You've made it to Fort Lauderdale! This city is named after a series of forts built by the United States during the Second Seminole War. Those forts got the name from Major William Lauderdale, as he was the commander of the soldiers who built the first fort. However, despite these forts being abandoned in the 1840's, the Originally, this land was inhabited by the Tequesta Native Americans, but contact with Spanish Explorers in the 16th Century ended up being disastrous for the Natives, as the explorers brought with them diseases that the Natives had no immunity for.

Economically, while the city used to have a reputation for being a spring break destination for college students, it has since turned far more upscale, attracting more wealthy tourists. It has also become a major manufacturing and maintenance center for yachts. It also has several large companies there, such as Motorla and American Express (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com).

Regarding notable people from Fort Lauderdale, the city and surrounding areas have been home to names such as NBA player Scottie Pippen, NFL player James White, rapper xxxtentacion, and jazz bassist Jaco Pastorius (information courtesy of Wikipedia.com, image courtesy of KeanoManu / CC BY-SA).