By 1900, Boynton was supplying the north with a variety of agricultural products including pineapples and tomatoes. Goods transported by water were shipped from a packing shed which was located on the east side of the Intracoastal Waterway just south of the Ocean Avenue Bridge.

As well as shipping, the Intracoastal Waterway and the growth of the town also supported other maritime businesses such as boat builders,1 commercial fishing fleets, and charter boats. By 1910, reports indicated that the fishing was good all seasons of the year and that fish could be caught from the ocean, the salt water Lake Worth, and from fresh water lakes west of town2.

Just north of the Ocean Avenue Bridge is the marina where fishermen docked commercial and charter boats. Two of the most notable fishermen were Walter Voss and Captain Walter "Pop" Lyman.

The marina contains two docks. The dock to the south is the earliest part of the marina. The dock to the north was excavated in the 1950s by Captain Lyman and his two sons Kenny and Harold. Captain Lyman, whose parents were among the first settlers in the area in the late 1800s, was the first commercial fisherman in Boynton. Lyman’s Sport Fishing Dock, which was used by both commercial and sport fishing boats, was owned by the Lyman family until the late 1970s when it was purchased by the owners of the southern side of the marina, then known as the Sea Mist Marina3. The Lyman family also maintained a small fish market to the west of the marina4.

Commercial fishing ceased during the government enforced blackouts during World War II5. The marina is now owned by the Boynton Beach Community Redevelopment Agency and is known as the Boynton Harbor Marina.

• 1. Research Atlantica, Inc. City of Boynton Beach, Florida, Historic Sites Survey. Coral Springs: 1996, p.21
• 2. The Prosperous Town of Boynton”, The Florida East Coast Homeseeker, Volume XII, Number 11, November, 1910
• 3. Jamison C., personal communication
• 4. Research Atlantica, Inc. City of Boynton Beach, Florida, Historic Sites Survey. Coral Springs: 1996, p.40
• 5. Ibid., p.40