Even before Florida became a state in 1845, the Indian River region attracted pioneer settlers, mostly farmers seeking land to grow winter crops such as beans, cabbage, and tomatoes, and later becoming known for pineapples and citrus. These communities raised crops on Orchid Island, on the western shore of the Indian River, and on the sandy dunes of the Atlantic Coastal Ridge. Woodley, established in 1893, was one of these communities; by the 1900s it had grown and changed its name to Quay, and during Florida's Roaring 1920s the name changed again to Winter Beach. From the community's beginning, citizens donated land for communal needs, especially a cemetery, and because the dune line of the Atlantic Coast Ridge reminded many settlers of the hills and mountains of their former homes, the ridge was chosen as its location. In 1896, the cemetery was officially assigned to the Woodley Trustees, which later became the Winter Beach Cemetery Association, and it remains the final resting place of the community's original settlers and their descendants.