PAGE 1 STHE JOURNAL OF THE HISTORICAL ( CS 14 Cf ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA Editors Emeriti Charlton W. Tebeau, Ph.D. Thelma Peters, Ph.D. Editor Paul S. George, Ph.D. Managing Editor Rebecca Eads Number LV 1995 CONTENTS Editor's Forward .............................................. ............... 3 by Paul S. George The Birth of the City of Miami............................................ 5 by Larry Wiggins Yellow Fever at Miami: The Epidemic of 1899 ............... 39 by Dr. William Straight The Sage of Biscayne Bay: Charles Torrey Simpson's Love Affair with South Florida ........................................... 61 by Leah La Plante Historical Association of Southern Florida Members...... 83 COPYRIGHT 1995 THE HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHERN FLORIDA -is published annually by the Historical Association of 1eqt eS t"x Southern Florida. Communications should be addressed I to the Managing Editor of Tequesta, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, 101 W. Flagler Street, Miami, Florida 33130. Telephone: (305) 375-1492. The Association does not assume responsibility for statements of facts or opinions made by contributors. (ISSN 0363-3705) On the Cover: In 1896, close to 400 people crowded onto the second floor of the Lobby Pool Room to vote to incorporate Miami as a city. The building to the left is the site of this historical meeting. (HASF 75-25-103) PAGE 2 2 TEQUESTA Historical Association of Southern Florida, Inc. FOUNDED 1940 -INCORPORATED 1941 John C. Harrison, Jr. Chairman of the Board Robert B. Battle First Vice Chair Anna Price, Ph.D. Second Vice Chair Lynn Pike Secretary Stuart Block Treasurer George R. Harper Past Chair Randy F. Nimnicht President J. Andrew Brian Museum Director Paul S. George, Ph.D. Editor, Tequesta Charlton W. Tebeau, Ph.D. Editor Emeritus Tequesta Thelma Peters, Ph.D. Editor Emeritus Tequesta Stuart B. Mclver Editor, South Florida History Magazine Rebecca Eads Editor, South Florida History Magazine Trustees Sherry Flagg Allen Roger Barreto Anthony Barthelemy, Ph.D. Thomas Daniel James L. Davis Priscilla M. Greenfield WilliamHo KeithJennings Peter Lapham Samuel D. LaRoue, Jr. Linda B. Lubitz Raul Masvidal Charles P. Munroe Thomas Paligraf JaniceC. Pryor GerriM.Rocker Raul L. Rodriguez Susan Shelley Michael B. Smith Joel Stocker EdwardA.Swakon Lourdes Viciedo The Rev. John F. White Judy Wiggins Eric Williams Richard A. Wood PAGE 3 3 Editor's Forward What an exciting time to assume the editorship of Tequesta. Miami, the Magic City, is preparing to celebrate the centennial of its incorporation as a city. Miami and Dade County continue to invite national, and even international, scrutiny as academics and members of the media alike attempt to divine from its experiences with waves of refugees and immigrants the future course of global cities. In the meantime, increasing numbers of students, along with academicians and journalists, are probing the area's rich history as never before. Since its first issue appeared in 1941, Tequesta has been the beneficiary of much of the research and writing devoted to the history of the region. With the city's centennial as a backdrop, this, the fifty-fifth volume of Tequesta, will examine, in a seminal article by Larry Wiggins, the events of 1895-1896 that led to the creation of moder Miami. Wiggins is an avocational historian par excellence, and one known for his relentless research and unselfish assistance to others involved in the craft. This number of Tequesta also includes a carefully-researched article on Miami's fearsome yellow fever epidemic of 1899 by William Straight, M.D. Dr. Straight has amassed an enviable record as a medical historian over the past four decades and he burnishes this reputation with this essay. Like Larry Wiggins, Leah LaPlant, author of a fascinating study on Charles Torrey Simpson, is a first-time contributor to Tequesta. A professor at Miami-Dade Community College's Wolfson Campus, Ms. LaPlant examines the renown naturalist's lengthy residence in the Miami area and his significant impact on his adopted home. As Arva Parks McCabe, my immediate predecessor as editor, indicated in the 1993 number of Tequesta, the journal is interested in a wide array of topics covering the rich history of south Florida and the Caribbean, and it invites the novice as well as those with more experience in the historian's craft, to submit articles for consideration. I will be happy, as Arva was, to work with anyone who has an idea and the determination to pursue research in primary sources in quest of new information on the area's history. An accomplished, energetic advisory board will assist in this quest. Paul S. George Tequesta Editor PAGE 4 4 TEQUESTA The early pioneers who helped establish Miami: William and Mary Brickell (HASF Stan Cooper Collection) and Julia Tuttle (HASF 1975-25-1). The above view of Avenue D looks northward, from the south side the the Miami River. Julia Tuttle owned the land to the right in the picture, which was leased out to the local businessmen. The tallest building on that side is the Lobby, the site ofMiami's incorporation in 1896. (HASF x-145-x) PAGE 5 5 The Birth of the City of Miami by Larry Wiggins Just over one hundred years ago, in 1895, three stubborn visionaries came together to create Miami and, in doing so, open all of then-pristine South Florida to development. The Tuttle and Brickell families possessed land. Henry M. Flagler owned a railroad and possessed the capital to transform the land from a wilderness into a city. The partnership between them was at times adversarial, the consequences sometimes disappointing, but the resulting Magic City would, over the next century, grow into something greater than they could have ever imagined. The Brickell family, consisting of William, his wife Mary, and eight adult children ranging in age from 18 to 38, lived on the south bank of the mouth of the Miami River where they operated a trading post and post office. They arrived in 1871 from Cleveland and purchased a vast stretch of land that extended from the banks of the river south to near today's Coconut Grove. They also owned property on the north side of the New River in today's Fort Lauderdale.' Julia Tuttle and her children, Harry and Fanny, lived across the river from the Brickells. Tuttle, who came to Miami in 1891 after purchasing a tract of 640 acres of land on the north bank of the Miami River, was also from Cleveland. Tuttle's husband, Frederick, died in 1886, and she decided to move to South Florida due to what was described as the "delicate health" of her children. Tuttle had seen the area in 1875, at the age of twenty-six, when she visited her father, Ephraim Sturtevant, who homesteaded in the area of today's Larry Wiggins is the Controller for the South Dade News Leader, a newspaper in Homestead, where he has been employed for 17 years. He graduated from the University of Miami in 1978. He was chairman of the Historic Preservation Board of the City of Homestead at the time of and during the recovery from, Hurricane Andrew. PAGE 6 6 TEQUESTA Miami Shores. Sturtevant had been a friend of Brickell in Cleveland until a disagreement brought the friendship to a halt.2 The Miami area, in the years leading up to the railroad's arrival, was better known as "Biscayne Bay Country." The only overland transportation to the area was by a hack (or stagecoach) line that ran from Lantana on the southern end of Lake Worth to Lemon City on Biscayne Bay. The few published accounts from that period describe the area as a wilderness that held much promise.3 Lying five miles north of the Miami River, Lemon City could boast of only fifteen buildings in 1893. However, many homesteaders had settled on land up to five miles away from the core of the settlements. One of these buildings was a new hotel that could accommodate twenty-five to thirty guests. Two miles south were several people living in Buena Vista. "Cocoanut Grove" (as it was spelled then) sat ?? miles south of the Miami River; it contained twenty-eight buildings "of a very neat and tasteful character," two large stores doing an "immense business," and a hotel run by Charles and Isabella Peacock. Cutler, eight miles south of Cocoanut Grove, also contained a few settlers.4 But the jewel on Biscayne Bay was Miami. The site where the Miami River emptied into the bay was described as the cream of the property in the