The Palm Beach Gardens area Street Names are Familiar. Who are Donald Ross and Ellison Wilson?
Jupiter and Palm Beach Gardens area residents are very familiar with Donald Ross Road and Ellison Wilson Road. Beautiful gated communities such as Bears Club, Trump National, Frenchman's Reserve and Frenchman’s Creek line the busy street. However, do you know who or what the busy thoroughfare’s namesake is?
Donald Alexander Ross was a resident of Lake Park, formerly known as Kelsey City. He moved to Kelsey City (Lake Park) in 1928 as a child. Spending his days like most kids in the area, he played outside. It is said he spent his childhood roller-skating along Dixie Highway and spent many days on the water. He would row a dingy to Singer Island and have camp out, sleepovers on the vacant land that is Singer Island.
Ellison Wilson was a young man whose family founded Kelsey City (Lake Park). The family moved from Tennessee to the area in 1923. Ellison was one of eight siblings who also spent many days enjoying the outdoors. His family had a farm along the Intracoastal Waterway, running parallel to Prosperity Farms Road. His mother was a respected and loved principal of Lake Park Elementary School. Sadly, the Wilson farm would be destroyed in the epic hurricane of 1928.
Both Wilson and Ross would grow up and serve in the United States military. Ellison was a gunner on a tank in the Third Armored Division in the Battle of the Bulge. Wilson served honorably in the Army during World War II. He lost his life defending this great country on December 28, 1944 in Belgium.
Donald was a lieutenant who led the 191st. Tank Battalion in North Africa where his heroism earned him a “Silver Star”. Lt. Ross saved fellow soldiers by circling tanks around his fellow American fighters who had been immobilized by enemy gunfire giving them opportunity to escape. Ross later lost his life in Remagen, Germany during the Battle of the Bulge. He was the first resident of Lake Park to die in the line of duty during the war.
A memorial was dedicated to Donald Ross and Ellison Wilson, the World War II heroes, in Juno Beach at Bert Winters Park. The actual memorial is located on the southeast corner of Donald Ross Road and Ellison Wilson Road intersection.
Many residents have wrongly presumed that Donald Ross Road was named for legendary golf course designer Donald Ross who designed Seminole Golf Club in North Palm Beach.
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