglades as people wanted to settle. Alligators and shopping malls actually coexisted. Originally, the preferred proposed name for the city was "Sunnydale." In discussing the name, developer Herbert Sadkin received a negative response from famous Pulitzer prize winning language etymologist New York Times journalist William Safire, who liked the use of "hill" in a name. It was pointed out to him that there are no hills in Lauderhill, to which Safire responded, "there probably are no "dales" in Fort Lauderdale either. By the time the city was incorporated, there were more cows than people because the MacArthur Dairy Farm made use of thousands of acres for grazing cows.

In the early 70's, development of the Inverrary area within the city limits of Lauderhill went big. Inverrary consisted of some of the first truly planned housing in the country. Jackie Gleason, who starred in his own entertainment show, along with "The Honeymooners," The Hustler," and "Smokey and the Bandit," not only was integral in marketing the area, he also lived here.  Nationally heralded golf and tennis tournaments were at the heart of it all. A newly renovated thematic hotel adjacent to The Courts of Inverrary is still making use of the "Rat Pack" for marketing itself. If one wants nostalgia with modern day technology, this is the hotel to check in to.

Now Inverrary within the confines of Lauderhill contains 33 different but contiguous planned communities. You know you are entering a different world when you see the million dollar (in 1970 dollars) water falls at the entrance.  Inverrary is eight miles off the beach and geographically pretty much in the very center of Broward County.

Lauderhill itself has a population of about 70,000 (29,000 households) and operates with a city manager form of government. Over the years, the area has changed from a retirement or second home community to primary housing for families.  In the last census, sixteen percent of he population was 65 years or older. In terms of demographics, Lauderhill is about as diverse as any section of the nation, with 20% of the population coming from the Caribbean. More than 33% of the inhabitants were born outside the United States, but English is the language used by more than 80%.