area. There was rich, heavy hammock growth, and to the south, on the Brickell lands, a high, rocky bluff, which was characterized as "one of the finest building sites in Florida."5 The Tuttles lived in a large home that had been in use when Fort Dallas occupied the spot at the time of the Indian wars of the mid-nineteenth century. Julia Tuttle repaired and converted the home into one of the show places in the area.6 It possessed a wide porch on the second story that provided a sweeping view of the river and the bay. The bay itself was a favorite resort for wealthy yachtsmen who came to the area in the winter for fishing and cruising.7 Flagler's biographers debate just when he first planned to extend his railroad south to Miami and eventually on to Key West. Perhaps no one but Flagler ever will know, although correspondence related to this matter dates to the early 1890s. However, the point in time when the decision actually was made to begin extending the railroad south from West Palm Beach can be ascertained as February 1895.8 Flagler, who earlier had achieved great wealth in partnership with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, had been developing the PAGE 7 The Birth of the City of Miami 7 east coast of Florida, beginning in St. Augustine in 1885, either through new construction or through the purchase of existing hotels and railroads, which were then upgraded. Every few years, Flagler extended his railroad farther south. Flagler became associated with the Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Company (FCLCTC) in 1893 because of the advantages it held for his railroad.' The canal company, chartered in 1881, had as its objective the construction of a series of canals connecting existing lakes and rivers in order to provide a navigable inland waterway beHenryM.Flagler tween St. Augustine and Lake Worth. (HASF 1981-116-2) This would allow for safe transportation as many ships were being lost off the Florida coast to dangerous underwater coral reefs and sudden violent squalls.10 FCLCTC's charter was amended in 1882 to extend the waterway from Lake Worth to Biscayne Bay and from St. Augustine to the St. Johns River. The company would dig the canals fifty feet wide and to a depth of five feet and dredge the existing rivers and lakes to that depth in order to accommodate steam-powered vessels. In return for opening the area to agriculture and development, the company received from the state of Florida a grant of 3,840 acres LAKE WORTH, Advertisement for Flagler's East Coast Line, c. 1893. (Florida State Archives) PAGE 8 8 TEQUESTA of land for each mile of the waterway. The FCLCTC sold this land to settlers and farmers who, in turn, provided commerce for the canal which was to operate on a toll system. Thus began the first major commercial enterprise to link the Miami area with the outside world." The company was never well capitalized. Sales of the lands awarded it by the state of Florida for work completed was disappointing. This led to serious financial problems in 1892, at which time the FCLCTC prevailed upon its competitor, Henry Flagler, for help. Flagler's railroad then reached only as far south as Daytona Beach, but he was planning to extend it to Rockledge, eighty miles to the south. The railroad also operated on a system of receiving state grants of land for each mile of railway constructed. The canal's charter had effectively tied up the state land along its proposed route to Biscayne Bay. The state pledged the canal company all of its land designated as land to be granted. This state land amounted to every other section, on a township and range basis, within a six-mile-wide stretch along the canal's route. Flagler realized that the state was left with no land to grant to his railroad when it pushed farther south, so he used his bargaining skills learned during his Standard Oil days to negotiate a most favorable partnership with the canal company: he would provide capital in exchange for assuming the company's presidency and his railroad would receive a grant of 1,500 acres of the canal company's land for each mile of new track. The extension of the railroad would, in turn, increase the probability that the canal company could successfully market its remaining lands to potential settlers. The canal company and railroad also agreed on a plan to settle and develop some of the lands jointly.12 Thus, with the assured land available, Flagler pushed his railroad farther south, reaching Rockledge in February 1893 and Fort Pierce in January 1894. In February 1894, Flagler opened the jewel of his resort hotels, the Royal Poinciana, at Palm Beach.13 It was the largest wooden structure in the world, containing 1,150 rooms. The following month Flagler completed the extension of his railroad southward from Fort Pierce to West Palm Beach. In return for this extension the canal company issued the railroad 102,917 acres in January 1895. These deeds contained land in the Miami area as there were not sufficient lands owned by the canal company along the railroad extension between Fort Pierce and West Palm Beach.14 Within weeks of receiving this land Flagler would decide to begin his extension to Miami. PAGE 9 The Birth of the City of Miami 9 Florida experienced its worst freeze since 1835 on the night of December 29, 1894. The cold wave, which originated in the Midwest, moved down the country so fast that it did not have a chance to warm up as it headed southward. Nor did it give forecasters adequate time to notify farmers in Florida of the coming danger. Temperatures sunk to 14 degrees at Jacksonville, and 18 at Tampa. West Palm Beach recorded 30 degrees; ice formed one-eighth of an inch thick in a fountain in front of Palm Beach's Royal Poinciana. At Titusville, the temperature dipped to 18 degrees, rising only to 34 the next day and back below freezing the following night. A temperature of 26 degrees for three hours or more would freeze the juice of an orange, making it unfit for eating. Florida's famous citrus crop was lost, as well as the winter vegetable crop in the ground throughout the state. 5 The word from the most southerly region of Florida, a land that could only be reached by an exhausting two-day trip by stagecoach over rough roads or by boat over the sometimes dangerous open water route, was surprisingly different. One farmer in a letter to a Titusville newspaper said: Biscayne Bay [area] is not frozen out as yet, as will be shown by the shipments of tomatoes made this month. Between 200 and 300 crates will be shipped from here tomorrow, the 14th [of January]. The cold did little damage here. Pineapples are not hurt as far as can be seen. The leaves on the banana trees are burnt some, but the fruit is not injured. Irish potatoes, beans and beets did not suffer from the cold, and we will have a full crop of tomatoes.16 All over Florida, farmers, developers and homeseekers looked upon their barren trees and fields and took note of this "freeze proof" section of Florida. As farmers were struggling from the devastating freeze of December 1895, Florida was hit by an even worse freeze. On the night of February 7, 1895, the temperature dropped to 18 at Orlando and Titusville, 22 at Tampa, 20 at Daytona, and 14 at Jacksonville. The following day the temperature failed to rise above freezing throughout most of the state. In Jacksonville, the St. Johns River froze a distance of eight feet from the southern bank and was thick enough PAGE 10 10 TEQUESTA to support the weight of a man two feet out. Snow fell on Tampa and Fort Myers.'7 This second cold wave, coming just when citrus trees were putting out new growth and vegetable growers were preparing to harvest their replanted crops, finished off any of the remaining season's yield. Where citrus crops had been lost in December, the trees themselves were lost in the latter freeze. Farmers were demoralized and numbed; what they thought could not happen again in ten years had occurred only six weeks after the first freeze. Homesteaders who had looked upon Florida as the promised land and had invested years in their farms were wiped out in two days.18 Again, the reports coming from the areas of New River (Fort Lauderdale) and Biscayne Bay were difficult to comprehend. The freeze had not reached the far south end of Florida and again it was reported "many crates of tomatoes are being shipped to Key West daily."'9 Two days after the second freeze, Flagler dispatched