I apologize for my absence in posting, but I recently moved to North Carolina.  Now that I am settling in (with a new laptop) I am beginning to work again on this interesting series, but this time it will be about North Carolina.  My first post will be coming this March.  Please follow along on my new blog here!

What do you say?

Okay, well I just finished talking with the "old world" i.e. Mr. Phillips. He now has his "user name" and "pass word". So lets all keep an eye out for some new material soon.

World! I well delete this post as soon as you post something. And your post well remain before this one at any rate.



Let me know if I can help you in anyway.

WHY DO THEY CALL IT CORAL GABLES? PART ONE

Written by Wellborn Phillips

A game that historians play is to select dates as “The Most Important” from an era, decade or century.  For Dade County, the years 1895-98 are prime candidates for such a designation.

In those four unbelievable years, Dade County shed its obscure frontier status to evolve into a still-small, still somewhat crude, but dynamic community—and on its way to becoming a Famous World Center  in less than an unbelievable—and “mere” one hundred years.  -

These four unbelievable years saw for Miami the arrival of a railroad, the building of a magnificent hotel, the paving of miles of streets, the incorporation of the City of Miami and the arrival of many new talented people who would play key roles in the City’s future.  And Miami also got its first bank, newspaper, church and civic organization, it first telephone company and department store and its first doctor—and a hospital promised and being planned

While all of these things were happening in Miami, another significant event was happening in 1898 just “down the road” in Coconut Grove—an event that went unnoticed at the time. A young Congregational minister named Solomon Merrick and his 12 year-old son, George, had checked into the Peacock Inn..

For some time, Solomon had lived with wife Anthea and family in Duxbury, Massachusetts, north of Plymouth  where he had a small church.  There one of the children died of pneumonia.  And the family decided to move elsewhere to escape the severe winters of New England.

Solomon began leafing through church directors.  In one of them he found the name and address of an unknown fellow-churchman—“James Bolton, Coconut Grove, Florida. ” He wrote to Bolton.  Bolton replied, “there is a 160-acre- homestead, known as “The Gregory Homestead,” four miles west of Coconut Grove that is for sale.  There is a small house on the property.  And the property   can be bought for $1,100.”

Solomon sent Bolton the money to buy the property sight unseen.  Then Solomon and George packed their bags.  And they headed south as the family’s scouting party.

At Jupiter, the trip was interrupted for several weeks.  Miami had a typhoid epidemic and was quarantined. Sometime later, they went on to Coconut Grove and got a meal at the Peacock Inn and then, a room at Bay View House, also owned by the Peacocks.

At the Peacock Inn, we can be sure they met the innkeepers Charles and Isabella Peacock—and we can only guess that they met the rest of the Peacock family.

Eighteen years later, one of the Peacock’s grand-daughters, Eunice,  become Mrs. George Merrick—but for the moment—in 1898—12-year-old George couldn’t have cared less:  he was immediately delighted with the warm, clear water of Biscayne Bay (he was used to swimming in frigid Cape Cod Bay) and anxious to see an alligator—in fact, he was thrilled with all of the attributes of his new home and he was impatient to get on with anything—and everything-- that needed to be done.

Finally, Solomon was able to contact Mr. Bolton.  And the first thing Mr. Bolton did was to give them a deed, then he showed them the property he had convinced Solomon to buy sight unseen.  The Rev. Mr. Merrick was disappointed—it wasn’t at all like he had hoped.  But George was thoughtful.  Somehow he thought his father might have trouble getting back the money;  at the same time, this might just be a great place to live.     

It is fortunate for Dade County (and especially for the Merricks and the future Coral Gables) that George already possessed the character that were to make him famous years later:  enthusiasm, persistence, imagination, daring –frankly, the Rev. Mr. Merrick was discouraged.  The conditions that he found were so primitive—and not at all what he had expected.  The new “home”  was but a cabin, the “homestead”, nothing but a tangle of weeds—and it was so far away from anything—from  civilization!

They argued back and forth for several days.  But George won:  they would stay.  And Solomon became the leader of a small—but growing group that would eventually found the Congregationalist church in Coconut Grove—the fore-runner of the Plymouth Congregationalist Church.

In the mean time, father and son began working on the homestead—and on the little shack.  Anthea arrived with the other four children—Ethel, Medie, Helen and Charles—and shortly after that,  their last child, Richard, was born.

With the farm, Solomon and George were successful from the start  The area that is the Grenade Golf Course was soon producing bountiful crops of beans, lettuce, celery, eggplant and tomatoes.  Other areas were planted in grapefruit and orange trees.  For some time, this produce was carted laboriously to  Coconut Grove and Miami.

Finally, a packing house was built (at what is now the corner of Castile and South Greenway Drive) from which the produce was shipped to   increasingly more destinations in the Northeast United States.

For a long time, Anthea had been busy designing a spacious rock addition to the “little frame cabin” and work was begun in 1903.  In the mean time, history has a way of leaving blanks for future generations.  Did Soloman  get rooms at the Bay View House when Anthea and children  arrived and keep paying for them until the “spacious rock addition” was completed  sometime after1903?  Or where else did they live?  History doesn’t tell us, but history does tell us how the house, the business—and the City got its name.

For a name, the Merricks reminisced back to their life in Duxbury and visits they had made to Buzzards Bay on Cape Cod.  They had been especially impressed by President Grover Cleveland summer home there and by its descriptive name, “Grey Gables.”  The Merricks modified that name to “Coral Gables” and adopted it as the name for their own home—the word “coral”, describing the red tiles o ntheir roof.  The business or homestead was also renamed the ‘Coral Gables Plantation.  And years later, no one was surprised when the town was named “Coral Gables.”

The address of the Solomon Merrick home is 907m Coral Way.

WHY DO THE CALL IT FLAGLER STRET PART TWO

By Wellborn Phillips Jr.

Flagler Street is named for Mr. Henry M. Flagler, one of histories’ most remarkable persons who lived an eventful 83 years, from 1830 to 1913-- years that historians have divided into 3 radically different periods.

 In the first period—and as a 14 year old “child protégée”—Henry left home so he could make a fortune for himself.  In Bellevue, Ohio he was hired by a distant relative, the owner of a large store-- who also had a daughter named Mary. In quick order, Henry made a fortune for the store (and for himself), the owner gave Henry a part ownership of the business—and Henry responded by marrying his daughter, Mary.   

After several years happily married, Henry learned about salt wells in Michigan which he decided were a quick—and safe way to earn a fortune—and surely better than working in a store. .  So Henry sold his interest in the store for $50,000, he and Mary moved to Saginaw, Michigan and with the $50,000 they bought a salt well.  For 2 years, Henry was getting rich.  But the Civil War ended—salt prices collapsed—and Henry was broke.  It was Henry’s one-and- only failure EVER!

In the second period in 1867, Henry joined John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews in a partnership—Rockefeller, Andrews and Flagler—that eventually became the Standard Oil Company.  The success of the Standard Oil Company was largely due to three people:  Andrews, a chemist, who was busy finding  new ways to refine petroleum and  to Rockefeller and Flagler who were busy doing three  things to expand SOC:  by forcing competitors into bankruptcy and buying them out cheap;  by forming monopolies and by getting kick-backs from railroads. 

 But times were changing.  And  Rockefeller and Flagler weren’t the only ones.  During the 2^nd half of the 1800’s, men like Cornelius Vanderbilt (and his railroads), William Astor (of fur fame), J. P Morgan (on Wall Street) and others  acted like SOC—and all were promptly—and correctly named “Robber Barons” by the public and press..

 Suddenly the word “corporation” became a dirty word with many.  People were outraged by the tactics of these new companies.  And their size, strength—and new-found power.  Soon the press was describing the situation, people were complaining and governments were getting involved..

Florida’s Flagler relates a typical battle at a Senate hearing between the Committee’s lawyer and Henry Flagler:  the attorney had finished telling the meeting about the public’s dislike for Standard Oil.  And he demanded that Flagler answer a question.  Flagler responded by confusing  the issue. He shouted back,  ‘It suites me to go elsewhere for advice,  particularly as I’m not paying you for it.”

The lawyer responded, ‘I’m not paying you to rob the community, I’m trying to expose the robbery.”

Later,  Flagler suggested better procedures for Standard Oil officers:  cut out the hassles—he said, but don’t give them information-- Just a “Yes, sir,” or “No, Sir,” or “I do not remember.”.

 Flagler’s career with Standard Oil was both brilliant –and brutal.  He not only made a fortune as a close  associate of John D. Rockerfeller and as Vice President and a Member of the Board of Directors during a most profitable era but when he left the company, he carried with him its 3^rd largest block of common stock which continued to appreciate in value and pay handsome dividends.

