Editing Plantation, Florida (section)

=== City incorporation (1953–1963) ===
The city of Plantation was incorporated as a city on April 23, 1953<ref name=":26" /><ref>{{Cite book|last=Congress|first=United States|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DPStQ7TLE5AC|title=Congressional Record: Proceedings and Debates of the 113th Congress - First Session|publisher=United States Government Publishing Office|year=2012|volume=159|location=Washington|pages=5156}}</ref> (with a population of 300<ref name=":6" /> and a budget of less than $2,000 at the time<ref name=":8" />). The Plantation Homeowners Association appointed Ellsworth D. Gage (then president of the Homeowners' Association) as the city's first Mayor, with Paul Stoner, Winslow Freeman, George Bartold, Walter Bartels, and Wilfred J. Perry Lohman elected to the City Council;<ref name=":8" /> however, none of these early city officials took any salary from the position.<ref name=":8" /> A building originally intended as a community center, but being used as a warehouse, was used for the first city council meeting, city hall, fire station, and police station. This building, originally known as the Hoffman Building, is now the kitchen area of Deicke Auditorium.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.plantation.org/Plantation/history.html|title=History of Plantation|work=City of Plantation|access-date=2018-10-16|language=en-US|archive-date=February 28, 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200228093801/http://www.plantation.org/Plantation/history.html|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=http://pccflorida.org/history/|title=History|website=Plantation Community Church|language=en-US|access-date=2018-10-17}}</ref><ref name=":8" />

On August 1, 1954, the ''Miami Herald'' publicly unveiled the city plan, calling Plantation "The City of the Future".<ref name=":6" />

In 1955, S. Robinson Estey was elected as the city's second mayor (and the first elected to the position).<ref name=":8" /> Plantation Police Dept. was organized in the same year, with the first police car and officer (Henry C. 'Hank' Donath), who ran the department alone for several years, on call 24 hours per day.<ref name=":7" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-05-30/news/0305291137_1_plantation-first-house-carlyn|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180926014330/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/2003-05-30/news/0305291137_1_plantation-first-house-carlyn|url-status=dead|archive-date=September 26, 2018|title=H. Donath, First Plantation Chief|last=Milarsky|first=Jeremy|date=2003-05-30|work=SunSentinel|access-date=2018-09-25|language=en}}</ref> At that time, the city population remained less than 800 people.<ref name=":2" />

The city's fire department's barbecue fundraiser began in 1956 and remains one of the city's annual traditions.<ref name=":8" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.sun-sentinel.com/local/broward/fl-plantation-fire-bbq-20151025-story.html|title=Plantation fire dept. plans for 59th barbecue|last=Huriash|first=Lisa J.|date=2015-10-23|work=SunSentinel|access-date=2018-10-12|language=en-US}}</ref> Plantation's Volunteer Fire Dept. was subsequently formed in 1957, with Richard Stephenson appointed as the first Fire Chief.<ref name=":8" /> The city's first industrial plant (Airpax Products, Co.) opened on Sunrise Blvd in 1957 (in what is now Plantation Technology Park),<ref name=":8" /> as did Plantation Community Church's first sanctuary (now known as Missions Prayer Chapel)<ref name=":8" /> and the Sunshine State Parkway (now known as [[Florida's Turnpike]]), which connected Miami and Fort Pierce, Florida.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://thefloridasqueeze.com/2015/10/09/flashback-friday-sunshine-state-parkway-in-the-early-1960s/|title=Flashback Friday: Sunshine State Parkway in the early 1960s|date=2015-10-09|work=The Florida Squeeze|access-date=2018-09-25|language=en-US}}</ref> By 1958, construction was completed on the City Hall.<ref name=":7" /> A fire station was built on Broward Boulevard, with Frederick T. Peters (son of Frederick C. Peters) appointed as the city's fire chief.<ref name=":6" />

Plantation's budget had grown to over $170,000 by 1959.<ref name=":8" /> That year, the city's first school was dedicated: Berenice Todd Peters Elementary School (named after the wife of city founder Frederick C. Peters;<ref name=":8" /> known today as Peters Elementary) was a 24-classroom, 725-child school, built on 10 acres of land given by Frederick Peters.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8" /> Hank Donath was appointed as the city's first police chief, with the operating costs of the police department covered by cigarette taxes.<ref name=":8" />

In 1960, the city adopted the slogan "The Dream City", including matching license plates.<ref name=":8" />

The Plantation Library, based out of Peters Elementary School, was founded in 1961, with Helen B. Hoffman as chairwoman and members of the Plantation Woman's Club as volunteer workers.<ref name=":8" /> In 1962, Edwin Deicke donated $100,000 to the city for expanding and renovating the Hoffman Building (which was renamed to the Deicke Auditorium in 1973).<ref name=":2" /> Also in 1962, the city's chamber of commerce was founded and the Doctors General Hospital was opened.<ref name=":8" />

The city's population reached 8,500 in 1963,''<ref name=":3" />'' and its original motto "From the Wilderness, This City" was made official, with the adoption of a corresponding city seal (designed by Mayor Robinson Estey and architect A.T. Hardel). The Latin translation of this motto was found to include a spelling error; however, future mayor, Frank Veltri opted not to change it.<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-06-04/news/9606030493_1_latin-city-council-meetings-seal|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518073653/http://articles.sun-sentinel.com/1996-06-04/news/9606030493_1_latin-city-council-meetings-seal|url-status=dead|archive-date=May 18, 2015|title=History Misspells Itself In Plantation Seal's Latin Motto|last=Cho|first=Janet H.|date=1996-06-04|work=SunSentinel|access-date=2018-09-25|language=en}}</ref> The city's community center, designed by original city master plan architect [[Russell Pancoast]], was built in 1963, becoming the site of the first city library (which had been housed in Peters Elementary).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/fl-xpm-2012-01-29-fl-plantation-community-center-20120128-story.html|title=What will remain of Plantation community center up in the air|last=Huriash|first=Lisa|date=2012-01-29|website=Sun Sentinel|language=en-US|access-date=2019-02-04}}</ref><ref name=":8" />