James E. Ingraham to investigate the reports from South Florida. Ingraham headed the railroad's land department, which had the responsibility for securing land for the railroad, surveying and laying out the new towns that sprang up on the newly granted railroad lands, and attracting settlers and farmers to these lands. He was among Flagler's most trusted employees. Ingraham initially came to Florida in 1874, and worked for Henry Sanford and Henry Plant, two major entrepeneurs, before joining the Flagler organization.20 Sanford had purchased a large tract of land in central Florida and Ingraham had laid out and handled the development of the town of Sanford for him. Ingraham also talked Sanford into building a railroad to connect Sanford with Kissimmee. Ingraham became president of this railroad in 1879. When Plant, a wealthy Tampa investor, bought Sanford's railroad, Ingraham moved over to become president of this new line. Ingraham was president of the South Florida Railroad when Plant extended the train to Orlando and later to Tampa. Ingraham was hired away from Plant by Flagler in 1892.21 Two years earlier, in 1890, Ingraham met Julia Tuttle at a dinner party at her home in Cleveland. Tuttle was preparing to move to her property at Fort Dallas and remarked to him, "Some day somebody will build a railroad to Miami. I hope you will be interested in it, and when they do I will be willing to divide my properties there and give one-half to the company for a town site." Ingraham responded, "Well, Mrs. Tuttle, it is a long way off, but stranger things PAGE 11 The Birth of the City of Miami 11 have happened, and possibly I some day may hold you to that promise."22 Two years later, while still president of the South Florida Railroad, Ingraham took an expedition across the Everglades from Fort Myers to Miami to investigate the possibilities of extending the Plant line to Miami. After the Ingraham expedition reached Julia Tuttle's home in April 1892, exhausted and half starved, James Ingraham became impressed with the Biscayne area, spending several days exploring it with his hostess. Soon after, however, the Plant System decided not to extend its railroad to Miami from Tampa, and six months after the expedition, Ingraham was hired away by Flagler. In his capacity with the railroad's land department, Ingraham would become one of Miami's most important early supporters.23 Speaking before a meeting of the Miami Women's Club in November 1920, on the occassion of a plaque dedication ceremony in honor of Henry Flagler, Ingraham recalled his return to Miami following the freeze of February 1895: I found at Lauderdale, at Lemon City, Buena Vista, Miami, Coconut Grove and at Cutler orange trees, lemon trees and lime trees blooming or about to bloom without a leaf hurt, vegetables growing in a small way untouched. There had been no frost there. I gathered up a lot of blooms from these various trees, put them in damp cotton, and after an interview with Mrs. Tuttle and Mr. and Mrs. Brickell of Miami, I hurried to St. Augustine, where I called on Mr. Flagler and showed him the orange blossoms, telling him that I believed that these orange blossoms were from the only part of Florida, except possibly a small area on the extreme southerly part of the western coast, which had escaped the freeze; that here was a body of land more than 40 miles long, between the Everglades and the Atlantic Ocean, perhaps very much longer than that, absolutely untouched, and that I believed that it would be the home of the citJames E. Ingraham rus industry in the future, because it was (HASF 1976-85-1) absolutely immune from devastating PAGE 12 12 TEQUESTA freezes. I said: 'I have also here written proposals from Mrs. Tuttle and Mr. and Mrs. Brickell, inviting you to extend your railroad from Palm Beach to Miami and offering to share with you their holdings at Miami for a town site.' Mr. Flagler looked at me for some minutes in perfect silence, then he said: 'How soon can you arrange for me to go to Miami?'24 Flagler had decided to see this "freeze proof" section for himself. In late February 1895, the railroad baron traveled by special train to West Palm Beach before transferring to a launch for a trip down the Florida East Coast Line canal, which by this time was completed from Lake Worth to New River. The party spent the night in Fort Lauderdale, and left by carriage the next morning to travel to the northern shore of Biscayne Bay where they were met by Tuttle's launch and brought to Miami. Ingraham recalled that the day was beautiful and "that night was the most perfect moonlight that I have ever seen." Before bedtime, Mr. Flagler made the decision to accept the offers of Tuttle and Brickell, extend his railroad to Miami and build a resort hotel there.25 The party returned to St. Augustine in early March with a verbal agreement to extend the railroad to Miami and to develop a city in that locale, but formal contracts had yet to be drawn up and signed. No official announcements were made at the time, although rumors over the meaning of the trip began to appear in the press.26 The Titusville paper observed that, "Some optimists believe the railroad will be extended to deep water off Key Largo, others think a mammoth hotel will be constructed on Bay Biscayne."27 From Sanford: "Flagler has decided to extend to Bay Biscayne and also he has purchased half of Key Largo."28 The Jacksonville report noted that the natives of Bay Biscayne are "very much stirred up by the advent of the big millionaire's [visit]. It is generally supposed that this tour means the extension of the east coast line to Bay Biscayne."29 Preliminary to drawing up a formal contract, Flagler wrote Tuttle a long letter on April 22, 1895, recapping her offer of land to him in exchange for his extension of the railroad to Miami, laying out a city and building a hotel. The terms, as they appeared in the letter, provided that Tuttle would award Flagler a 100-acre tract of land. The boundaries of this tract would stretch approximately from the bay on the east (at that time the shoreline ran along today's Biscayne Bou- PAGE 13 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, Northeast 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 Miami 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 PAGE 14 14 TEQUESTA land prices throughout the rest of Florida were relatively depressed due to the affects of the freeze. In May 1895, prices for bayfront property were reported as "almost out of sight," but good lands for agricultural purposes could still be found "from one to two miles back from the bay," priced reasonably at $10 to $25 an acre.35 The news of the railroad's extension was officially announced on June 21, 1895, in the pages of Jacksonville's Florida TimesUnion: "It is now a certainty that the East Coast line will be extended to Bay Biscayne at an early date. A corps of engineers began the survey this week. The distance is sixty-five miles, with no heavy grading but few bridges."36 The following day, the paper reported that "Contractor F.M. Cabott, with a large force of men, has commenced to grade."37 The land was graded by removing trees and bushes in a strip 100 feet wide and smoothing over any uneven places in the terrain. The track was then laid down the middle of this strip. The railroad and canal companies owned, or had grants from the state, for nearly sixty miles of the sixty-six-mile extension. For the remaining six miles, they endeavored to persuade the property owners to donate the right-of-way. J. R. Parrott, vice president and general manager of the railroad company, in a newspaper interview appearing in early July, threatened to halt construction of the extension if the railroad was forced to pay for a portion of the right-ofway. "At present," Parrott announced, "the country is very sparsely settled, and our only object in extending the line now would be because labor and material are so cheap."38 This was, again, due to the freeze. The thirteen men of the Corps of Engineers, under supervision of H. G. Ord, completed their survey and reached Miami on July 15. They camped at the mouth of the Miami River on Tuttle's property. While there, they also made a survey map of the 100 acres Tuttle was to donate to Flagler, the site where the hotel was to be built.39 The canal was completed and navigable between West Palm Beach and New River, and on August 12, 1895, the canal company placed one of its