Henry M. Flagler was one of the richest men in America—adjusted for today’s standards, his wealth would amount to several billion dollars!

The third--and final-- period of Henry’s life begins with Henry’s decisions to make a slow retirement from  Standard Oil and to build the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine.  And with the loss of his first wife.  By any standards, the final period of Henry’s life—the 30 years in Florida—was the more advantageous for mankind.  His objectives had improved.  Although still the hard-driving entrepreneur who always got what he wanted, Flagler’s emphasis was no longer on making money to the exclusion of everything else:  often, he spent more than he made.

Much of the story involves key questions for Henry  and how Henry answered them.  For example:  What do I do after building the Ponce de Leon Hotel?  How far south should I go?  And WHAT, if anything should I do about Key West? .At the same time, Henry had side issues to deal with (Like how do I get out of Standard Oil?)  and simultaneously, he had monumental problems with his second wife.

Back on  June 5, 1883 when Henry  married  his second wife-- Ida Alice Shourds -- at the Madison Avenue Church in New York, few—if any--of Alice’s  supposed friends showed up but no one gave it serious thought because the church was packed with Henry’s friends.

 However, before the marriage, each member of the Flagler and Harkness clans visited with Henry individually to warn him of possible difficulties.  She is thirty five and you are fifty three, they reminded him—also there are tremendous differences between her interests and yours, they told him.  But Henry went ahead with the wedding..

For several years, Henry and Alice had a happy married life.  But at the same time,  Alice became  more sensitive and emotional, more self-centered,  interested in things like her own social standing or personal appearance.

The first time that Henry seemed to realize anything strange was happening to his wife was after a yachting party off the coast of New England  where Alice was entertaining a group of ladies.. They got into a storm with sixty mile an hour wind and high seas for six hours.  After everyone got seasick, they begged  the captain to turn the ship around and he started to do just that—but Alice ordered him to stay on course.

 Henry was frantic when the ship was over-due and pleased when it finally sailed in.  Somehow, he didn’t get a full report until days later when the captain told him what had happened.  “The ship—with all aboard—could have been lost!” the captain told Henry.  Henry was shocked-- but for the moment he confided in no one.

Several years went by.  Nothing monumental happened—although Henry was just puzzled when Alice got irritable over minor events.  Then suddenly, she began telling stories about Henry, claiming he was beating her—stories she made convincing by alternating good stories with bad ones. But the stories came to the attention of Dr. George G. Shelton, a prominent physician and personal friend of the Flagler family.

In 1984, Henry arranged for Alice to hire Dr. Shelton as her personal physician-- without Alice learning Shelton and Henry were friends.

In the next year, Alice’s condition went downhill.  She had delusions. : first, about the absolute powers of three little stones that she had; then,  that she thought her relations with Henry had “gone to pieces”; and, finally , she decided  she was in love with the Czar of Russia..

Dr. Sheldon was stunned. . .But he returned to his office. . . And he faithfully reported to Henry details of the meeting with Alice. . .He also entered in his Appoint Book Alice’s next appointment , October 7.  

Soon, Henry bought an apartment on Fifth Avenue where he thought Alice would be happy (and Dr. Sheldon would be closer.)  And Sheldon encouraged Alice to call him if she had any problems. She promptly reported a slight headache—and kept Sheldon busy:  at first, there were discussion of many prominent New Yorkers, who—she insisted-- were disloyal to their wives, and she discussed the supposed sexual  activities of each; later, she began talking  again about her love for the Czar of Russia and an hour later, she appeared at Sheldon’s office with her Ouija board to confirm that the Czar was madly in love with her also and they would be married immediately upon Henry’s death.

Doctor Sheldon was, once again,  shocked.  He tried to get her specific date for Henry’s death.  She wouldn’t cooperate.   Sheldon immediately called Henry and reported what had happened..  And Henry, once again, decided he would do nothing.   

Several days later, Alice visited one of New York’s best—and most expensive Jewelry stores and purchased a $2,000 cat’s eye diamond ring. 

Then, she addressed it to the Czar and mailed it.

Today, if you and I tried such a stunt, the ring would probably just get lost. But in October, 1895—and for Henry Flagler-- the ring was intercepted in the mail by the Post Office and returned to Flagler.  

In the mean time, Alice’s appointment with Dr. Sheldon was forgotten.  Henry wanted advice from other Doctors also. . .Then,  Alice became violent. . .. And a dozen new aids were hired to handle her.  Then she began making threats against Henry.  And Henry moved into a hotel.

.On October 24, 1895, Alice was committed to a sanitarium in Pleasantville, New York.

Henry took Sheldon’s advice and went to St. Augustine.  Then, he returned  to New York—nothing satisfied him.   He also talked frequently with  the doctors about his wife’s condition.

 There were also business decisions to be made.  Henry continuously checked the numerous  jobs in St. Augustine.  Everything was either finished or moving toward completion and on time.  He also learned about a bill in Florida’s legislature, granting an exclusive franchise for a railroad south to the Miami River. He told himself, I doubt we’ll go that far. But perhaps we should d buy that—just in case.

During all this time, Henry was thinking about Alice.   Finally, in the spring of 1896, one of the doctors, a Dr. Starr, told Henry, “Your wife is better, but not fully cured.  She told me to tell you she still loves you.  It may be possible to bring her home some day, but I can’t guarantee anything.

Henry was disappointed—there was no guarantee-- but he already knew what he would do.  To a friend in St. Augustine, Dr. Anderson, he wrote, “I shall try to keep up courage and make the best fight in her behalf that is possible.”  Immediately,  plans were executed to bring Alice home by June 5^th, their wedding anniversary —and to a new home named “Lawn Beach” in Mamaroneck, New York  which they had bought  before all the “trouble” started—but never used. . .So Alice and Henry were happily reunited—after 8 months –and it was an especially happy one:  on their  wedding anniversary.

Everything seemed natural and without restraint.  Henry was delighted—he could not see any flaws in his wife’s mental action.  He told himself—it’s a miracle!.

To Dr. Anderson in St. Augustine he wrote, “I am surprised and need not say delighted at the outcome—it seems too good to be true.”

The next few weeks were great ones, especially for Henry who hadn’t been really happy since back in October. And Mamaroneck was unique.  It was a gated community by itself.  Henry had a number of fine trotting horses  for use of the two families and their guests `And there was a quarter mile  track for the horses.

Bicycle riding had also become a national craze And Henry had thoughtfully  given Mamaroneck a good supply of bicycles for both family clans and friends who visited.. So now he and Alice began bicycling  for at least 10 miles a day.

 For the month of June, Alice seemed to behave  like Henry remembered her.  She suggested that her husband sell the Fifth Avenue House—with all of the unpleasant memories of six months ago—so they could divide more of their time between Mamaroneck and St. Augustine.

But then, some guests arrived  and with no warning, Alice suddenly asked for a Ouija board.  And  immediately, she reverted to previous behaviors:  the Czar of Russia and Henry infidelities.  To Henry’s face, she still told him she  love him.

To Dr. Anderson in St. Augustine, Henry wrote, “It almost breaks my heart to write this sad news.  Please don’t mention it to anyone.”

Several months passed.  Alice got her Ouija board,  her mental equilibrium was completely destroyed and  she lost interest in events around her…In the next few months, Mamaronock was converted to a hospital with doctors and nurses,  disguised as friends of the family, attending to Alice around the clock.

Henry moved out of Mamaonock and into a New York apartment. 

On March 27, 1897,  Alice was committed again to the sanitarium.                                                                                                                                                                                                              

At the same time—and despite problems with Alice—Henry had to know, at all times, what was happening with “his job”. His workmen were laying tracks south of St. Augustine. . .Months later, the tracts reached   Daytona.

And once in a while Henry would ask himself, How much further south should I go?  Sometimes, he remembered that back in 1892, he got from the Florida legislature a charter for a railroad south to the Miami River.  We’ll never use it, he told himself once again--  but it’s nice to know we could  dust it off and use it if we ever wanted to, .

Then suddenly, Henry remembered passing a small—but attractive—hotel north of Daytona.  He went back and checked it out.  The price was right--—so he bought  it and he promptly added 100 rooms  and beautified the grounds.  It was his third hotel—the Ormand Beach Hotel.

 At the same time, Henry began dabbling in various ventures south of Daytona  there were orange groves, boats on the St. Johns River.  And new people wandered into town every day.  Soon, Henry started a model farm at San. Mateo.  He also decided to create good public relations—invitations went out to each resident of San Mateo—about 150 people—to invite them  to take a free train ride to St. Augustine and enjoy a free meal at the Ponce de Leon Hotel—and everything on the menu was available..

