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.

WHY DO THEY CALL IT MATHESON HAMMOCK?

                                   WHY DO THEY CALL IT MATHESON HAMMOCK?

NOTE; I've noticed that the posted  copy of the original article I posted here, is not vary readable. So I decided to type out the exact words of the original article. You can still see the original article I left posted below.


 Sometimes, great events in history have their beginnings in seemingly unrelated, insignificant thoughts or deeds. A good example is the start of Dade County’s magnificent part system.

Our Park system probably would not have developed so rapidly, nor become as extensive as it is today, had not a very, very young man named Hugh Matheson enrolled in the Adirondacks Preparatory School in New York, owned by Headmaster Paul Ransom, and then transferred with his class to the school’s winter quarters on Main Highway in the tiny village of Coconut Grove.

That was in 1902. Young Matheson had never seen anything like Dade Country’s attributes. And he was soon sending his parents vivid letters describing the crystal clear water, the wonderful winter weather, the lush subtropical vegetation.

Hugh’s father was commodore W. J. Matheson, a wealthy New York chemical and dye manufacturer, a director of national corporations, a sportsman who owned the yacht “Seaforth”.  The Matheson’s soon boarded their yacht and headed south to see for themselves what their son’s glowing letters were all about… and they also fell in love with Dade County and decided to move here. From that moment on, the Matheson’s have been making contributions to Dade County’s development.

In 1904, the family built the first of their five noteworthy homes. They named it “Swastika”. It was located at 3645 Main Highway where the Hughes Medical Institute is today. (Swastika was an Indian name. actually; the name has two unrelated origins: Indian and Ancient Greek, a cosmic/religious symbol, often of good luck. The Nazis came along and twisted the arms of their Swastika cross in the opposite direction from the Indian or Greek crosses).

W.J. Matheson’s second home still stands at 3410 Poinciana  Avenue, although it is not visible from the street. “Four Way Lodge” is a large, rambling villa considered and architectural gem typical of the time and area: it remained the Commodore’s home until his death. The estate was later platted as “Four Way Lodge Estates” : it includes all the land on both sides of Poinciana, from Main Highway to the Bay.

During this same time, W. J. was making investments in land elsewhere: the two most  noteworthy were the 100 acres of mangrove and hammock south of Coconut Grove on the Bay and 1700 acres (or the greater part ) of Key Biscayne. On Key Biscayne in 1909, W. J. built another unique home on a peninsula at the eastern tip”: a large Moorish castle like one he had seen on the Nile near Khartoum. He named it “Mashta Hourse”, Egyptian for “resting place by the sea”. Today the home no longer exists but several of the streets and the subdivision for the area were named for the house.

In 1910, Hugh graduated from Yale and returned to Coconut Grove, marred and managed the development of Key Biscayne into a 1000 acre coconut plantation. The Hugh Mathesons had four sons – William, Hugh Jr., Finlay, and Hardy – and in the 1920s they built the family estate at 4205 Doughlas Road. The large, “Little Viscaya” is still there, although recently renovated. The estate has been subdivided as Klebba Bay Estates.

The fifth “noteworthy” home was built by W. J.‘s son Malcolm at 8565 Old Cutler Road. At this death some years later, it was left to the University of Miami and is the residence of President Edward Thaddeus Foote II and his family.

On May 15, 1930, W. J. was returning from a boat trip on the Seaforth. As he came in sight of Key Biscayne, he had a heart attack and died. In his will, he left the 100 acres of mangrove and hammock on the mainland to the County for a park and it was promptly named “Matheson Hammock” for its benefactor.

Ten years later, W. J.’s daughter Anna and sons Hugh and Malcolm, made and even more beneficial deal with the country. They deeded half of their Key Biscayne holdings, or about 850 acres, for Public Parks in exchange for the County’s agreement to build the Rickenbacker Causeway. A fine deal for both parties!

The Rickenbacker Causeway issue was submitted to Dade County’s freeholders almost immediately, and approved by a second referendum in 1940, but war-time shortages and moratoriums prevented the completion of the 3.9 miles of causeway and bridges, costing $6,000,000 until 1947.

With the causeway finally completed, the 850 acres still owned by the Matheson’s suddenly began acquiring tremendous value. The first of the lands were sold to the Mackles in the late 1940s, at moderate prices of only a few thousand dollars per acre- but prices skyrocketed from there on – particularly for sites that were ocean –front, condo, hotel, or commercial. If the Mathesons averaged $ 30,000 per acre over-all (and this is just a wild guess- it may have been higher), they took $ 25, 500,000 from the island.

For the County – and the Public – the benefits were even greater. Large expanses of ocean beaches and parks, and land for golf courses and marinas were now available close in to down town Miami. The Causeway made possible the development of additional parks on Virginia Key which was Country – owned. And Dade County’s Park System was on its way to becoming the best in the State…. And among the best in the entire United States…. But that is another story, for another time…

For more information on Miami's various parks see, WHY DO THEY CALL IT CRANDON PARK. This is the story of Charles Crandon - Dade county's most unique politician who finished what the Matheson's started - GREYNOLDS PARK, BAKERS, HAULOVER, KEY BISCAYNE and FAIRCHILD TROPICAL GARDEN.

WHY DO THEY CALL IT NORTH KENDALL DRIVE ? (ORIGINAL WORKS)

WHY DO THEY CALL IT NORTH KENDALL DRIVE?