In 1884, the Reverend Elbridge Gale retired to the area later known as Old Northwood and built the first cabin on the west side of Lake Worth. Gale grew mango trees, and one became the first grafted Mangonia to bear fruit; seeds from this tree produced the well-known Haden variety. His home was known as Mangonia. During Florida's land boom of the 1920s, the Pinewood Development Company, led by David M. Dunkle, purchased 400 acres, and 173 contributing structures were built between 1921 and 1929, including Frame Vernacular, Mission-Style, and Mediterranean homes. More than 50 individual builders constructed at least one house in the area, and notable architects included John Volk, William Manley King, and T.B. Eissfeldt. A distinctive feature of the district is its network of alleys providing access to garages and other services. Old Northwood remained a prestigious middle-class neighborhood into the 1960s. After two decades of blight, the Old Northwood Neighborhood Association formed in 1987. Old Northwood became West Palm Beach's first designated historic district in 1991 and was placed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.