By now, the Flagler organization had a 1,500 man construction  crew laying tracts, first south to Rockledge, then to New Smyrna,  then to Titusville and finally to Cocoa.  On March 22, 1894, the tracts reached Lake Worth across from Palm Beach and Henry watched his first engine chug down the line and stop where the rails ended a mile west of Lake Worth.

Palm Beach was already a prosperous little community for the elite with several dozen  nice homes and with two leading citizens, Captain W. O. Porter and Robert A. McCormick—a member of  the Chicago Harvester Family.  For a few days, Flagler  wandered around Palm Beach—and  probably surprised himself:  he bought 2 tracts of land from McCormick on the east side of Lake Worth where he would build two more famous Hotels—the Royal Poinciana and Breakers—hotels that soon would be  #4 and 5.  And he announced work would start immediately on the Royal Poinciana.

West of Lake Worth, the situation was radically different.  There was not even a scattering of little houses. But that didn’t stop Flagler.  He bought  a huge tract of land from Captain Porter.. And almost immediately, he announced  he was starting a new town to be  known as West Palm Beach.

Fifteen years later—by 1909--- a new county— Palm Beach County-- was  carved from Dade County and by then, West Palm Beach had a population of  1,700 so WPB  became the County Seat.

But now, we are getting ahead of our story. . .

For the next 14 months, Flagler was busy building the 1,100 room  Royal Poinciana Hotel, the largest wooden  structure in the world and a the same time, starting to build  West Palm Beach but perhaps he was also asking himself the same question he had been asking  himself ever since he left Standard Oil—What Do I Do Next?

This time the answer was different—and no longer based on Flagler’s  own figures or experience—as in each case before.  This time,  the answer came from a very determined little lady Flagler had been avoiding (he didn’t even answer her letters) and she lived in that unincorporated, largely uninhabited area 90 miles south of Palm Beach known as” The Miami Area.”

The “very determined little lady” was Julia Tuttle.

Years before, Julia fell in love with the romantic idea of South Florida when her father, Ephean Sturtevant, moved there with William Brickell in1870.   And Sturtevant bought an orange grove and Brickell built his store which he called his “trading post.”. Back then,  Julia couldn’t leave Cleveland.   She had just married a wealthy steel mill owner Frederick Leonard Tuttle and Julia herself was a prominent Cleveland socialite.

Before long,  however, there were two deaths in the family—Julia’s husband and her father.  At the same time, Julia remembered  a 640 acre tract north of the Miami River that interested her—and she learned it was now for sale. Almost immediately, she decided she would sell the orange grove and the steel mill, move to the Miami Area and buy the 640 acre tract.

Julia also began dreaming of a large city which would rise some day from the jungle,  but the success of her dreams, she knew, depended upon some railroad connecting up with her area—and that would be either the South Florida Railroad in Central Florida or the Florida East Coast Railroad from Jacksonville to St Augustine. The FECRR was Julia’s first choice.  Henry Flagler was the owner, she learned..  He and Rockerfeller, she remembered,  once lived in Cleveland and she felt she knew them.  So she sent several letters to Flagler.  But Flagler did not reply.

Months later, Julia wrote to South Florida Railroad in Tampa.  She was delighted with a reply from James E. Ingraham, president of SFRR who offered to travel to Cleveland to discuss her ideas.  During his visit, she offered half of her lands to entice the railroad to extend their lines into the Miami Area.  Ingraham explained they might be interested.  They had completed their tracts from Sanford to Tampa.

Ingraham also explained that while he was president of the line, a Mr. Henry B. Plant actually owned the railroad.  He would talk with Plant as soon as he got back to Tampa.  And he would be in touch with her immediately after that.  Months later, Julia learned Ingraham was in the Everglades surveying for SFRR.

Julia thought she was handling everything judiciously.  She was also convinced she had an agreement with Ingraham.  She sold the foundry and grove and packed her bags.  And she left Cleveland.  On November 13,1881, Julia arrived on a barge with her two children and all possessions.  She moved into the Fort Dallas relic and began converting it into a charming home

Months later, Ingraham and his men stumbled out of the Everglades.  Julia wined and dined them and once again, Ingraham promised to contact Julia as soon as he talked with Henry Plant.

A month after that, Julia got the bad news.  Plant had rejected her offer.  Julia was surprised—then flabbergasted—and finally, heartbroken, but never discouraged.  Once again, Julia wrote letters to Flagler.  Then she went to Palm Beach to see him.  Nothing worked.

The winter of 1894-95 did for Julia Tuttle that which she was unable to do for herself.  A severe deep freeze hit Florida, decimating not only the orange crop but also the trees which were destroyed throughout Central Florida.  And for a change, Mr. Flagler was paying attention.

Once again, Julia went to Palm Beach, but this time, she carried along a bouquet of orange blossoms to prove that the Miami Area had been untouched by the deep freeze.  And Julia got two big surprises:  first, she was surprised to run into Ingraham ( of all people ) who, by now, was part of Flagler’s organization and second,  she was delighted that Flagler apparently wanted to talk.

While they were waiting for Flagler, Ingraham explained his own presence:  “Some months ago in Tampa,” he said, “and while I was waiting to see Mr. Plant, I got a call from Mr. Flagler who invited me to come to Palm Beach for a visit “any time.”I thanked him and promised I would visit Palm Beach someday.  Later, I saw Mr. Plant and we quarreled about the future of SFRR and suddenly, I just decided to resign and walk out.  The next day, I visited Mr. Flagler and he hired me.”

Let me explain:  At this moment, Ingram was probably “just a new man Flagler hired” but he and Flagler were “getting along just fine” and Ingraham would soon become President of the Model Land Company and be one of Mr. Flagler’s most powerful employees.  Now, let’s get back to our story...

Julia Tuttle quickly realized that Flagler had a completely different attitude .  Was it the newspaper reports he had been reading?  Or the bouquet of orange blossoms she brought him?” Or the “New prospective”  of James Ingraham?  Historians have no clues to help answer the question.. . . At the same time, many historians skip over a 4^th reason for Flagler’s newly expressed interest;  All along,  Flagler was thinking about THAT  exclusive franchise he bought some years ago which entitled him to receive from the Internal Improvement Fund lots for every mile of tracts he laid south of St. Augustine—and all the way to the Miami River. . .Then Flagler may also have had more second thoughts:  prices of Florida real estate is rising—because of what we are doing—so the lots we should be receiving are also getting more valuable. . . and couldn’t we extend the contract  from the Miami River all the way to Key West.?

At any rate,—Flagler, Tuttle and Ingraham sat down to a friendly—but serious-- talk.  Finally, it was decided that Ingraham should accompany Tuttle on her trip back to the Miami Area and that Ingraham  should prepare a report for Flagler.

Of course, Ingraham had already prepared a report for Henry Plant.  But this wasn’t good enough for Flagler.  He wanted a report signed by Ingrahm, as an employee of FECRR.

So Tuttle and Ingram went back to the Miami area, Ingraham prepared his report and gave it to Flagler and Flagler decided he wanted to see the Miami Area himself.

When Flagler arrived days later, with a small group, there was little more than several dozen houses to show him.  But Tuttle also took him to the Peacock Inn—the only restaurant nearby that would rate as a restaurant.  She showed him photographs that pioneer photographer Ralph Monroe had taken of the area. And, finally, William Brickell joined  the group , sweetening the deal by offering other lands south of the river and elsewhere.  Flagler was impressed.

Several weeks later, Flagler arrived, with another small group, to sign the agreement that created the embryo of today’s Greater Miami.  Unlike today’s documents for equally significant events, drawn up by a battalion of lawyers, this was just a simple statement, listing what each party agreed to.

Fortunately, Tuttle had had the land surveyed.  She gave the survey to Flagler. He and the group returned to Palm Beach and platted the entire area—first, the site for the railroad station and the rights of way for tracts, then the rest of the land in standard-sized city lots.  The lots were later divided by Flagler—then Tuttle,  selecting alternate strips of lots

Flagler also agreed to pave all streets (for properties Mrs. Tuttle kept as well as those owned by Flagler.  And he agreed to install curbs, gutters water mains, build a water plant and a hotel.

On April 15, 1896, the first train with a wood-burning engine chugged into the Miami Area.  Flagler planned a large celebration.  And he invited Plant.  According to the newspapers, Plant wired back, “Thanks.  But I wouldn’t know how to get there.”

Flagler, according to the newspapers, wired back directions, “Just go to Jacksonville and follow the crowd.

This exchange made good news print—and lots of conversations—whether or not it actually took place.