own steam-powered boats, the Hittie, on a triweekly run between the two points. Construction of the next phase of the canal, from Fort Lauderdale to Biscayne Bay, began at the end of August with one dredge working south while the other -the Biscayne -was towed to Biscayne Bay on the Atlantic Ocean side to begin working northward to meet up with the former.40By then, PAGE 15 The Birth of the City of Miami 15 A. L. Knowlton, a Justice of the Peace at West Palm Beach, had resigned his position and gone to the New River area to survey the town site of Fort Lauderdale.41 In late September, the work of laying the track began.42 The cross ties were seven inches by nine inches by nine feet and laid 2,800 to a mile. A report made by a state inspector after the extension was completed noted that the track had been "carefully laid" and "well spiked, well lined, and evenly spaced on the ties." The inspector added that "workmanship on all classes of this construction is good, and the material used is the best that could be obtained."43 With work on the railroad extension to Miami well under way, settlers began pouring into the promised "freeze proof" lands. Settlements such as Linton -today's Delray Beach -and Fort Lauderdale were springing up along the canal and railroad route. Only a month old in mid-October 1895, Linton boasted a population of more than 100, most of whom were male heads of families.44 The men would arrive in advance of their families to prepare a home before sending for their wives and children. But still, many more interested settlers held back to wait until the lots would be put on the market in Miami. Already, many believed that Miami would surpass West Palm Beach in growth and importance as a tourist, agricultural and transportation center.45 Early housing in South Florida, c. 1896. (HASF x-149-x) PAGE 16 16 TEQUESTA As South Florida underwent its first boom, optimism ran high and people were excited. Flagler, however, was going through what was to be the worst time in his life. He married his second wife, Ida Alice Shourds, on June 5, 1883. The early days of their marriage were happy, but by 1894, Flagler began to notice peculiarities in her behavior. She began making wild claims and accusations to Flagler's doctor and personal friend, George S. Shelton. She claimed that prominent New Yorkers were involved in many varieties of nefarious conduct. After consulting a ouija board in early October 1895, Mrs. Flagler decided that she was in love with the czar of Russia and would marry him after her husband's death. So strong were her claims of love for the czar that Dr. Shelton became concerned for Flagler's life. On October 24, 1894, he called in two mental health specialists to visit with the Flaglers at their New York residence. Mrs. Flagler repeated her claim that she was engaged to be married to the czar and added that the house was filled with Russian spies.46 The diagnosis was "delusionary insanity" and the physicians recommended that she be committed to a sanitarium. She was taken by force on that day and sent to an institution. The following day, Dr. Shelton wrote to Flagler's friend, Dr. Andrew Anderson in St. Augustine, insisting that Flagler visit Florida to get his mind off his personal life. Flagler agreed to leave for the Sunshine State the following week. Dr. Shelton added that Flagler was "almost prostrated with grief and anxiety."47 While the date October 24, 1895, brought "grief and anxiety" to Flagler, it would represent the legal date that Julia Tuttle would see that her dreams had begun to be fulfilled. On that day, the agreement that was to become known as Miami's "birth certificate," was drawn up. The typed contract set forth the items previously agreed upon by Flagler and Tuttle.48 At that time in October 1895, Miami was recovering from the effects of a tropical storm that moved through the area three days earlier, uprooting trees and causing inhabitants to move their boats up river for safety.49 One report claimed that the wind blew the water out of Biscayne Bay "until it could be waded."50 West Palm Beach suffered more severely from the storm as several wharfs were destroyed and the piledriver employed in the construction of a railroad bridge across Lake Worth from West Palm Beach to Palm Beach was sunk.5" At the time, Surveyor Knowlton was in Miami studying the area in order to begin platting the town site of Miami, and W. C. PAGE 17 The Birth of the City of Miami 17 Valentine of Fort Lauderdale was surveying and platting the area at the fork of the Miami River and some of the Brickell property outside the town site of Miami.52 Following his doctor's advice, Flagler arrived in Jacksonville on October 30, on his way to St. Augustine.53 At the same time, railroad workers, clearing the right-of-way to Miami, (with graders following along behind them) were nearing Lemon City.54 On November 4, Flagler, along with J. R. Parrott, Ingraham and R. T. Goff, left St. Augustine to inspect his railway, hotels and railroad bridges. He traveled as far south as Lantana by train, for the tracks ended at that point.5 In the meantime, the railroad bridge across Lake Worth was completed while Flagler was in South Florida. With this bridge completed, workers who had been engaged in its construction, moved south to begin building railroad bridges over the Hillsboro and New Rivers.56 In the second week of November, Flagler journeyed to Miami, returning to St. Augustine on November 14.57 In all likelihood, Flagler came to Miami to sign the contract of October 24. With that, and the railroad on its way, activity in Miami began to pick up. Men, both black and white, from throughout Florida flocked to Miami to await Flagler's call for workers of all qualifications to begin work on the promised hotel and city. By late December 1895, seventy-five of them already were at work clearing the site for the hotel. They lived mostly in tents and huts in the wilderness that as of yet had no streets and few cleared paths. These men were primarily victims of the great freeze that had left both money and work scarce.58 At the December 10 meeting of the Dade County Commission in Juno, Dade's county seat, Mary Brickell posted a performance bond to operate a ferry across the Miami River. This conveyance would allow men camped on the north side of the river to reach the south side where the Brickells operated their trading post and post office.59 The long-awaited Florida Coast Line Canal was completed to Biscayne Bay in mid-January 1896.60 To inaugurate the canal, Flagler -its president -with other officials, took the first trip along the canal's uninterrupted, sheltered route of 40 miles from Lake Worth to Biscayne Bay in the river steamboat J. W. Sweeny under the command of Capt. S. A. Bravo.61 The line began operating regularly scheduled steamboat service between Lake Worth and Miami with the completion of the canal. The boats Hittie and Della left from PAGE 18 18 TEQUESTA West Palm Beach on alternating days, staying overnight at Fort Lauderdale, before leaving for Miami the next morning; they returned to West Palm Beach the same day.62 By then, the railroad extension had been completed to a point about six miles north of the New River, although trains had not yet begun to run on it.63 The end of January found 200 men at work clearing the town site of Miami, prompting the Florida Times-Union to remark, "Everybody is busy and the boom has commenced."64 E. H. Harrington and Charles L. Tyler were doing big business feeding the workmen. A. L. Knowlton was continuing to survey the town site. The firm of Ellis, Williams and Branscombe operated a successful fertilizer and crate business. At Cocoanut Grove, real estate brokers John Frederick and E. C. Dearborn also were busy. The lots in the actual city site of Miami were not platted and were not yet for sale. However, there was much land in the adjoining area that was selling.65 February 1896 saw the opening of the railroad extension to Fort Lauderdale. The first passenger train left Palm Beach on Tuesday, February 18, at 7:30 a.m.66 The canal steamboat schedule was adjusted so that the Della (owned by the canal company) and the Biscayne (formerly the J. N. Sweeny, owned by the railroad company) met the arriving trains at Fort Lauderdale on alternate days for the trip to Miami.67 On February 1, 1896, Mrs. Tuttle fulfilled the first part of her agreement with Flagler by signing two deeds to transfer