The Birth of the City of Miami 21


 The first train actually arrived on Monday, April 13, 1896. It
was a special, unscheduled train and Flagler was on board, as was
his custom. One reason for the discrepancy over the arrival of the
first train may be that the first regularly scheduled FEC passenger
train did arrive late at night on Wednesday, April 15, the date gen-
erally given as the arrival date of the first train. However, the Florida
Times-Union of April 14 carried a dispatch from its St. Augustine
correspondent, dated April 13, which reported the following:

 Mr. Henry Flagler's private car left for the south last night, with
 Capt. J. J. Vandergrift, of Pittsburgh, Pa.; Mr. J. E. Ingraham,
 Mr. Flagler's general agent; Mr. C. B, Knott, superintendent of
 the East Coast hotel system; Vice President J. R. Parrott and
 Superintendent R. T. Goff, in the former's private car, also went
 south. Messers. MacDonald and W. H. Merrill will join the party
 at Palm Beach. At Ft. Lauderdale, contractor McLain will take
 the party to inspect the new extension of the F. E. C. railway to
 Miami, which is completed, and on which Mr. Joseph
 Richardson, general passenger agent, believes this summer
 schedule will be put in operation next Wednesday.2


This train is identical to the first train that entered Miami in 1896. (HASF
1977-152-1)