On July 28, 1896, the City was incorporated,  a City Council, seated and the name “Miami” adopted, all with 343 voters—many of them Flagler employees.

It is tragic that Julia Tuttle couldn’t live long enough to see here dream come true—a dream of “ a large city rising from a jungle”--but fate, at least, allowed her two years to see Miami off  to a very good start.  In the next two years, the Royal Palm Hotel and several other hotels and a water plant were built,, streets were paved, lots of new people arrived and the new city got its first bank, telephone and electric light companies, its first newspaper—The Metropolis, financed by Flagler—and a department store.

Of course, Miami also “enjoyed” its first real estate boom.  Only blocks from the Royal Palm Hotel, developers had constructed  poorly designed wood buildings to house Miami’s first businesses.  Then on Christmas Morning, 1896 a fire broke out in Brady’s Grocery.  The flames spread.  The entire town—including Julia Tuttle, her son and daughter—turned out to fight the blaze.  They were not successful.  Twenty eight businesses were lost.

Miami still recovered.  Soon, new residents, with architects were planning beautiful buildings to occupy the burned-out areas.  Soon Henry Flagler recognized the need for many things—schools, public buildings,  churches and a hospital.  Flagler provided land for the first school and built the building.  He also gave the City land for City Hall and to a new woman’s club, the land on Bayshore Drive for their building.

Julia Tuttle, an Episcopalian, became concerned that the nearest Episcopal church was in Coconut Grove.  Back then, that was miles away.  So she donated a lot on Bayshore. Drive.  And a fast-growing congregation finally built a charming  little frame building called Trinity Episcopal Church.  In the 1920’s, this building was replaced by today’s magnificent Italian Gothic Episcopal Cathedral. 

Finally, Henry Flagler realized “his” town needed a doctor and a hospital.  Of course, his railroad already had a doctor, Dr. James Jackson, So Flagler got another doctor for his railroad, sent Jackson to Miami and built a building for him.  Years later, that building was restored, moved to the campus of Jackson Memorial Hospital and named “The Alamo.

While all these things were happening, Mrs. Julia DeForest Sturtevent Tuttle fell ill.  Her trouble was diagnosed as meningitis.  Her  children made plans to move her to Ashville, North Carolina.  And Henry Flagler dispatched a special railroad car for the trip. But her condition worsened.  She couldn’t  make the move.  And she died September 14, 1898.  

The entire new city turned out for the funeral.  She was the 6^th person to be buried in the new cemetery and, of course,  she has a special place of honor there.   She is honored also by the Julia Tuttle  Causeway and by a statue in Bayfront Park—and especially, by a posterity that will know her as “The Mother of Miami. And at least she saw 2 very active years when her dreams started to fall in place.

In the mean time, the two areas—Miami and Palm Beach—were booming, the newspapers were specula-

ting—“What will Mr. Flagler Do Next/a.”  And Henry decided it was time for him to get all his own affairs in good shape.   First,  he put  civil engineers to work for a  feasibility study.  He wanted to know “everything” about a possible railroad to Key West.  Second, he wanted to severe his connections with Standard Oil. “and  third, he wanted a divorce from Alice.  All three turned out to be more complicated than he had thought.

Alice already had been declared several years before as a “chronic delusional insane person.”She already had guardians appointed by the courts. And Henry had already put in trust many millions of dollars of securities to take care of her years past her life expectancy..  But New York Laws did not include insanity as a ground for divorce.

Henry immediately changed his residency to Florida, then he sought in the Florida Legislature some changes in Florida’s laws—changes that then, passed and were signed by the governor.  At this point, Henry filed for a divorce and the newspapers of Florida had a field day which continued for weeks.

The divorce was granted August 13, 1901

In the mean time, the divorced  Mrs. Flagler  was submerged in her own delusions with no thoughts of her own wealth, her relatives or friends  (Physically, she was in good health—until July 10,1930 when she died of a cerebral hemorrhage)

Seven days after the divorce was granted, however—and on August21, 1901—newspapers had another field day, announcing Mr. Henry M. Flagler’s engagement to Miss Mary Lily Kenan.

The newspapers gleefully pointed out that this was a match between the twice-married,  seventy-one-year old Flagler and a thirty-four-year old North Carolina belle.  The papers identified the Kenan family as “large and old and distinguished”  The public got the idea the Kenans  didn’t have a lot of money.  It wasn’t necessary to tell anyone that Mr. Flagler had a lot of money.

The Kenan Family had a suggestion:  If Henry released information on Alice,  the public—and the newspapers might be satisfied.  So Henry listed the various  securities that the trustees had , their income  and total sanitarium expenses, and these were published in the newspapers. The annual income from the securities was $120,000;  Alice’s expenses at the sanitarium were $15,600 per year But both—the newspapers and public wanted still more information.

Winding up Henry’ relations with Standard Oil were also involved.  More than anything else, Henry wanted to keep his good relations with John D. Rockerfeller and that was accomplished—however, when Henry started building the Ponce de Leon Hotel, Rockefeller brought John Dustin Archebold into the

Company to take over Henry’s jobs.  For a while, the Federal government still- required Henry  testify several times about Standard Oil;  This stopped in 1892 when the Standard Oil Trust was dissolved by the U. S. Supreme Court..  And Henry  kept for a while his Standard Oil Company  office, with a secretary, at 140 Pearl Street in New York.  After all, he was the Vice President until 1908 and a member of the Board of Directors until 1911

Henry’s last railroad construction was the overseas extension from Miami to Key West. It was also his most expensive and most daring—and possibly the one that got the most public attention.

The project cost $20,000,000, it operated for somewhat more than twenty years, but it was never a paying proposition.  It still aroused Flagler friends who advised  him  against building the extension and Flagler critics who chided him for spending so much.  In the end, his desire to have a magnificent monument to his achievement prompted him to go ahead.

Flagler was growing old when he started the extension. And he had already spent a fortune on Florida.

It was unusual for a man of his age and under the circumstances to attempt such a mission. However, and as the road neared completion, he became even more interested in seeing it completed. And his employees were spurred on to do almost super-natural thing to please the boss.

The idea of a railroad from Florida to Key West was nothing new. Back in 1831, s Key West newspaper suggested such a project in its report to Congress.  In the 1890’s, Florida’s Internal Improvement Fund hired engineers to study such a product.  The residents of Key West were among the most enthusiastic.  And the farmers of South Dade promoted the idea: it would make easier—and less expensive-- shipping their products elsewhere.

Flagler was in no hurry.  He wanted to know everything he needed to know. But he was also listening to all the conversation about the Panama Canal, trade with Central America and Key West becoming a major city and he built his first hotel outside of America—the British Colonial in Nassau.

By the fall of1904,  Henry became serious about building the extension.  And at the same time, he began building tracks south from Miami, through farm lands.  But he was undecided about the route  Should his railroad tracts run from Homestead south and a little east to Key Largo or should they run due west to Cape Sable. After much study, they selected the Key Largo route. 

Some of the other problems were even more troublesome and expensive.  There was the problem of labor—the need for adequate supplies of drinking water—getting numerous new equipment—the weather—and providing living quarters for the workmen. And how to span large areas of deep water with tremendous currents..And what about hurricanes?  In 1904, there was one hurricane;  in 1906, there were 2; in 1910, there was 1.

From the start, the objective was to complete the 156 miles of track by January 2, 1912 as a Birthday present for Henry Flagler.  They didn’t quite make it.  On the 2nd, there was still some work to finish—and some inspections to make. Mr. Flagler was 82 on that date.

Two weeks later—on the afternoon of January 21, 1912, the bridge foreman closed the cross-over span at Knights Key trestle.  It was the last link in the line connecting the Overseas Road with the mainland.  Soon a pilot train rushed down the tacks.  When it reported the entire road was in prime condition,  the second wood-burning engine with Mr. Flagler’s private car and several hundred VIPs headed for Key West.

The first official train to cross the extension arrived at Key West on January 22, 1912 at 10;43 A. M.  Ten thousand residents of Key West plus thousands from elsewhere waiting.  Some of the crowd had never before seen a locomotive,  They all cheered and threw up balloons.  The Miami Herald enthusiastically led termed the event” The Eighth Wonder of the World.”

Other “First Trains” arrived after in the day.  The Celebrations continued for three days including bands,  coral groups from Key West and Miami and speeches by Key West Mayor J. N. Fogarty, Governor Grover Gilcrist of Florida, Robert Shaw Oliver, Secretary of War, representing President William Howard Taft,  General Jose Marti, representing President Gomez of Cuba.

For the first ceremonies, Flagler found his way to the observation platform.  At first, he enthusiastically  greeted people,  but his eyes soon seemed to blur and someone brought a seat for him to sit. With his last big job completed, he could relax

But Key Wet did not grow into the great city that so many had expected back then.  And the Key West Extension  never got the business that Flagler had expected.