land for his Surveyors Knowlton and Frederick at work marking off the future streets of Miami. (HASF 1990-516-2) PAGE 19 The Birth of the City of Miami 19 hotel to him, and the 100 acres of land adjoining the hotel site, less her homesite, to Flagler and Ingraham. The titles to the Brickell and Tuttle properties were based on early Spanish land grants and had to be determined to be clear of conflict before the marketing of the Miami lots began. The law and abstract office of Robbins, Graham and Chillingworth, a Titusville firm which opened a Miami branch, was charged with this task. Walter S. Graham, the manager of the Miami branch, also was preparing to start Miami's first newspaper, the Miami Metropolis. Graham was formerly part owner of the Indian River Advocate in Titusville.68 Graham wrote a confidential letter to J. R. Parrott on February 24, 1896, explaining what he felt was "trouble ahead, unless a change of policy occurs in Miami." He noted that work was progressing on the north side of the river but that the south side was "not receiving the proper attention, and the Brickells are getting very sore."69 He maintained that if the lots on the north side were put on the market first, the city would develop there, leaving the south side undeveloped and less desirable. Accordingly, Graham felt that Flagler should begin construction at once on the promised bridge across the Miami River. Further, Graham believed the bridge should be completed before any lots went on sale on either side of the stream; and that work on the streets on both sides of the river be developed concurrently. Graham indicated that his firm would pronounce the titles clear to both the Brickell and Tuttle property simultaneously, so that the Brickells would have no grounds to blame his title company for any delay.70 Isidor Cohen was one of Miami's earliest merchants, arriving in February 1896. Cohen arranged to have a small building constructed on the south side of the river for his store, and secured a row boat to carry his customers across the river so they would not have to pay the ferry fare. Within two months, however, Cohen had moved to the north side of the river, believing business would be better in that sector.7 On March 3, Flagler dispatched John Sewell and twelve of his best black workers from Palm Beach to Miami to begin work on the townsite. They began by grading the site of Flagler's hotel.72 By late March the railroad extension had reached a point just below Arch Creek near today's Northeast 135th Street.73 Increasing numbers of people were coming to Miami. In order to provide them with a place to stay, Harrington and Tyler leased the Miami Hotel from Julia Tuttle -even before it had a roof over it. Located on today's South PAGE 20 20 TEQUESTA Miami Avenue near the river, the hotel contained a dining room on the first floor and rooms on the second which only could be reached by ladder, since a staircase had not been completed.74 A former steamboat, the Rockledge, was converted into a floating hotel by E. E. Vail, towed to Miami and docked at the foot of Avenue D (today's Miami Avenue).75 Several new businesses had just opened or were about to open as March drew to a close. These included Frank Budge's hardware store, Frank Duren's meat market and green grocery, E. L. Brady's grocery store, and the Lummus Brothers' general store; additionally, a drug store, candy shop and pool room looked out over Avenue D. The lumber to build the Bank of Bay Biscayne building was being hauled to its lot next to the Brady grocery store.76 The lots in Miami owned by Julia Tuttle were put on sale, but as the Flagler and Brickell lots were not even listed, prospective purchasers could not compare prices, and initial sales were disappointing. The Tuttle lots, as would the Flagler and Brickell properties, contained a clause forbidding the manufacture or sale of "any spirituous or intoxicating liquors, either distilled or fermented."7 Thus Miami was to be a "dry" town, with the notable exception of Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel."7 Already an addition to Miami had sprung up. Called "North Miami," it was platted and placed on the market in late March.79 Its southern border was today's Fourteenth Street, located about one quarter of a mile north of the Miami townsite several blocks west of today's Omni shopping mall. The addition was comprised of two subdivisions, one owned by E. A. Waddell and J. W. Johnson and the other by the law firm of Robbins, Graham and Chillingsworth. Its lots contained no liquor clause and saloons quickly moved in. It would grow to become Miami's den of inequity until it was cleaned up some fifteen years later.80 The railroad tracks reached Lemon City, near today's Northeast Sixty-second Street, on April 3, 1896. Only seven miles remained to Miami. Those seven miles were covered in four days. The tracks reached Miami on April 7. There have been several conflicting accounts of the entry of the first train into Miami. Some indicate that the event occurred at night and others maintain it happened during the daytime. Accounts from two contemporary newspapers appear to settle the argument as to when the first train arrived.8' PAGE 21 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 generally 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.82 This train is identical to the first train that entered Miami in 1896. (HASF 1977-152-1) PAGE 22 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, president of 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."3 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.84 In the Florida Times-Union of April 18, the West Palm Beach correspondent, under an April 17 dateline, reported: "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, however, 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 explained 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 PAGE 23 The Birth of the City of Miami 23 Miami. In the April 22 edition of the Florida Times-Union, the journal's West Palm Beach correspondent, under an April 21 dateline, reported, "There is a daily through train from each end, and a mixed one between Fort Pierce and Miami."89 The arrival of regular train service was a catalyst to the rapid settlement and development of the entire area. On April 24, the Brickells deeded a right-of-way to the FEC Railway through their Fort Lauderdale property. One week later, on May 1, the Brickells deeded every other lot in the town site of Fort Lauderdale to the Fort Dallas Land Company, Flagler's land company, headed by James Ingraham, that was organized to market Flagler's lots in Miami and Fort Lauderdale.90 Commercial activity increased with the opening of the Bank of Bay Biscayne on May 2.91 Miami's first newspaper, the Miami Metropolis, issued its first edition on May 15, under the editorship of Walter S. Graham. The newspaper reported that the Miami lots owned by Brickell went on sale "last Monday."92 It complained that there was still no bridge across the river and people who wanted to get mail had to spend an hour waiting for the ferry and pay a tencent toll to learn if they had any mail. The Metropolis ridiculed the mail service and pleaded for a post office on the north side of the river, where the Miami community now was firmly entrenched.93 The Metropolis lobbied for the incorporation of Miami before August 1, 1896. The journal argued that incorporation was necessary in order for Miamians to "frame and enforce such ordinances as are necessary." More specifically, an ordinance was necessary to deal with a problematical sanitary situation. "The removal of excrement and all kinds of disease-producing products at stated intervals should be rigidly insisted on," the paper said. In addition, it observed a problem with "indecent bathing," as workers bathed nude in both the river and along the banks of the bay.94 To begin the process of incorporation, an informal meeting was held on the evening of June 17. Frederick S. Morse was called upon to chair the meeting of about 100 people, forty of whom were registered voters. To incorporate as a municipality, at least twenty-five registered voters would be necessary to form a town; 300 or more voters would enable the municipality to incorporate as a city. The process required the twenty-five voters desiring incorporation to propose boundaries for the municipality and publish a notice to all eligible voters. This notice, to appear in the local newspaper, had to contain PAGE 24 24 TEQUESTA =. _~_-i " ---1, -i:.