Daytona Beachendless fun

The city of Daytona Beach was incorporated in 1876. The city’s population is more than 66,000. The metro area population (which includes the entire County of Volusia) is estimated at more than 515,000. In 1886, the St. Johns & Halifax River Railway arrived in Daytona. The line would be purchased in 1889 by Henry M. Flagler, who made it part of his Florida East Coast Railway. The separate towns of Daytona, Daytona Beach and Seabreeze merged as “Daytona Beach” in 1926, at the urging of civic leader J.B. Kahn and others. By the 1920s, it was dubbed “The World’s Most Famous Beach.” Daytona’s wide beach of smooth, compacted sand attracted automobile and motorcycle races beginning in 1902, as pioneers in the industry tested their inventions. On March 8, 1936, the first stock car race was held on the Daytona Beach Road Course. In 1959, William France created NASCAR and the Daytona International Speedway to replace the beach course. Automobiles are still permitted on certain areas of the beach, at a maximum speed of 10 mph.