Founded in 1927 as a private botanical collection blended with commercial citrus production, this is one of South Florida’s earliest tourist attractions. Real estate developers Floyd L. Wray and Clarence Hammerstein teamed with citrus grower Frank Stirling to capitalize on the lack of available citrus following a hurricane in 1926. Their initial investment of 320 acres, then called Flamingo Groves, would eventually grow to more than 2000 and included 60 varieties of citrus fruit. By 1930, the Groves were receiving seeds from the federal government for test planting and, capitalizing on the presence of nesting flamingos, had opened for daily visitors. Wray and his wife built their weekend home on the hardwood hammock overlooking the grove; the home now serves as an interpretive museum.
Preserving the core 60 acres, Mrs. Wray established the Floyd L. Wray Memorial Foundation in 1969 to promote the natural beauty of the Everglades, and the groves were renamed Flamingo Gardens. In 1990, the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary began constructing habitats there for injured animals. The Free-Flight Aviary, designed at the same time, represents the five distinct ecosystems of the Everglades and provides habitat for more than 250 wading birds representing 45 species. In addition to 50 acres of citrus groves and 20 Florida State Champion trees, Flamingo Gardens preserves rare native hardwood hammock ecology and displays extensive collections of hibiscus, crotons, ginger, helliconia, and orchids.
