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 20th 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 8th 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
20th 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 20th
Century and started Miami on the way to greatness.
Please join us!
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