Biography of George W. Brown, West Palm Beach, Palm Beach County, FL

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Transcribed from:  The History of Florida:  Past & Present, The Lewis Publishing Co., Vol. 
II, page 250, 1923.

BROWN, GEORGE W., president of the dependable Brown & Wilcox Company, extensive builders 
and contractors, is one of the representative men of West Palm Beach, and one who is connected 
with some of the most important building operations in Palm Beach County.  He was born at 
Wenonah, New Jersey, and after serving his apprenticeship at the carpenter trade, worked at 
it for some years as a journeyman before taking up the serious business of building and 
contracting on his own account.

Mr. BROWN is a pioneer in the building industry at West Palm Beach and Palm Beach, having 
located here permanently in 1900, and on account of the large volume of business and the 
expensiveness of the buildings he has erected in these two cities and throughout South Florida 
he easily ranks as the leading builder of this section of the state.  When Mr. BROWN first 
came to West Palm Beach it was practically merely the junction point for the tourist business 
to the world-famed resort, Palm Beach, but now it is one of the most modern of the flourishing 
cities of the South, and Mr. BROWN has taken a leading part in this expansion.  A complete 
list of the buildings he has erected would be too lengthy for this article, but a few of the 
leading ones must be given, for they include at West Palm Beach the Glidden Building, the 
Wilcox Building, and a large number of other business blocks and handsome residences.  At 
Palm Beach he built the Beaux Arts Building, residences for OTTO KAHN, and JOSEPH ELWELL, 
a New York banker, the WILLIAM WALLER, BROWN and WILCOX residences and the residences at 
Palm Beach of CHARLES L. HARDING, C. C. BOLTON, PERCY WILLIAMS, R. D. DOUGLAS and those of 
other winter residents of distinction at Palm Beach.  More recently he erected at West Palm 
Beach, in conjunction with Mr. Wilcox, the First National Bank Building, and in 1922 the 
new Guaranty Building, the largest one in the city, and one of the finest office buildings 
in Florida.  This building is located at the corner of Olive and Datura streets, is seven 
stories in height, 92 X 93 feet.  The material throughout is of re-inforced concrete, with 
tile floors and exterior finish of stucco, with terra cotta inserts.  The wainscoting, 
pilasters and beams are built of marble, and the entire building is of beautiful architectural 
design.  Mr. BROWN is a member of the Advisory Board of the American National Bank.  He 
belongs to the Chamber of Commerce, and is thoroughly identified with all progressive 
movements of West Palm Beach.

CLARENCE WILCOX, vice-president of the Brown & Wilcox Company, was born at Westfield, New 
Jersey, and he joined Mr. BROWN about 1912.  He is a member of the Board of Directors of 
the American National Bank, and both he and his associate enjoy the full confidence of 
their community and the business world.