Davie, FL

Davie's western character is built into its transportation system. Paved paths serve walking and cycling, while unpaved routes accommodate horses and hikers; the network links residential areas with parks, schools, commercial districts, and protected land. New developments must include trail connections in their site plans, a policy the town uses to fill gaps in a system under development since 1986. The eight-mile Linear Park Trail follows the South New River Canal, and Roberts-Potter Park Trail threads through small neighborhoods into the Western Theme downtown. Near Davie Road and Orange Drive, Bergeron Rodeo Grounds has hosted rodeos, horse shows, concerts, and other gatherings for over 40 years. Equestrian travel remains visible in public paths and land-use rules throughout the year. That trail along the canal also follows the engineering that made modern Davie possible.

ATTREbyabe / CC BY-SA 3.0

The South New River Canal was begun during Governor Napoleon Bonaparte Broward's 1905-1909 Everglades drainage campaign. Permanent settlers arrived in 1909 and called their community Zona after the Panama Canal Zone; it became Davie in 1916 in honor of R. P. Davie. The town first incorporated in 1925, dissolved during the next legislative session, and reincorporated on June 22, 1961, with fewer than 2,000 residents. The canal and former school still mark the settlement's original core. The 1918 Davie School, the first permanent school in the reclaimed Everglades, now operates as a museum with a restored 1920s classroom and reconstructed pioneer homes. The building also served as Town Hall, a dance hall, and a Broward County School Board office.

ATTRWilliam “Patrick” Ma… / CC BY-SA 3.0

At Pine Island Ridge, Davie's documented history extends thousands of years earlier. The ridge rises 29 feet above sea level, making it Broward County's highest natural point, and its 101 protected acres contain archaeological sites associated with over 5,000 years of Tequesta and later Seminole use. Live-oak hammock survives on this slight rise within an otherwise low landscape. Farther east, the Western Theme district uses building design, public space, trails, and the rodeo grounds to maintain a separate center around Davie Road. The town's 89th Orange Blossom Festival in February and March 2026 connected those traditions across multiple sites: its parade and festival occupied Pine Island Park, and the rodeo took place at Bergeron. Education and industry create another major Davie center.

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As of March 2026, the town listed over 900 acres of industrially zoned land and established activity in education, health care, aerospace, biopharmaceutical work, distribution, manufacturing, maritime services, and technology. The South Florida Education Center brings five institutions into the town: Broward College, Florida Atlantic University, McFatter Technical College, Nova Southeastern University, and the University of Florida. Nova Southeastern describes its Fort Lauderdale/Davie campus as home to 12 colleges, centers, and schools. University and technical classrooms occupy eastern Davie, apart from the equestrian and historic districts to the west. Along and near College Avenue, academic buildings, health programs, and research facilities form a second major center within the same town that maintains horse paths into its downtown.