--i S-' -._ ..i ......, ....... ........ .... .... XTI 4-11,TTý T, L14-4 40, " .1 2 i I II l~t.J"^±a~ L~f^--: l.^rieT^^^ ^I4'" _^-_ -i/ .-_------7. .. ;, -; s ...... .• ..... =,i a ·-r -... ""' "> g 1896 plat map of Miami, showing the Tuttle and Brickell land and the original street numbering system. (Courtesy of Arva Moore Parks) '·~'F ·-··~;;r·-; ··M IAMIi ~ ··-;~·i·:7~rt~Wr.7T.S~;~T: i~ 9 ~ ~ ·~~;· FLA.'· 5utt Z;6=uc 7 I. -·_ ·R ae'186 la apofimi soin teTutl ndBrcel ln ad h origial steet nmberng sytem. Courtsy o-rva oore arks PAGE 25 The Birth of the City of Miami 25 (1) the declaration of a desire to incorporate, (2) the proposed boundaries, and (3) the date and time that another public meeting would be held at which all voters living within the boundaries could vote for or against the incorporation.95 This initial meeting proceeded without incident, with the exception of the question of whether or not to include North Miami within the city limits. Rev. Asbury Caldwell, the local Congregational minister, spoke in favor of including the "wet" area in order to control the saloon and other elements which, he claimed, "need checking now." After it became known that neither Flagler nor Tuttle wanted North Miami included, the proposed boundaries were settled with that sector excluded. Using today's street numbering system, these boundaries included: On the north, a point just above Eleventh Street; on the west, Northwest Seventh Avenue (north of the Miami River), Northwest and Southwest Eighth Avenue (south of the Miami River); on the south, beginning at the intersection of Southwest Eighth Avenue and Southwest Eleventh Street, going east along Eleventh Street to the intersection of Fifteenth Road and following that road southeast to a point in the middle of Biscayne Bay; on the east, the middle of Biscayne Bay.96 The final order of business before adjournment was to set the date of the next meeting, which was decided upon as July 28.97 The legal notice of the meeting appeared in the Miami Metropolis each week for five weeks. It outlined the proposed boundaries and was signed by the required minimum twenty-five voters. It stated in part: That notice is hereby given to all persons who are registered voters residing within the above proposed limits of the proposed corporation to assemble on the 28th day of July, A.D. 1896, at the room over "The Lobby," which building is situated on Avenue "D," in the town of Miami, Florida, to select officers and organize a municipal government.98 At 2 p.m., on July 28, 1896, the incorporation meeting took place. The vote was restricted to all men (women did not receive the right to vote until 1920) who resided in Miami and who had lived in Dade County for at least six months in order to register to vote. This allowed men who had moved from West Palm Beach, Juno or Lemon City to Miami to vote, as those places were all part of Dade County. PAGE 26 26 TEQUESTA Joseph A. McDonald, Flagler's chief of construction on the Hotel Royal Palm, was elected chairman of the meeting, H. J. Burkhardt was elected secretary and John B. McIntyre assistant secretary.99 The secretary called the roll to verify that at least two-thirds of the registered voters were present as the law required. There were 312 in attendance. However, as the meeting progressed, at least 32 stragglers arrived, since 344 votes were tallied in the final voting. The official minutes of the meeting indicate that the County Supervisor of Registration certified that there were 424 registered voters eligible to vote. This number consisted of 243 whites and 181 blacks. Of those registered voters, 368 were present at the meeting -206 white and 162 black.100 After ensuring that the required number of voters were present, Walter. S. Graham moved to vote by acclamation for the first three items on the ballot. The motion was made and unanimously carried to incorporate and organize a city government under the corporate name of "The City of Miami," with the boundaries as proposed, and that a corporate seal of this municipality shall be as follows: A round seal two inches in diameter, with the words 'The City of Miami' arranged in a semicircular form, constituting the border around the base and the design of the Royal Palm tree in an upright position in the center of the seal, with the inscription 'Incorporated 1896' inserted just below the center of the seal.'01 The next order of business was to elect officers. This was carried out by ballot. After the ballots were cast and while they were being tabulated, most people left to eat and then reassembled after dinner to learn the results, which were not announced until 10 p.m.102 The vote was a straight ticket win for the proposed "citizen's ticket" candidates. There were five proposed tickets, each of which endorsed 26-year-old John B. Reilly for mayor.'03 Reilly headed Flagler's Fort Dallas Land Company in Miami. He received 341 votes. The following were elected as Miami's first aldermen: Joseph A. McDonald (334 votes); Walter S. Graham (341 votes); William M. Brown (343 votes); Frederick S. Morse (343 votes); Edward L. Brady (317 votes); Daniel Cosgrove (343 votes); Frank T. Budge (233 votes). J. M. Graham (199 votes) was elected city clerk and Young F. Gray (247 votes) was chosen marshal.104 PAGE 27 The Birth of the City of Miami 27 The next item of business was the passage, by a unanimus vote, of a resolution urging the Postmaster General to direct the postmaster of Miami, Alice Brickell, "to immediately move the post office to a convenient location on the north side of the Miami River" since more than ninety percent of the population of Miami was living on that side. The voters also requested that the Miami post office be made a full money-order post office.105 Following the post office resolution, Justice of the Peace George W. Pierce administered the municipal oath of office to the new mayor Reilly who, in turn, administered the oath to the seven aldermen.16 The meeting closed with County Solicitor James B. Sanders of West Palm Beach "calling for three cheers for Miami and the new officers, which were given with a vim," and with speeches delivered by J. A. McDonald, lawyer E. F. McKinley, who had provided legal advice, Walter S. Graham and J. J. Haggerty.107 Isidor Cohen later recalled that one of the best speeches had been made by a black voter, whom he identified as A. C. Lightburn, but whom later records recognize as Alex C. Lightbourn.108 After the meeting, McKinley telegraphed the results to J. R. Parrott and J. E. Ingraham, who were spending the night in West Palm Beach before coming to the new city of Miami.10' Early the next morning, McDonald wired the results of the voting to Flagler in New York. Later that day, the following telegraph message, addressed to Joseph A. McDonald, was received in Miami: Telegram received. I congratulate the citizens of Miami upon the harmony which marked the election yesterday and trust that the auspicious beginning will result in future prosperity which will equal the most sanguine expectation of the people of the new city. H. M. Flagler110 The election results came as no surprise to Flagler, who has been called "Miami's Benevolent Dictator." He had invested no small sum in the railroad extension and development of Miami. He could not afford to sit by and watch an anti-Flagler group take control of his city. As he employed the great majority of the potential electors in the city, his men could decide the election. PAGE 28 28 TEQUESTA John Sewell wrote that his boss, J. A. McDonald, had put together a proposed slate of candidates but had chosen banker William M. Brown for mayor."' Sewell felt that the honor of being the first mayor of Miami should go to a Flagler man and chose John B. Reilly, who happened to be McDonald's son-in-law. McDonald didn't think it would look good if he put his relative in the top spot, but later acquiesced when Sewell told him that he, McDonald, could be an alderman. Sewell then went to Tuttle and let her choose an alderman candidate and then did the same with the Brickells.12 The resulting "citizen's ticket" carried the election. This slate probably was the best that could be found among the early residents and was instrumental in the development of the fledgling city, with the notable exception of Marshal Gray, a bibulous lawman, who was replaced in 1899 by John