Elisha Newton Dimick | |
|---|---|
 Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick in 1897 | |
| Mayor of Palm Beach, Florida | |
| In office 1911–1918 | |
| Preceded by | Office established |
| Succeeded by | T.T. Reese |
| Member of the Florida Senate | |
| In office 1897–1905 | |
| Preceded by | Robert Morrow |
| Succeeded by | Frederick M. Hudson |
| Member of the Florida House of Representatives | |
| In office 1891–1893 | |
| Preceded by | William D. Albury |
| Succeeded by | Frederick Streeter Morse |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 24, 1849 Constantine, Michigan, US |
| Died | January 6, 1919 (aged 69) Palm Beach, Florida, US |
| Political party | Democratic |
Elisha Newton "Cap" Dimick (April 24, 1849 – January 6, 1919) was an American politician and pioneer of modern-day Palm Beach County, Florida. Born in Michigan in 1849, the Dimick family moved to the area now known as Palm Beach, Florida, in 1876. Dimick built his residence there in the late 1870s, and in 1880, converted it to the Cocoanut Grove House, then the only hotel between Key West and Titusville. He became a politician in the 1890s, serving one term in the Florida House of Representatives and later four terms in the Florida Senate as a member of the Democratic Party. Dimick also co-founded the Lake Worth region's first bank in 1893, the Dade County State Bank, which assisted Henry Flagler in providing compensation to workers constructing the Royal Poinciana Hotel and The Breakers. Today, the bank building is considered the oldest surviving commercial structure in Palm Beach County.
Upon the incorporation of the town of Palm Beach in 1911, Dimick became the first mayor. Additionally, Dimick built the first vehicular bridge across the Lake Worth Lagoon in 1911, the Royal Park Bridge. He served as mayor of Palm Beach until 1918 and was succeeded by his son-in-law, T.T. Reese. Less than a year later, Dimick died of cancer at 69 years old. Following his death, a statue commemorating Dimick was erected in 1921 and has stood along Royal Palm Way in Palm Beach, immediately east of the Royal Park Bridge, since 1947. Dimick's grandson, Claude Dimick Reese, served in the town government for more than 50 years, including the office of mayor from 1953 to 1970.