On Labor Day, 1935, a strong hurricane lashed the Florida Keys.  Miles of embankment were washed away.  And the track in many areas was left torn and twisted. The Florida East Coast Railroad had survived the Depression but it could not afford to make the repairs.

The State of Florid decided it would buy the railroad and it built the Overseas Highway.

Fortunately for Mr. Flagler, he did not live to know these last 2 events.  In 1913 he fell down the marble steps at Whitehall, never recovered from the fall and died on May 20^th.

Fortunately also, he had had nearly 13 happy yeas of married life with Mary Lily Kenan family.  Together they enjoyed the social life that he had enjoyed with Mary Flagler and wanted to find the same enjoyment with his second wife.  One of the many accomplishments of the era was Henry’s joining with the Kenan family for spectacular gifts to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill where today, the top-ranked Kenan-Flagler Business School is named in their honor;  the magnificent Kenan Football Stadium is named for the family, including William Kenan, one of Henry Flagler’s engineers.

Mary Lily Kenan Flagler had problems after Henry died and she married a supposed “old Friend”, Robert Worth Bingham who used an inheritance from her to buy the Louisville Courier-Journal newspaper.  In the 1980’s, following her death and attempts by the Bingham family to sell the newspaper, several books surfaced, questioning whether Mary Lily died a normal death—or was it murder?

Henry Flagler is entombed in the Flagler family mausoleum at the Memorial Presbyterian Church in St. Augustine along with his first wife.

In 1918 when Miami City Commissioner Joseph F. Chaille was figuring out the quadrant system we use today,  he decided the street,  then known as 12h street, was a good street to separate north from south

And it would probably  be our main street—so he renamed it “Flagler” in memory of Henry Flagler.  During the Boom Years of the 1920’s developer Carl Fisher dredged up an island in Biscayne Bay between the McArthur and Venetian Causeway and put a Flagler memorial on it.  In St Augustine, there is a statue of Flagler in front of the Flagler College—formerly the Ponce de Leon Hotel.  There is also a Flagler Hospital in St. Augustine,  a Flagler County, Florida, a Flagler Beach, Florida. And a Flagler,. Colorado.

In Palm Beach, Henry’s residence, is open to the public as the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum and his private railcar No. 91 is preserved in side  a Beaux Arts pavilion to built to look like a 19^th century  railway palace.  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                       

Note; the next post well be “WHY DO THEY CALL IT CORAL GABLES?”

WHY DO THEY CALL IT FLAGLER STREET PART ONE

By Wellborn Phillips Jr.

Henry M, Flagler, for whom the Street is named, is known as The Father of Miami.  By bringing his railroad to the Miami Area, Flagler triggered the City’s birth and started its fantastic development from wilderness to metropolis in little more than a “mere 100 years.”

Historians tell us the discovery of Florida in 1513 by Ponce de Leon is one of history’s important events.  That may be so.  But it is also possible that the rediscovery of Florida in 1883 by Henry Flagler was even more significant. This post —and the chapter in the book that will follow-- are Mr. Henry M. Flagler’s story.

In 1883 (Before Flagler), Florida was still the least of the 38 American sates with only a few sleepy little towns.  There was little industry.  And the State’s total population was less than 300,000 persons.

 After Flagler arrived, more happened to Florida than had happened in the preceding 370 turbulent years under the Spanish, French, English, the Confederacy and the Americans.

 Under Flagler, the entire area from Jacksonville to Key West came alive.  Flagler roused “the sleepy little towns” from their lethargy.  He built others “from scratch” and with his railroad and a string of hotels Henry Flagler pushed the entire State of Florida into the 20^th Century!

Henry Flagler “put Florida (and Miami) on the map!”

For generations, Henry’s forefathers  named Flegler had owned farms near Franconia in the German Palatnate. In 1708 troops of Louis XIV forced many, including Zacharra  Flegler, to flee with wives and children to England.  Two years later, and with the help of the English government, a fleet of small ships carried the Fleglers, and others, to America.  They settled in the Hudson River Valley.  All of the Fleglers were hard-working , serious people with an aversion toward frivolity and alcohol.

In Florida’s Flagler, Sidney Walter Martin tells us what happened next to the Fleglers—or Flaglers..  First,   all of the males proved they were prolific.  All were married three times.   And Zacharra’s third wife gave him the third child.  Today, all the Flaglers in America are descended from one of the three children:  Philip Solomon, Simon or (the second) Zacharra.

The second generation was the largest—the second Zacharra had an almost hard-to believe sixteen children.  Zacharras fourth child, Solomon, was not as prolific as his father—he only had eleven children-- but Solomon also had two other claims to fame: he was the one responsible for changing the family name to Flagler. And the fifth child to Solomon and his wife, Esther Ostron, was Isaac, the father of Henry Flagler.   

Two of the men—the second Zacharra and Solomon also are credited with establishing the Flagler Family as a large, prominent New York Family—even before Henry M. Flagler arrived with still other attributes.

Isaac spent his early life at Pleasant Valley, Ohio, where some of the family had moved.  He was a farmer.  And he had no formal education.  But he was considered a well-read man.  He had also received a call to preach and was ordained a Presbyterian minister.  Before he moved, he married his childhood sweetheart, Jayne B. Ward.  They were happily married for 10 years.  Then Jayne died. But there were no children to keep him in Pleasant Valley.

When he got a call from Milton, New York, Isaac accepted it and moved there and immediately, he met one of the parishioners, Ruth Deyo Smith.  They were married months later and had one child, Anne Caroline.  Then, Mrs. Flagler died.  For the second time, Isaac was widowed-- and this time, with a young daughter.

Fortunately, Isaac soon met a young widow, Elizabeth Caldwell Harkness.  After a short courtship, they married.  Elizabeth had also been married two times.  Her first husband was Hugh Morrison.  Her second husband was David Harkness, a physician, and they had one son, Daniel Hartness.

  The Hartneses were a large, prominent, wealthy Ohio family that would play big roles in the lives of both boys, Dan and Henry—but  especially,  in the life of the future Henry Flagler.

Isaac and Elizabeth started their new married life with a family of four--the son, Dan and the daughter, now called “Carrie”   Before long, Isaac got another call—this time, to Hopewell, New York-- and they moved there.  A year later—on January 2, 1830-- Henry Flagler was born.  He was named Henry for one of Isaac’s brothers and given the middle name Morrison for Elizabeth’s first husband.  Early in life, young Flagler discarded the middle name and started using the initial “M” instead.

When Henry was born, Carrie was 5 years old and Dan was 8-- but that was no problem. The baby fascinated the two older children and he took a fancy to them.  All three would remain friends for life.  As Dan grew older, however, he became restless with peace and quiet of Hopewell.  But his mother wanted him to stay at home for awhile.

In 1837, Isaac was called to a church on the outskirts of Toledo.  .And he accepted.  By then, Dan was 15 years old and a relative of his mother, who owned a store in Bellview, Ohio, Chapman and Harkness, had offered to employ him.  After more family discussions, Isaac and Elizabeth decided that when they moved with Carrie and Henry to the Toledo Area, Dan could go to Bellview.

Eventually, the family moved to the Toledo Area.  And Dan got the job in Bellview,   But 2 years later, Dan got an even better job in Republic and he began writing vivid letters home, describing experiences-- first in Bellview, then in Republic.  And each letter made his younger half brother more envious.

Young Henry Flagler began asking himself—why can’t I be doing the same things Dan is doing?

Henry Flagler finally finished 8^th grade, then, he dropped out.  He dearly loved his parents.  But he didn’t like what he saw at home and became impatient with poverty.  He watched his father working hard for long hours—but pay was little for part time farmers and part time preachers.  And he was sad to realize his father’s total income from both professions wouldn’t take care of family needs.

 Henry quickly began rejecting for himself a future like his father’s.   He told himself he was going to make money—and lots of it.  He tried working odd jobs, and then he was a deckhand on an Erie Canal boat.  Nothing satisfied him.. And he decided he would have to leave home if he ever was going to make money—he was sure of that!. To get started, he would have to walk the 9 miles to Medina.

Sixty eight years later, Henry M. Flagler, surrounded by VIP’s, relaxed in his private car, on the Florida East Coast Railroad’s first train to chug into Key West.  They were actually celebrating two monumental Flagler achievements:  first, the completion of the Overseas Railroad into Key West and at  the same time, everything else—all the other Flagler activities—the railroad from Jacksonville to Miami, the fine hotels along the way, the “new towns” that were created—all things that had brought  Florida into the 20^th Century. 