Frohock.113 The incorporation meeting on July 28 and the prior meeting on June 17 were both held "at the room over The Lobby."114 The exact location of this building had been somewhat of a mystery in recent years. The only known picture of a building labeled "The Lobby" depicted a small, one-story wood frame structure that was not large enough to have held all of the incorporators."5 This photograph appeared in a Miami Herald feature called "The Good Old Days" on January 29, 1939. The caption claimed J. M. Graham provided the picture, "which was taken a short time before Miami's incorporation. The Lobby Pool and Billiard Parlor, housed in the low-lying structure in mid-scene, was the center, Graham recalled, of the city's early social life. The men working on the Royal Palm Hotel used to come over there [on] evenings and shoot pool.""116 In its first edition, which appeared on May 15, 1896, the Miami Metropolis carried a brief description of several of Miami's businessmen, one of whom was Willis M. Myers, proprietor of the Lobby: Myers... was one of the first businessmen in Miami. When he talked about a pool room and cold drink stand about three months ago, most people thought he was wild or foolish. But he started the affairjust the same. Nobody thinks he was a fool now. Look at the crowd at his place every night. He must be coining money and he deserves to. He is gentlemanly, courteous and obliging."7 PAGE 29 The Birth of the City of Miami 29 Both scenes shown here are Avenue D (today's South Miami Avenue) in 1896. The photograph above is of the earlier home of the Lobby Pool Room, commonly mistaken as the site of the vote for incorporation. The pool room business moved into the first floor of the large center building, shown below, before the incorporation meeting, which was held on the second floor of this structure. All of these buildings were owned by Julia Tuttle and leased to local businessmen. (HASF 1962-24-203 and HASF 1975-25-103) PAGE 30 30 TEQUESTA The answer to the mystery of the one-story building is found in the Florida Times-Union for May 14, 1896, with the report from the Miami correspondent that, "W. M. Meyers [sic] has removed his poolroom several doors down the avenue toward the river.""8 Thus, the picture was taken before Myers moved his business from the one-story building to the ground floor of the larger two-story building, located five buildings south of his first location. All of those buildings were on the east side of today's South Miami Avenue between Southeast Second Street and the Miami River. They were owned by Tuttle and rented out to merchants. The exact location of the larger building at the time of the incorporation was 350 feet south of the spur track leading to the Hotel Royal Palm.19 Myers sold the business to H. J. Burkhardt in June 1896, who had closed the pool room by July 10. However, the building continued to be referred to as "the Lobby building" and was used for large meetings. In July 1899, the building was removed to the south end of the west wing of the Hotel Miami. Five weeks later, P. C. Hainlin leased the lower floor for a steam laundry to be known as the "Magic City Steam Laundry."120 But, on November 12, 1899, during a severe Yellow Fever epidemic, an explosion of a blue flame oil stove caused a fire to break out in the adjacent Hotel Miami. Within thirty minutes after the first alarm, the hotel, the Lobby building and four other structures "were in a mass of ruins."121 Thus, Miami's "birth place" was gone little more than three years after incorporation while the municipality it spawned has not only endured, but it has achieved, since that time, a prominence as one of the hemisphere's most important cities. The author would like to gratefully acknowledge the help given by Howard Kleinberg, who provided encouragement and editorial assistance. Endnotes 1. Oby J. Bonawit, Miami Florida Early Families and Records (Miami, Fla., published by author, 1980), 69. See also Francis P. Fleming, Memoirs of Florida, vol. 2 (Atlanta, Ga.: The Southern Historical Association, 1902), 445-46. 2. Bonawit, Miami Florida Early Families and Records, 75-77. See also Flemming, Memoirs of Florida, vol. 2, 735-36; Arva Moore Parks, Miami, The Magic City (Revised Edition, Miami, Fla.: Centennial PAGE 31 The Birth of the City of Miami 31 Press, 1991), 60. 3. "The Day in St. Augustine -The Hack Line to Biscayne Bay," Florida Times-Union (Jacksonville, Fla.), January 10, 1893. 4. "A Trip to Biscayne Bay," The Tropical Sun (Juno, Fla.), March 9, 1893. 5. Ibid. 6. "The Lower East Coast -A Picture of Beautiful Bay Biscayne and the Lake Worth Region," Florida Times-Union, May 8, 1893. 7. "Southern Part of Dade -Fred S. Morse Talks of the Biscayne Bay Region," The Tropical Sun, November 29, 1894. 8. Joe Knetsch and Paul S. George, "Flagler Sets His Sights on Biscayne Bay," South Florida History Magazine (winter 1995), 20-25. 9. "Mr. Flagler and the Canal Company," Indian River Advocate (Titusville, Fla.), March 3, 1893 and March 24, 1893. 10. Alfred Jackson Hanna and Kathryn Abby Hanna, Florida's Golden Sands (Indianapolis: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, Inc., 1950), 245-259. 11. Ibid. 12. Ibid. 13. Sidney Walter Martin, Florida's Flagler (Athens: University of Georgia Press, 1949), 129. 14. "A Great Strip of Land Granted to the East Coast Railroad by the Florida Canal Company," The Florida Star (Titusville, Fla.), January 25, 1895. 15. "Ice and Snow in Florida," The Florida Citizen (Jacksonville, Fla.), December 29, 1894. See also "It is a Story of Ruin," The Florida Citizen, December 30, 1894; "Counting Up The Damage," The Florida Citizen, December 31, 1894. 16. "No Damaging Freeze at Biscayne Bay," The Florida Star, January 25, 1895. 17. "The Freeze," Indian River Advocate, February 15, 1895. See also "Ice Everywhere," Florida Times-Union, February 8, 1895; "Freeze Grips Florida," Florida Times-Union, February 10, 1895; "Another Destructive Freeze," Florida Star, February 15, 1895. 18. Ibid. 19. "Reports from New River and Biscayne Bay," Indian River Advocate, February 15, 1895. 20. "J. E. Ingraham," Indian River Advocate, February 15, 1895. See also "Ingraham Returned to St. Augustine," Indian River PAGE 32 32 TEQUESTA Advocate, February 22, 1895; "Interesting Story of How Miami Began Reads Like Romance," The Miami Herald, June 17, 1915; "Memory of Late Henry M. Flagler Honored at Unveiling of Bronze Tablet Yesterday," The Miami Herald, November 13, 1920. 21. Harry Gardner Cutler, History of Florida, Past and Present, Historical and Biographical, vol. 3 (Chicago and New York: Lewis Publishers, 1923), 370-71. See also "James E. Ingraham," The Tatler [sic] of Florida Society (St. Augustine, Fla.), March 7, 1908, 2. 22. David Leon Chandler, Henry Flagler, The Astonishing Life and Times of the Visionary Robber Baron Who Founded Florida (New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1986), 168-69. 23. Ibid. 24. Ibid. 25. "Memory of Late Henry M. Flagler," The Miami Herald, November 13, 1920. 26. "The Flagler Party and Bay Biscayne," Indian River Advocate, March 22, 1895. 27. Ibid. 28. "Newspapers at Sanford," Indian River Advocate, April 5, 1895. 29. "Biscayne Bay Business," Florida Times-Union, March 12, 1895. See also "Railroad Through the Wilderness," Broward Legacy 15, no. 3-4 (summer/fall 1992), 38-44. 30. Flagler to Tuttle, April 22, 1895, Julia Tuttle Papers, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Fla. 31. Ibid. These lots were conveyed by Tuttle to Flagler's Fort Dallas Land Company on January 6, 1897. See Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "Q", 347-352. 32. Contract between Henry M. Flagler and Julia S. Tuttle, as reproduced in Howard Kleinberg, Miami The Way We Were (Tampa, Fla.: Surfside Publishing, 1989), 33, 35. 33. Ibid. 34. "The City of Miami, Some Points About the History of the Place," The Miami Metropolis, October 9, 1896. This article indicates the date of the Brickell contract was June 12, 1895. The bridge was completed in December 1896 and the Miami lots were conveyed by the Brickells to Flagler's Ft. Dallas Land Company on January 6, 1897. See Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "Q", 341-346. 35. "A Trip to Biscayne Bay," Indian River Advocate, May 17, 1895. PAGE 33 The Birth of the City of Miami 33 36. "East Coast Extension," Florida Times-Union, June 21. 1895. 