Deepest of all Florida ports, Port Everglades is the county seat of Broward County in southeast Florida. It lies about 25 miles north of Miami at the mouth of the New River. Port Everglades occupies land in three Florida municipalities: Hollywood, Fort Lauderdale, and Dania Beach. The Broward County Board of Commissioners is responsible for port operations.

Port Everglades is one of the United States’ busiest container ports, an important hub for storage and distribution of petroleum, and a liberty port for the US Navy. It’s also one of the busiest cruise ports in the world, hosting over four million passengers every year.

Although they were gone by the time European settlers arrived in 1788, the indigenous Tequesta people lived there. Archeological evidence suggests they inhabited the area from 500 BC before Europeans arrived.

In 1838, the Second Seminole War led to the establishment of Fort Lauderdale, the name adopted by the town that was settled there in 1893. In 1895, the Florida East Coast Railway arrived. In 1935, the city initiated an annual National Collegiate Aquatic Forum to attract college students to the town, establishing a long tradition of famous spring breaks.

What is known today as Port Everglades was used by local farmers to ship their produce. In 1911, when Fort Lauderdale was incorporated, local business groups began to press for a deep water port for farmers. But it was the founder of the City of Hollywood, John Wesley Young, that played the most important role in developing a deep harbor on Lake Mabel. He bought over a thousand acres by the lake and created the Hollywood Harbor Development Company. At this time, all of Broward County had fewer than 30 thousand residents.

Harbor development began in 1925. Lumberjacks were imported from Vermont to clear mangrove jungles. Nationwide economic crisis forced Young to appeal to the voters of both Hollywood and Fort Lauderdale who approved the sale of $2 million in bonds to improve the harbor.

A serious 1926 hurricane slowed progress, and a real estate crash forced Young to leave the project. But by this time, its potential was well known, and the Florida legislature established the Broward County Port Authority. President Calvin Coolidge attended a flawed dedication ceremony in 1928. By the end of the year, cotton products were leaving the port bound for Cuba, the Caribbean, and Latin America.

In 1932, Port Everglades got its first manager, Warren T. Eller, who knew that its open storage space was a major advantage. He approached companies that handled bulk commodities (like petroleum, lumber, cement, and scrap metal) and shippers carrying cargo to Asia. Then in the 1940s, military operations grew in Port Everglades.

By the 1950s, Port Everglades was already on the itinerary for several world cruises. The local Rotary Club started greeting ships and giving Florida orange juice to the passengers. In 1959, the Florida legislature created a new port charter. Growth continued through the 1960s, when petroleum was the dominant cargo, and the 1970s, when Foreign Trade Zone No. 25 was opened.

In the 1990s, the Greater Fort Lauderdale/Broward County Convention Center, new parking garages, and additional cruise and cargo facility modernizations further enhanced the port’s competitive position. Seaport governance was transferred to the Broward County government in 1994, and port activity was further diversified. During this time, a container traffic boom made Port Everglades one of the country’s busiest container ports.

By early 2006, over 2200 vessels were moving almost 25 million tons of cargo through Port Everglades, carrying containers, breakbulk, dry bulk, and petroleum products. That year, Port Everglades was the 12th busiest container port in the United States. Cargo facilities include 324 acres of open yard storage, 1.6 million cubic feet of refrigerated storage, 300 thousand square feet of warehouse space, 200 petroleum storage tanks, and 400 reefer outlets. Port Everglades also offers cement silos, dockside transit for cargo, and nine gantry cranes for container loading/unloading.

Open yard area includes 324 acres of storage for containers, with plans for an additional 271 acres for containers, warehousing, and intermodal container transfer. Six transit warehouse facilities offer a combined total of almost 300 thousand square feet. Eight roll-on/roll-off ramp facilities range from 70 to 120 feet wide with from 31 to 44 feet draft. A privately owned-and–operated cold storage facility offers over 68 thousand square feet of variable-temperature storage.

In fiscal year 2006, more than two thousand container ships called at Port Everglades. Almost 300 cargo ships and over 700 petroleum tankers also berthed. The same year, over 1700 cruise ships called at port. Cruise revenues in 2006 exceeded $26 million, and a single day saw almost 780 thousand passengers traveling through Port Everglades.

Almost 900 thousand TEUs of containerized cargo were handled in 2006, as were over 120 million barrels of petroleum. Bulk cargo was dominated by almost 2.5 million tons of cement/clinkers, and over 256 thousand tons of cement, coils, and rebar dominated breakbulk cargo. Gasoline, aviation fuel, cement, petroleum, and crude oil are the major imports. Grocery products, fabrics, building materials, paper, and poultry dominate the exported goods.

Port Everglades welcomed its first cruise ship in 1931. Since then, it’s grown to handling almost four million passengers a year. Eleven modern cruise terminals offer over 300 thousand square feet for passenger comfort and security. Port Everglades serves 19 cruise lines, providing a combined total of over 157 thousand square feet of terminal area and 244 thousand square feet of baggage handling area.

Port Everglades offers a wide range of activities for visitors. The biggest attractions, though, are the beaches lined with coffee shops and restaurants in Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood. You can rent bicycles or explore the beach on foot, or you can walk inland to upscale shops. In Fort Lauderdale, the RiverWalk connects to the city’s arts and entertainment district.

Water sports and activities are plentiful. You can enjoy boating on your own, take a water taxi, or enjoy a river cruise. Sports fishers will enjoy deep sea fishing. Sawgrass Mills, one of the nation’s largest malls, offers an endless variety for the avid shopper. And more laid-back shoppers will enjoy visiting the “Swap Shop,” advertising itself as the world’s biggest drive-in movie theater and flea market.

Hollywood Beach and Miami’s South Beach are not far away, and travelers will love the nightlife on Hollywood Boulevard. Fort Lauderdale’s bars and clubs come alive with young people on weekends, and the RiverSide complex offers a more sedate, sophisticated atmosphere for older adults.

Of course, Port Everglades main attraction is the wide variety of cruise ships arriving and departing on a daily basis. You can find a range of itineraries and cruise schedules, many offering senior and discount fares, by searching for “Fort Lauderdale.”