Hallandale Beach (formerly known simply as Hallandale) is a city in southern Broward County, Florida, United States. The city is named after Luther Halland, the son of a Swedish worker for Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. As of the 2010 census, the population was 37,113. The city is known as the home of Gulfstream Park (horse racing and casino) and Mardi Gras Casino, a greyhound racing track which hosts the World Classic. It also has a sizable financial district, with offices for a number of banks and brokerage houses, plus many restaurants. Due to the large number of tourists who eventually retire in the city, Hallandale Beach has one of the fastest-growing populations in Broward County and in Metro Miami. History Hallandale Beach, like most of Broward County, had no permanent European-descended population until the end of the 19th century. Seminole Indians, in settlements that lay inland of the Atlantic shore, hunted in the area and gathered coontie roots to produce arrowroot starch. The northern edge of Hallandale Beach (along Pembroke Road) still features noticeable hammocks, points elevated above sea level in the distant past. Railroad magnate Henry Flagler, owner of the Florida East Coast Railway, recruited Luther Halland, a brother-in-law of Flagler's agents, to found a settlement south of the community of Dania. Halland and Swedish immigrant Olaf Zetterlund touted the frost-free climate and cheap land of the settlement (then named Halland, later changed to Hallandale). Halland constructed a small trading post and became the first postmaster of the small community. By 1900, the community had slowly grown to a dozen families—seven of Swedish, three of English, and two of African descent. In 1904 the first school was built, and the first church followed two years later. Hallandale was primarily a farming community; the beach was undeveloped and used by the residents only for recreational purposes. Hallandale was incorporated on 11 May 1927, the eighth municipality in Broward County. By that time, a thriving community of 1,500 residents, with electricity and street lights, was in place. In 1947, Hallandale was reincorporated as the City of Hallandale, allowing it to expand its borders through annexation of nearby unincorporated land lying adjacent to the Atlantic shore. On August 27, 1999, the city officially changed its name to Hallandale Beach. Hurricane Katrina first made landfall between Hallandale Beach and Aventura, Florida. Hurricane Irma was originally expected to go right through Hallandale