The Birth of the City of Miami 13


levard) to Southwest Third Avenue on the west, and from Southeast
and Southwest First Street on the north to the Miami River on the
south. Within this tract, a 13-acre parcel, on which Tuttle's home
stood, was reserved as her "home lot." It was bounded by today's
South Miami Avenue on the west, Southeast Second Avenue on the
east, Southeast Second Street on the north and the Miami River on
the south.30
 The remainder of the Tuttle property at the Miami site would
be divided between Flagler and Tuttle. Flagler professed in the letter
that he would prefer to have his portion in a solid tract, but told Tuttle
he would "agree to accept your ideas, viz: an equitable division by
alternate lots."31 Tuttle wisely inserted and stuck to this provision so
that her lots would be as valuable as Flagler's as he laid out the
streets and developed the town. The larger divided tract was bounded
approximately by the Miami River on the south and southwest, North-
east and Northwest Eleventh Street on the north, Northwest Seventh
Avenue on the west, and the Bay on the east. This offer would
eventually be drawn up into a contract that was signed by Tuttle and
Flagler dated October 24, 1895.32
 The April 1895 letter also mentioned that Flagler had sent a
similar missive to William Brickell in reply to his offer for extending
the railroad to Miami. Flagler said that Brickell was including 100
acres of land at New River; thus he felt justified in asking for the
same from Tuttle.33
 Flagler's letter to Brickell, and the ensuing contract, have not
survived, but from the course of events we can assume the offer
was similar to that of Tuttle's. The Brickells would divide a portion
of their property south of the Miami River with Flagler and, in turn,
the industrialist would construct a bridge across the Miami River. As
with the Tuttle tract, the property would be subdivided by alternate
lots. The boundaries of this property were approximately South Mi-
ami Avenue on the east, Southwest and Northwest Eighth Avenue
on the west, Southwest Fifteenth Road and Southwest Eleventh Street
on the south, and the Miami River on the north. Also included was
the New River land. The Brickells reserved their home lot at the
mouth of the Miami River and all property between the bay and
South Miami Avenue.34
 While the railroad's extension to Miami remained unannounced
in the spring of 1895, rumors of this possibility continued to multiply,
fueling real estate activity in the Biscayne Bay area at a time when