37. "West Palm Beach Items, Work Has Commenced on the Railroad to Biscayne Bay," Florida Times-Union, June 22, 1895. 38. "The Flagler Railway," Indian River Advocate, July 5, 1895. 39. "East Coast Surveyors," Florida Times-Union, July 17, 1895; Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "Q", 257267. 40. "The Flagler Railway," Indian River Advocate, August 16, 1895. See also "East Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company," Indian River Advocate, August 23, 1895. 41. C. M. Gardner and C. F. Kennedy, Business Directory, Guide and History of Dade County, Fla., for 1896-97 (West Palm Beach, Fla.: Tropical Sun Print, 1896), 33. 42. Ibid., 34. 43. Minutes of the Board of Trustees of the Internal Improvement Fund Meeting, July 9, 1896, Records of the State of Florida. 44. "Let Us All Pull Together," Indian River Advocate, October 18, 1895. 45. "Col. John A. McDonald," Indian River Advocate, October 25, 1895. See also "Dade County," Indian River Advocate, October 25,1895. 46. Chandler, Henry Flagler, 110-14. See also Martin, Florida's Flagler, 169-77; Edward N. Akin, Flagler: Rockefeller Partner and Florida Baron (Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1988, 1992), 147-48. 47. Ibid. 48. Contract between Henry M. Flagler and Julia S. Tuttle, as reproduced in Kleinberg, Miami The Way We Were, 33, 35. 49. "Great Guns at Miami," Florida Times-Union, October 27, 1895. 50. "Blew the Bay Dry," Florida Times-Union, October 29, 1895. 51. "West Palm Beach," Indian River Advocate, October 25, 1895. 52. "Great Guns at Miami, " Florida Times-Union, October 27, 1895. 53. "Arrival of Mr. Flagler," Indian River Advocate, November 1, 1895. 54. "On to Miami, Indian River Advocate, November 1, 1895. PAGE 34 34 TEQUESTA 55. "Inspecting the Railway Extension and Hotels," Indian River Advocate, November 8, 1895. 56. Gardner and Kennedy, Business Directory, 35. See also "The Florida East Coast Railway," Indian River Advocate, December 13,1895. 57. "Mr. H. M. Flagler," Indian River Advocate, November 15, 1895. 58. "Miami's New Hotel," Indian River Advocate, December 27, 1895. 59. Minutes of the County Commission, December 10, 1895, Records of Dade County, Fla. 60. "Improvements Along the East Coast," Indian River Advocate, January 10, 1896. 61. "Florida Coast Line Canal," The Tatler [sic] of Society in Florida, January 18, 1896, 21-22. See also "Miami Meanderings Reliable Information As To How Affairs Are Progressing on Biscayne Bay," Indian River Advocate, January 31, 1896. 62. "Steamers to Run on the Canal," Indian River Advocate, January 10 1896. 63. "Misleading Statements," Indian River Advocate, January 24, 1896. See also "Miami Meanderings Reliable Information As to How Affairs Are Progressing on Biscayne Bay," Indian River Advocate, January 31, 1896. 64. "The Boom Is On At Miami," Florida Times-Union, January 31, 1896. 65. Ibid. 66. "East Coast Railway Extension," Indian River Advocate, February 21, 1896. 67. "West Palm Beach News, George Zapt Acquitted," Florida Times-Union, April 20, 1896; "Travel," The Tatler [sic] of Society in Florida, February 22, 1896. 68. Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "Q", 257267. 69. W. S. Graham to J. R. Parrott, February 24, 1896, as reproduced in Howard Kleinberg, "Caution Urged in Tuttle, Brickell Deals," The Miami News, August 1, 1987, 4C. 70. Ibid. 71. Isidor Cohen, Historical Sketches and Sidelights of Miami, Florida (Miami, privately printed, 1925), 13-20. 72. John Sewell, Miami Memoirs, A New Pictorial Edition of PAGE 35 The Birth of the City of Miami 35 John Sewell's Own Story by Arva Moore Parks (Miami, Fla.: Arva Parks & Co., 1987), 17-18. 73. "It is Getting There," Indian River Advocate, March 27, 1896. 74. Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 20-25. 75. Ibid. See also "A Floating Hotel," Indian River Advocate, March 13, 1896. 76. "Miami Meanderings," Indian River Advocate, April 10, 1896. 77. Ibid. See also Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "O", 407-409. 78. Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 153. 79. "Miami Meanderings," Indian RiverAdvocate, April 10, 1896. 80. "A Go Ahead Suburb," The Miami Metropolis, May 15, 1896. See also Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Plat Book "A," 49 1/2; Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Plat Book "B," 53; Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 153-56. 81. "West Palm Beach Budget," Florida Times-Union, April 4, 1896; "West Palm Beach -The Section Growing Steadily and Surely," Florida Times-Union, April 10, 1896. 82. "Tales From The Old Town," Florida Times-Union, April 14, 1896. 83. "The First Passenger Train Over The New Extension," Indian River Advocate, April 17, 1896. 84. Mary Barr Munroe Diary, April 13, 1896, Kirk Munroe Papers, National Archives, Washington, D. C. Copy on microfilm in Special Collections, Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. 85. "West Palm Beach News -Successful Church Festival," Florida Times-Union, April 18, 1896. 86. "From Jacksonville to Miami," Indian River Advocate, April 17, 1896. Says "first run having been made on Wednesday [April 15]." 87. Ibid. 88. "West Palm Beach News -Prospect for Oranges and Limes Excellent," Florida Times-Union, April 17, 1896. 89. "West Palm Beach News -The Ocean Pier Is About Completed," Florida Times-Union, April 22, 1896. 90. Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Deed Book "O", 22931,257-60. 91. Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 80. 92. Ibid., 101. PAGE 36 36 TEQUESTA 93. "Additional Local," The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896. 94. Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 102. 95. "The New City," Florida Times-Union, June 21, 1896. See also "Incorporation The Town" The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896; "We Will Incorporate," The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896. 96. "The New City," Florida Times-Union, June 21. 1896. 97. Ibid. 98. "Notice," The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896. 99. "Transcript of the Proceedings of the Meeting Held July 28 A. D. 1896 for Incorporation of the City of Miami," Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Corporation Book "A", 29. Copy courtesy of City of Miami Archives. 100. Ibid. See also Dorothy Jenkins Fields, "Reflections on Black History: Miami's Incorporation," Update (August 1976), 10. 101. "Transcript of the Proceedings of the Meeting Held July 28, A. D. 1896," Dade County, Fla., Recorder's Office, Corporation Book "A", 29. 102. Ibid. See also "Miami Incorporated," The Miami Metropolis, July 31, 1896. 103. "City of Miami Christened," Florida Times-Union, July 29, 1896. 104. "Miami Incorporated," The Miami Metropolis, July 31, 1896. 105. Ibid. 106. "City of Miami Christened," Florida Times-Union, July 29, 1896. 107. Ibid. 108. "Miami Was Tough, Uninviting, 25 Years Ago," Miami Daily Metropolis, July 26, 1921. 109. "City of Miami Christened," Florida TimesUnion, July 29, 1896. 110. "Miami Incorporated," The Miami Metropolis, July 31, 1896. 111. "John Sewell Engineered Incorporation Election," Miami Daily Metropolis, July 28, 1917, 25. 112. Sewell, Miami Memoirs, 145-50. 113. Miami Metropolis, June 2, 1899, as cited in Kleinberg, "First Lawman Hired -and Ousted," The Miami News, December 8, 1984, 4C. 114. "Notice," The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896. See also "Incorporating The Town," The Miami Metropolis, June 19, 1896. 115. Howard Kleinberg, "A City is Born...Over a Pool Room," PAGE 37 The Birth of the City of Miami 37 The Miami News, July 28, 1984, 4C (Photograph). 116. "The Good Old Days," The Miami Herald, January 29, 1939, 13. 117. "Leaders in Business," The Miami Metropolis, May 15, 1896. 118. "Matters at Miami," Florida Times-Union, May 14, 1896. 119. Sanborn Maps, Miami, Fla., April 1899, 4, Map Division, National Archives, Washington, D. C. Microfilm copy in Special Collections, Otto G. Richter Library, University of Miami, Coral Gables, Fla. 120. "Miami Mince Meat," The Miami Metropolis, September 8, 1899. 121. "Miami Mince Meat," The Miami Metropolis, July 10, 1896; "Miami Mince Meat," The Miami Metropolis, July 28, 1899; "Sunday's Bad Fire," The Miami Metropolis, November 17, 1899. PAGE 38 38 TEQUESTA LEMON CITY t DetentionCamp ALLAPATTAH PRAIRIE BUENA VISTA William McAdam atFulford .... (north of Lemon City) <,< < a< <, [NW 7th Street] McKenzies'sCorner I 12th Street [Flagllr St 'Stone Dock -