Vacationers have been flocking to the Datona Beach area for more than a century. During the late 1800s, the area caught the attention and imagination of many wealthy northern tycoons who found the land favorable for investment. One such mogul, Mathias Day, founding father of what was then called Daytona, built the first hotel, the Palmetto House, in 1874.

The trend continued with other entrepreneurs endeavoring to build a city of commerce and vision. Commodore Charles Bourgoyne began by building a community center in the downtown area in the early 1900s. Bourgoyne organized concerts along the riverfront actively promoting the town's events to travelers. Later, John D. Rockefeller, discovered Daytona Beach's immaculate golf courses and made his winter home here.

Automobile racing became a regular pastime along the hard-packed beaches at the turn of the 20th Century. Ormond Beach became known as the "birthplace of speed" due to the various land speed records set there. In 1947, the National Association of Stock Car Auto Racing was founded in Datona Beach. Motorsports gained new ground in 1959 with the opening of the Datona International Speedway, which continues to satisfy hundreds of thousands of speed-hungry fans each year.