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  "path": "/places/flamingo-gardens-and-the-wray-house",
  "publishedAt": "2026-05-27T14:00:00.000Z",
  "site": "https://www.atlasobscura.com",
  "tags": [
    "houses",
    "house museums",
    "historic homes"
  ],
  "textContent": "In 1927, Floyd and Jane Wray purchased 320 acres of land near the Everglades for $5.00 per acre to establish a citrus orchard. They named their enterprise Flamingo Grove and planted their first orange tree on February 22, 1927. Over the next three years, the Grove expanded to 2,000 acres, with an inventory of more than 60 fruit varieties.\n\nTheir business model included selling 5-acre plots of land to investors for $3750. Each acre was pre-planted with 66 citrus trees. The Flamingo tangelo was hybridized at the Grove in 1928 and immortalized in a poem by Jane. The Wray’s also established a botanical collection of rare tropical plants and trees. They obtained the specimens at no cost from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.\n\nThe Wray House was constructed on the property in 1933. It is a one-story wooden clapboard residence built by the Wrays as a weekend cottage, and they used it for work and entertaining. The original building had a kitchen, two bedrooms, and a bath. The dining room doubled as office space. Over time, the home was expanded to include a sunroom and a larger second bedroom to replace the original. As was common in southern homes, a “summer” kitchen was detached from the main residence and used for barbecues.\n\nThe Wrays invited the public to visit the Grove and offered daily tours of their operation. Flamingo Grove became one of South Florida’s earliest tourist attractions. A tram was added to transport visitors around the property. Flamingos nested on the property, and Jane introduced peacocks to the gardens in the 1940s. In the 1960s, the resident alligator population was the impetus for an exhibit that included daily shows and demonstrations.\n\nAfter her husband’s passing in 1969, Jane Wray established the Floyd L. Wray Memorial Fund to honor him and preserve 60 acres of the original property. The name was changed to Flamingo Gardens. The Wray House became the Everglades Museum in 1975, with the original hallway serving as the Exhibit Room.\n\nIn 1990, the Everglades Wildlife Sanctuary created habitats at Flamingo Gardens for injured native animals that cannot be released back into the wild. Residents include otters, hawks, bobcats, and three Florida panthers. A free-flight aviary is home to 45 species of wading birds, numbering over 250. The Flamingo Gardens property features 20 Florida State Champion trees, native hardwoods, and numerous varieties of orchids, hibiscus, crotons, and gingers.\n\nIn 1991, the Wray House was completely restored to its present state as a model 1930’s South Floridian home. All the furnishings are authentic to that period. Artifacts on display include family pictures and letters from President Eisenhower and his wife thanking the Wray’s for fruit delivered to Key West and the White House.",
  "title": "Flamingo Gardens and the Wray House in Davie, Florida"
}