By then—January 22, 1912--, Flagler was a very old man-with less than 3 years to live.   He was respected—if not loved—as one of America’s best known personalities.  After all, he was the developer of Florida.  Others could not forget, however, his 14 years before that, when Henry Flagler was making his fortune with John D. Rockefeler.  Back then, Flagler was a Robber Baron, forcing profitable companies into bankruptcy so he could buy them cheap..

Of course, None of these things would have happened if a 15-year old lad had not decided to leave home and walk 8 miles to Medina,  Ohio

But now, we are getting ahead of our story. . .

Yes, young Flagler walked the 8 miles to Medina—but he didn’t stop there.  He kept walking—and finally, he joined his half brother, Dan Harkness, who was working for the wealthy uncle, Lamon Harkness  in Republic.  Dan introduced Henry to Lamon and Lamon hired him.

 Once again the 8- year differences in their ages didn’t matter to Dan.  Henry was thrilled to be treated as an equal.  And conditions were brutal.  During the most bitter nights of an Ohio winter,  Dan had been content to just curl up on the floor of the store near a wood burning stove and go to sleep.  Henry was happy to do the same thing.

 Before Henry arrived in Republic, Lamon had found Dan was a terrific salesman and he had promoted him several times.  Now, young Henry was equally good at sales—perhaps even better.  So he began giving both boys equal promotions at the same time.

Lamon had a very successful, large store in Republic, and he also had interests in a distillery which produced various alcohol products.It is fortunate that young Henry was able to keep under control his puritanical conscience as far as liquor was concerned--(his puritan conscience, of course, was -inherited from both Zachariahs, Solomon and Isaac) –but now, Henry conveniently forgot about all that—and for two good reasons:   commissions were the highest for alcohol products and Henry wanted to make a lot of Money.  Nothing else was that important!

Several years later, the Civil War broke out.  Dan went into the army.  Hartness made Henry a partner and he also had a daughter named Mary Hartness..  In the next several years, Henry made a fortune for Hartness (and himself) and he married Mary Hartness.   

What followed was the only business failure in Henry Flagler’s long life. In 1862, Henry sold for $50,000 his interests in Hartnes’s company.  He and Mary then moved to Saginaw, Michigan.   And there, they sank all of the $50,000 into salt wells—then considered a prime, safe get-rich-quick scheme.  Two years later, the Civil War ended, salt prices plunged and Henry was bankrupt.

Henry and Mary moved back to Ohio—but this time it was to Cleveland.  And there they met two young men, John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews who had just formed a partnership so they could pioneer    another new, speculative industry known as “petroleum.”  Andrews was a chemist, Rockefeller, the general manager—also in charge of promoting and merchandizing.

Henry could hardly believe what was happening:  only a year before, he detested “that dark green, smelly substance” that seeped into perfectly good salt wells and “spoiled everything;” now, he was listening-- and fascinated--as Andrews and Rockefeller discussed their plans.

  “Petroleum is no longer worthless,” Rockefeller and Andrews told him.  “Of course, for a long time, it’s been bottled and sold as ‘American Medical Oil’  Also, it’s a substitute for whale oil in lamps.”  Then Andrews went on to explain,” The person who figures out all the chemistry will make a lot of money—how to separate the kerosene for the lamps, the gasoline and all the lubricants.”  And he seemed to indicate that HE was working on such a process.

Then Rockefeller told them about his own plans—all the money that could be made by forcing the competition into bankruptcy, then buying them out and getting kickbacks from railroads.  And he ended his discussion with the statement, “Of course, it will take a lot of money!”

Henry and Mary just agreed that indeed it would take a lot of money!  Some others just nodded agreement.  Others  just walked off.  And hours later, when Henry and Mary were alone, Mary had an idea:  “My Cousin, Stephen Harkness might be interested in something like that. Why don’t we talk with him?”                 

And talk with Stephen they DID!  And Stephen was Interested

Then Henry told Rockerfeler about Steven.  Rockerfeller and Steven got together. 

According to Florida’s Flagler by Sidney Walter Martin, “Rockefeller immediately went to see Harkness and within an hour Harkness agreed to put $100,000 in the business with the understanding that Henry M. Flagler would have complete control of the investment.  As far as Rockfelleer was concerned, it was a perfect arrangement.  He was thoroughly familiar with Flagler’s ability as a business man and had already talked with him about joining the firm.”

The Rockefellerer—Flagler discussions, before then, were premature—Rockefeller needed the money above all.  Now, with Harkness—and $100,000—every-thing was possible!)

At the time, Flagler had already recouped from the Saginaw ‘desaster’ but just the same, he was still “delighted to enter the oil company with Rockerfeller.  It meant that not only Harkness but also Rockefeller had complete faith in him. With Flagler in the business, Rockefeller tapped the Harkness treasury chest several times later and he also—always-- got everything he wanted.”

“In 1867 The partnership of Rockefeler, Andrews and Flagler was formed which marked the beginning of a petroleum oligarchy which lasted for several years.  Stephen Harness remained a silent partner of the new firm to the end,, leaving all interests in the hands of his kinsman.  Flagler worked well with Rockefeller in the organization and handling of the business.  William Rockefeller, who had been sent to New York, did very little of the partnership planning.  Samuel Andrews remained busy at his job of superintending the refinery.   It was the embryo from which the Standard Oil Company mushroomed in the next 30 years into America’s foremost industrial giant--many thanks to the scientific discoveries by Andrews and the brilliant—but ruthless-- schemes of Rockefeller and Flagler.”

 For years, Flagler was Rockefeller’s closest and most respected associate. They were a great team. They

lived just down the street from one another in Cleveland, they walked to and from work  together. For years, the two men worked in the same office and their desks were only feet apart.  Flagler was nine years older than Rockefeller but it almost seemed there was an almost perfect understanding between them (on almost everything.)”

According to Florida’s Flagler, “Rockefeller, Andrews and Flagler decided to incorporate their partnership in 1869 because they needed more capital to accomplish all they had planned.  It is safe to say that Henry M. Flagler conceived the plan for incorporation.  Later when John D. Rockefelleller was asked if the Standard Oil Company was the result of his thinking, he answered, “No, sir, I wish I had the brains to think of it.  It was Henry M. Flagler.”

Rockereller thought at first the idea of incorporating was farfetched, and that it probably would not work. But Flagler proved to him that they could not continue to expand without incorporation.  And the seize of the corporation made it possible to do business beyond the ability of smaller businesses. They could control their volumes of oil production in dealing with the railroads on rebates; in cases where they were seeking to buy a competitor; they could give the seller three choice s: you can continue competition with us or sell for either cash or Standard Oil stock.  Many of those that settled for cash would soon be getting very antagpnistic toward the relatively new corporation—those that selected stock in Standard Oil Company were very happy..  

At this point, let’s recognize there were three separate—and different—periods in the life of Henry Flagler.  The first began when he left home and walked the 8 miles to Medina.  He kept traveling until he joined his half-brother, and then, worked hard enough to earn a small fortune for Laman Hartness (and a fortune  for himself), then, he married Mary Hartness, the boss’s daughter.  Finally, he sold his own interest in Hartness’s business because he thought he would make an even larger fortune with the salt mine.    These were all steps that Zacharaih, Solomon, and Isaac probably would have approved. And this was the First Period of Henry Flagler’s life. 

The second period of Henry Flagler’s life begins in 1867 almost immediately after Stephen Hartness invested the $100,000 and Henry Flagler became a full partner with John D. Rockerfeller and Samuel Andrews. During the next 20 years, Henry was not only working harder then he had ever worked before, but he was guided by Rockerfeller into whatever the two decided was necessary to make a fabulous amount of money.  And for the next 20 years, the plans, programs and actions of Rockefeller and Flager produced more purchases and combinations and kicki-backis.

During the mid 1870’s the public became inflamed with new corporations and the tactics of the oil companies.  There was much conversations by state organizations, President Ulysses S. Grant (who also had other problems of his own) who talked a lot and did nothing, and finally the House of Representatives convened an investigation that accomplished nothing.

In the mean time, Willliam Rockerfeller had had considerable successes getting new European customers.  It was decided this could best be handled from New York.  In 1877,  William Rockfeller and part of the Company’s Headquarters moved to New York and Henry and Mary moved with them.

 About this same time, Henry began spending less and less time with the Company and more and more time with his wife, Mary Flagler.  Mary Flagler had always been delicate.  Now, her health was failing.  In 1880, Henry took her to Jacksonville, Florida.  Both were impressed with the balmy weather. . . and planned to return. ..But it was not to be.  Mary Flagler died, in May, 1881               

Almost immediately, Henry Flagler began a self imposed gradual retirement from Standard Oil.  At the same time his relations with Rockefeller remained as cordial as ever—and the value of Henry Flagler’s large ownership of Standard Oil stock continued to skyrocket in value year after year.

