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.