George W. Engram, Sr.
(1913-1998)

Died aged c. 85

George W. Engram, Sr. was born in 1913 in Montezuma, Georgia. After earning a degree in electrical engineering at Tuskegee Institute (University), he moved to Daytona Beach in 1935 where he founded Engram Electric Company. In 1948 he ran for the Daytona Beach City Commission. In the 1940s and 1950s he helped find investors to purchase 2 ½ miles of ocean front property south of New Smyrna Beach. Engram was general manager and executive vice-president of a project to turn the area into a full community and resort area for African-Americans. It became Bethune Beach in 1945. Bethune Beach became an integrated area, and in later years was remembered as a unique experiment in black capitalism. Two streets in Daytona Beach were named in his honor and Engram helped carry the torch for the 1996 Olympic Games, George W. Engram died in 1998.

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