Just the same, It was not a pleasant time to be a key person in the Company or even to own Standard Oil stock.  On January 2, 1882, the Standard Oil Company directors decided to change the corporate organization to include a new entity called the Standard Oil Trust.

  The public had had a difficult enough job understanding the new (to them) corporations and this had led to years of investigations.  With the Trust, the investigations turned into a hurricane with all key Standard Oil people—including Henry Flagler—required to testify—while he was also trying at the same time to move ahead with retirement.

In the mean time—and before long, society in New York and Newport had something new to talk about.  Henry Flagler was escorting Ida Alice Shrouds around town.  No one was pleased.  Ida had been Mary Flagler’s practical nurse.  Before that, she was an unsuccessful actress in Hollywood and elsewhere.  She had a terrible personality—she was moody, had little education, but a violent temper and had no admirers or close friends.  Her only qualification:  Henry Flagler thought she was beautiful and he was in love with her.

They were married June 5, 1883.  During the next six months, Ida kept New York –and Newport--agog while she acquired one of the world’s best, most extensive wardrobes.

Since the trip to Jacksonville in 1880 with Mary, Henry had wanted to explore Florida further—so that’ exactly where Henry went with Ida—on their honeymoon in 1883.  This time, however, he went further south to St Augustine.

In 1883, St. Augustine was a small run-down little town with a fantastic history—but nothing else—no restaurants—no hotels—but it was still charming. . .and Henry became obsessed with the idea it just might be a good place to retire—or perhaps,  to build a really first-class hotel

During the next year, Henry decided what he really wanted to do.  In March of 1885, he and Ida returned to St. Augustine.  And he bought the land for the first of his famous hotels. . . and the work progressed rapidly.

Construction actually started on the Ponce de Leon Hotel December 1, 1885.  It was a mammoth structure which covered most of the 5-acre tract and eventually would cost $2,500,000.   There were all the embellishments of Spanish architecture—the fountains, Medieval towers, balconies, courtyards with tropical plantings. 

Verandas  ran along the streets on both sides.  There were 450 guest rooms, elegantly furnished and steam-heated—a novelty in Florida—back then.  On the ground floor was a gigantic lobby (referred to as “a grand parlor”   with marble staircase leading to the dining room.  Florida had never seen anything like this.

For the grand opening, January 10, 1888,   there was a band imported from New York and hundreds of visitors—many of them quite famous.  Some like Mrs. Benjamin Harrison, the wife of the President, sent a representative while still another group got reservations for a future date.  From the start, the Ponce de Leon Hotel was one of the Great Hotels of the World.

By then, the Flaglers decided they liked St. Augustine so much that they would build their own home there.  Kirkside, as it was called, was only blocks from the Ponce de Leon Hotel.  It was a handsome 2-story colonial structure with 15 rooms designed for winter living and extensive entertaining.  Each bedroom had a connecting bath and dressing room

For two years, Life was good for both Flaglers-- except for the times Henry had to attend one of those hearings. His wealth was ballooning each year thanks to his many shares of Standard Oil stock that he owned And Ida entertained extensively.  She was fascinated with the idea she was married to a very wealthy man. And both enjoyed marred life.  

At the same time, Henry developed interest in things that had never interested him before.  First he noticed that St. Augustine streets weren’t paved, so he paved them; then he learned that the city hall and the city hospital had inadequate buildings so he built new buildings for them and gave them to the City; then he did something that no one had ever done before in the South-- he built a school house for negroes; And finally, Henry put sewers throughout the area, built water and electric plants—and gave them to the City

. 

Many people believe that at one time, Henry Flagler had no plans what-so-ever  beyond the building of the Ponce de Leon Hotel—but when the hotel was finished, he went ahead with the local improvements, and when he finished these,  he was “hooked”—one thing led to another. 

Flagler’s guests at the Ponce de Leon needed better transportation.  There was no bridge across the St. Johns River and only narrow-gauge railroads south of that.  So Mr. Flagler built a bridge across the St. Johns, then he bought the railroads and re-built them.  Later, when there was a demand for a less expensive hotel in St. Augustine, he built the Alcazar Hotel next door to the Ponce de Leon.

Before Henry Flagler, there had been little interest in any Florida land—or anything else in the state.   Much of it was considered worthless.  But now—beginning in1888—incredible news from St. Augustine was the chief topic of conversations.  Now, there was a frenzy of activity—including rumors-- EVERYWHERE!

What would Mr. Flagler do next?

This is the end of WHY DO THEY CALL IT FLGLER STREET?—Number One.  Next week, Number Two will pick up where we left off—to answer the question, what will Mr. Flagler do next?  Number Two will cover the rest of Mr. Flagler’s life and tell the exciting story how he put Florida into the 20^th Century and started Miami on the way to greatness.

Please join us!

WHY DO THEY CALL IT DADE COUNTY

By Wellborn Phillips Jr.

During the 308 years between the discovery of Florida by Ponce de Leon in 1513 and America’s purchase  in 1821, there had been  only 3 successful—and still small attempts to colonize—at St. Augustine, on the Panhandle,  and a village on Key West..  At the same time, Florida had acquired a reputation for being “remote” and having  hurricanes and heat, Indians, alligators and mosquitoes.

Just the same, several dozen  hearty individuals—largely Bahamians—disregarded Florida’s reputation  and  wanted to get away from the autocratic English.  So they trickled into Florida and  built homes—and farms—in some of those “remote” locations scattered across the map.  Some of them even got grants from the Spanish Crown.

The sale of Florida to America prompted more action in the next few years than it had seen in the previous 308.  The Adams-Onis Treaty transferred ownership to America, but  also required America to appoint a commission to study and ratify legitimate individual claims to Florida lands based upon Grants from the Spanish Crown. To qualify for consideration, the Bahamians—and possibly others—had to register with the commission.  Today, we do not know how they even learned of the requirement, or how they qualified, but we know that three groups got a clear title to their properties originating with the Spanish Crown.

One of the groups owned land on Key Biscayne.  We’ll discuss that some other time and spend our time today on the mainland properties.  One property on the mainland extends one square mile north of the Miami River, known as the James Eagan Donation.  Today it is Downtown Miami—the property Julia Tuttle bought and Henry Flagler helped to develop and sell.

  The other tract is a long strip of land south of the river that extends along Biscayne Bay into Coconut Grove.  This was a group of Donations owned by various members of the Lewis Family. Today, it houses a spectacular collection of office buildings, apartment buildings and condos.  Its southern tip is the land where Vizcaya was built.

When the American committee finished its work and the owners titles were verified, all three got a clear title going back to the Spanish Crown—and the rest of the land was in the public domain.

 In 1822, an Act of Congress created a Legislative Council of 13 people to be elected from Districts.  It also instructed the President to appoint the Governor.   President Monroe immediately appointed William P. Duval from Virginia.  At the same time, Monroe ordered Duval to pacify the Indians.  In the mean time,

 the newly organized government in Tallahassee was busy organizing itself.  When this was finished, it organized the first five counties in North Florida—where the population was –Escambia, St, Johns, Jackson, Duval and Gadsen.

Almost immediately, the Legislative Council realized that a  6^th area—South Florida, the Keys and Key West, with a lot less population, was rapidly spiraling out of control and also badly needed a government. In 1823, the Legislative Council created a new—a GIGANTIC sixth county-- named it Monroe County for the President and designated Key West as the County Seat

Monroe County was indeed “a gigantic sixth county” It included not only Key West and the Florida Keys and all of the land that is now Dade County but it extended north to Charlotte Harbor on the Gulf Coast and to Hillsboror Inlet on the East Coast.

While all this new activity was taking place, Governor Duval was holding a conference with the Indians and it was widely believed they would be content with extensive new lands in the West.  It was also believed there would be a big influx of new settlers.  Both beliefs turned out wrong:  the Indians were unhappy with their new status and “the new activity” attracted only 3 men—Richard Fitzpatrick, Jacob Houseman and a famous horticultist Dr. Henry Perrine.

Richard Fitzpatrick, originally from Columbia, South Carolina was a young man with unlimited energies.  At first, he tried making salt.  But he did better at politics.  He was elected to the Key West City Council, then appointed Clerk of the Circuit Court, a member of the Grand Jury and a deputy Auctioneer.  The first street in Key West is named for him.  Finally he was elected to the Territorial Legislative Council.  But above all, his ambition was to be a gentleman farmer.

