Historian Janet Naughton traces little-known chapters of West Palm Beach history on City Center podcast

Janet Naughton, a faculty librarian and history professor at Palm Beach State College, told listeners of the City Center podcast that West Palm Beach holds many overlooked stories about its past, and “you just have to look for it.” The interview, hosted by Jerry Marsolo of the City of West Palm Beach communications department, ran through local episodes including early festivals, artists who trained locally, neighborhood development during the 1920s boom, and the city’s aviation beginnings.

Naughton said the Seminole Sundance Festival — a three‑day event staged by local merchants from about 1916 into the mid‑1920s — featured parades, dress‑up contests and a “prettiest baby” competition meant to extend the winter tourist season. “It brought a lot of business to the city of West Palm Beach,” she said.

Naughton highlighted Augusta Savage, who lived in the area during her formative years and later became an important sculptor of the Harlem Renaissance. Naughton recounted that Savage was aided locally by an artist, George Graham…