22 TEQUESTA


 The weekly Indian River Advocate, in its edition of April 17,
reported the following:

 THE FIRST PASSENGER TRAIN OVER THE NEW EXTENSION
 At noon Monday last the first passenger train over the new
 extension of the Florida East Coast Railway rolled into Miami.
 Among those on board the train were Mr. H. M. Flagler, presi-
 dentof the road; Vice-President J. R. Parrott, Land Commissioner
 J. E. Ingraham, Supt. J. T. Goff, Gen'l Freight Agent W. J. Jarvis,
 Contractor J. A. McDonald, C. B. Knott, superintendent of the
 East Coast Hotel System; H. W. Merrill, manager Hotel Royal
 Poinciana; Dr. Andrew Anderson, St. Augustine; Capt. Van
 Dergriff, Pittsburg, Pa.; A. E. Robbinson, John B. Reilly and D.
 C. Sutton. Most of the party, soon after their arrival, started for
 a few days' cruise on the steamer Biscayne among the Keys.8

 Additional confirmation for the arrival of the first train into
Miami on April 13, is found in the diary of Mary Barr Munroe of
Cocoanut Grove, who wrote that Flagler visited the Grove that day
on the Biscayne.8' In the Florida Times-Union of April 18, the
West Palm Beach correspondent, under an April 17 dateline, re-
ported: "The special [train] containing Mr. Flagler and his officers,
which went south Monday [April 13], returned to St. Augustine last
night, passing here about 5 o'clock."85
 The first regularly scheduled train arrived on the night of April
15. Later published histories claim that the first week of train service
provided only for freight and that passenger service did not begin
until a week later, April 22. contemporary newspaper accounts, how-
ever, contradict this claim.86
 The Indian River Advocate of April 17 reported that "Regular
trains are now running between the above places [Jacksonville and
Miami]."87 The Florida Times-Union noted on April 17 that "The
through schedule started April 16th."88 The use of April 16 is ex-
plained by the fact that the through schedule called for a train to
leave Miami at 5 a.m. In order for the schedule to begin, a train had
to be in Miami to leave at 5 a.m. Since there was no train in Miami
until the night of April 15, it would fall to April 16 to be the first day
that the schedule could start with trains arriving in and leaving from