In the mean time, Jacob Houseman had arrived at Indian Key from Staten Island in a boat stolen from his father.  For a while, he appeared to be the most promising of the three men.  He built a large, fine home for himself, then built other homes for sale, developed lots, got Indian Key declared a port of entry so he could challenge Key West for some of the wrecking business.  Finally, he built stores, a hotel and even a billiard parlor.

In the mean time, James Eagan was getting tired of the uneventful life he was living in Key West.  He heard about Indian Key and he decided he would move to the Big City.  He placed an ad in the Key West newspaper, offering his land for sale.  Fitzpatrick saw the ad, bought Eagans 640 acres for $400, then bought the other three tracts for $1,840.

Fitzpatrick began improving his empire.  He built 20 buildings near the mouth of the River including quarters for 60 slaves.  He extended Eagan’s groves and coconut plantation.  By this time, Fitzpatrick had been elected to the Territorial Legislative Council.  So he got two assistants to help him:  James Wright and Stephen Mallory. (Years later, Mallory would have a distinguished life,  first, as a U. S. Senator and later, during the Civil War, as Secretary of the Navy for the Confederacy.)

In 1830, the first Federal Census identified a total population for Florida of 34,730 people.

Early in 1836, the Legislative Council was scheduled to meet with Fitzpatrick as a chairman who was not averse to using his new powers.  The agenda was settled—they would also create a new county from the eastern half of Monroe and Indian Key was to be the County Seat—and the new county was to be named Pinckney,  a distinguished name in South Carolina..  But Fitzpatrick didn’t know that the history of Florida

was destined to be written elsewhere for the next eight years.

Back in 1823, Governor Duval, at the command of President Monroe had convened a group of Seminole chiefs and got their signatures on the Treaty of Moultrie Creek which required all the Indians to leave Florida and move out West. In the three years that followed, most of the chiefs that signed the Treaty were replaced by younger man who were determined to fight. And the Second Seminole war was about to start.

On December 28, 1835, two infantry companies commanded by Major Francis Langhorne Dade were moving from Fort King near Tampa Bay to northeast Florida when they were ambushed by a large band of Indians near the present site of Bushnell.  Only 3 men escaped and related what happened; 108 men, including Major Dade, were killed.

Major Dade was immediately declared a hero and history books started telling us this was the spark that started  the Second Seminole Indian War.  A short time later, the Legislative Council met and created the new county as planned.  But instead of naming it Pinckney, as their chairman had decided, they outvoted him and named it for America’s most-recent hero, Major Francis Langhorne Dade.

The new county was almost wiped out before it got started.  The Indians, led by Chekika, attacked Indian Key,  destroying Housman’s little settlement and killing Dr. Perrine who was visiting there.  The Indians then moved to the Miami Area, burning the Key Biscayne Light House, then looting and destroying the Fitzpatrick Plantation.  Sometime later, Fitzpatrick sold his plantation and other properties to his nephew, William F. English, for $16,000.

English has two claims to fame.  First, he platted part of the plantation south of the river as The Village of Miami, becoming the first to use the name in its present form and to refer to an area on land.  But his efforts otherwise were not successful.  He could find only two customers for his lots.  Second, in 1844, he was elected a Dade County Senator and he guided a bill through the Legislature, moving the county seat from nearly burned out Indian Key to the village of Miami

In 1849. English learned about gold in California and moved there.  Five years later, he accidentally shot and killed himself.  For the next 10 years, little happened in the Miami Area.  During the Civil War 

(1861-65) a Federal blockade cut off communication with the outside world.

In 1865, thousands of Carpetbaggers arrived.  The Freeman’s Bureau had plans to convert South Florida into a “Little Liberia” using the Homestead Act to give 160 acres of land to each of the 60,000 freed slaves they hoped to settle here.  But the plan never got off the ground.  Fortunately, the two men the Bureau sent to implement the program—William Gleason and William H. Hunt—were too interested—and busy—with their own plans.

Gleason from New York was 36 years old but he had already made a substantial fortune , founding the town of  Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  And he was president of the Bank there.  But greed led to shady deals.  The bank failed, Then he met a group of Radical Republicans who convinced him that The South during Reconstruction was HIS Land of Opportunity.  In 1866, Gleason arrived in a schooner which he anchored off of Key Biscayne.  It was called “The Ark” because it had so many people and things aboard—Gleason, his wife, and 2 sons, Hunt and his wife, but also a wide assortment of equipment, seeds, food, books, and even a printing press.  They moved into English’s old Ft. Dallas building.  And Gleason departed, leaving Hunt in charge.

In Tallahassee, Gleason teamed up with a previously unknown person named Harrison Read who was running for Governor.   And he got Read to agree to him joining the ticket as Lieutenant Governor.  What happened—they won—convinced  Gleason that Florida during Reconstruction was indeed a Land of Opportunity

 But being Lieutenant Governor wasn’t enough for the ambitious Gleason.  Before long, Gleason  engineered impeachment proceedings  against Reed, declared himself governor, stole the State Seal and set up an office for himself across the street.

For a while, Florida had 2 people, each claiming to be Governor of Florida.  Eventually, the State Supreme Court declared Reed the lawful Governor, the State Senate impeached Gleason.  It declared Gleason did not have the residency required in the State Constitution.

Gleason was not dismayed.  While he was still Lt. Governor, he had formed the Southern Inland Navigation & Improvement Company.  And already he had started buying State lands (which Gleason himself—as either Governor—or Lt. Governor had declared were “swamp lands.”) That designation, by himself, is all Gleason needed to enable himself to buy any government-owned lands anywhere in Florida    

for 6 cents an acre. And Gleason was rapidly becoming a major property owner.

In 1869, Gleason moved back to Miami where he had plenty of cronies.  He was immediately appointed County Clerk, County Surveyor, Tax Assessor and member of the School Board.  (This last job seemed especially strange because in 1869, Dade County still did not have any public schools.)                     

 For the next 8 years, however, there was no doubt about one thing: Mr. William H. Gleason was the political boss of Dade County.

 At the same time, Gleason began to realize that in the 1870’s, he was finally losing the absolute control he had had over events.  Many new people were moving to Miami—and many of them were not charmed with Mr. Gleason.

For the election of 1876,  Dade County had 73 voters registered in 3 precincts, designated as Miami Area, Jupiter and Lake Worth.  Gleason already knew many of the 14 voters in Jupiter and Lake Worth.  Some might not vote at all, he decided, and those that did, would probably be inclined to leave things as they are.  It was the other 59 voters in the Miami Area that concerned him.

These 59 voters would be voting as usual at the Michael Sears home—located where Bay Point is today—and Gleason decided he could not trust them—over half of them could be new people in town.

During  the election, everything appeared to be handled properly in all three locations.  However, that night after votes were counted, something happened  that no one anticipated—and it had National repercussions!

 At Jupiter and Lake Worth, the tally for the seat in the Legislature gave Gleason  a slim majority of the 14 votes and everyone was flabbergasted when Gleason’s hand –picked canvas board announced Gleason was reelected to the Legislature for another term,.

What about the 59 votes from Michel Sears home?  The conversing board announced that the election would be decided by the 14 votes because many of the 59 votes from the Sears house were “irregular”and didn’t count.

At first, there appeared to be just a technical problem.  Perhaps there would be a recount of the 59 ballots.  Then someone pointed out that t was still Reconstruction and the election had to be certified by a Federal Court. . .

. . .Several days later the situation became really serious:  the 59 votes from Michael Sears home couldn’t be checked—they were not just set aside--they had been lost and the entire election could not be certified until they were found.   And finally, this wasn’t just another local election, this was the famous—or infamous--  Tilden-Hayes Presidential Election which had gone to the Electoral College—and either Mr. Hayes or Mr. Tilden needed ONE vote to be elected President of the United States.

Oregon  and three Carpetbagger states—Florida, Louisiana, and South Carolina were still to be certified.  Each day, the newspapers went into a litany why each state wasn’t certified that included the explanation  that Florida couldn’t be certified until Dade County was certified.

Finally, a New York Times column asked about Dade County and the people began chanting “Where in Hell is Dade County.                                                                                

Finally,  Mr. Hayes was smarter than Mr. Tilden.  He offered to with draw Federal troops and end Reconstruction.  South Carolina gave him its electoral vote.  And months later, Federal troops went home.

Nobody went to jail.

But it was the end of Mr. Gleason, the end of an era..

And 20 years later a  new era would start with people like Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler.

Today, Major Dade has 4 namesakes—not only Miami-Dade County and Dade City, Florida but also towns  named for him in Missouri and Georgia.  And every year on the anniversary of the event, the battle is re-enacted at the Dade Battlefield State Park near Bushnell.