However, there was still a high casualty rate, both from accidents and disease, and a hospital was built in Miami to treat the afflicted. Ida Alice (née Shourds) Flagler had been a caregiver for Mary Flagler. Aerial of FEC railroad through Pigeon Key. I am very much interested in the history of the Keys and the Florida East Coast Railroad. “An old spur that was part of Henry Flagler’s railroad a century ago will become West Palm Beach’s latest park, a linear spot to rise near the northern edge of downtown. In one respect Flagler was lucky. Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean - Kindle edition by Standiford, Les. 1867: Became a partner of the Rockefellers. However, Flagler craved an outlet for his colossal creative energies, and that was just what he found in Florida, which he explored in 1883 while on honeyoon with his second wife, Ida. FEC workers clear the roadbed before laying down rail tracks. Flagler found the city charming, but the hotel facilities and transportati… Henry Flagler's non-Standard Oil interests went in a different direction than Henry Rogers', however, when in 1878, on the advice of his physician, Flagler traveled to Jacksonville, Florida for the winter with his first wife, Mary (née Harkness) Flagler, who was quite ill. Two years after she died in 1881, he married again. Ida Alice (née Shourds) Flagler had been a caregiver for Mary. In the early 1900s Flagler, affiliated with John D. Rockefeller in the Standard Oil Company, conceived and oversaw the construction of the Florida Keys Over-Sea Railroad, paving the way for the Keys’ evolution into the destination that is internationally recognized today. Flagler dredged a channel, built streets, instituted the first water and power systems, and financed the town’s first newspaper, the Metropolis. “FLAGLER’S FOLLY” his critics called it, when Henry Morrison Flagler announced that he planned to run a railway out to sea, down the Florida Keys all the way to Key West. Sensing a golden opportunity, he gave up his daily involvement in the Standard, and set about building a chain of hotels along the east coast—the first of which, the 540-room Ponce de León, opened in St. Augustine in 1888. She knew it would eventually open up all south Florida to northern commerce and she was keenly aware of the boon it would be to the … As he noted: “the average passenger will take a through car ninety five times in a hundred in preference to making a change.” Another problem was that the lines only ran to Daytona, a beach about a third of the way down the coast—beyond that, Flagler would have to lay his own tracks. HENRY M. FLAGLER'S Florida East Coast Railroad kept Mrs. Julia Tuttle of Fort Dallas in a fever heat of excitement. By the time his plans were ready, President Theodore Roosevelt had authorized the construction of the Panama Canal, making Key West a potentially vital transportation hub. Flagler, his life’s work accomplished, died a happy man the following year. Henry Flagler was best known for being a co-founder of Standard Oil. 91. It failed to attract many passengers, and proved to be unreliable since it was affected by bad weather. At the time, Florida was still a young state and was keen to sell its land rights, and Flagler saw that even underdeveloped St. Augustine, the oldest European settlement in the US, was attracting plenty of wealthy tourists. Indeed, Florida, the Sunshine State, has much to thank him for. Later, the Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line railroads built their tracks through Central Florida to the Gulf Coast. The Long Key viaduct alone measured 2½ miles (4km), and was second only to the 7-mile (11-km) Knights Key viaduct, which rested on 366 concrete columns and had a swing bridge to allow ships to pass through it. More . As for getting the work done, Flagler simply found the right man for the job and left him to it, ignoring the question of cost, even though there were no more grants to be had. That railcar, No. Instead, Henry Flagler chose to spend the last 30 years of his life building a railroad line in Florida and establishing Florida’s tourist industry. Download it once and read it on your Kindle device, PC, phones or tablets. His chosen engineer was Joseph Carroll Meredith, who had already built the massive docks at Tampico on the Gulf of Mexico. When Henry B. ©Flagler Museum Archives. Search it up Without dry land for accommodation, the 4,000 workers were housed on enormous barges, which contained all the facilities needed for survival, including vast quantities of fresh water. Another great draw was an annex called the Breakers, which proved so popular that Flagler turned it into a casino. What was needed was a reliable railroad that would link the town directly to New York, so Flagler bought up the existing lines and converted them to standard gauge. Flagler found the city charming, but the hotel facilities and transport… In 1904, the brilliant and driven entrepreneur Henry Flagler, partner to John D. Rockefeller and the true mastermind behind Standard Oil, concocted the dream of a railway connecting the island of Key West to the Florida mainland, crossing a staggering 153 miles of open ocean—an engineering challenge beyond even that of the Panama Canal. Henry Flagler died at age 83, on May 20, 1913, as a result of injuries he sustained in a fall at Palm Beach's Whitehall, the 55-room mansion he built as a wedding gift for his third wife. Henry Morrison Flagler is best known for his development of Florida's east coast. He could have been as rich and as famous as John D. Rockefeller. Henry Flagler saw the benefit of connecting Key West with the rest of the country after construction of the Panama Canal began. Along with John D. Rockefeller, they created a corporation worth millions of dollars. At the time, the area was “mostly swamp, and was filled with mosquitoes, snakes, mangrove thickets and Spanish Bayonet” (a nasty type of cactus), but Flagler tamed it and brought water and electricity to the town he established there. The locals wanted to call the town “Flagler,” but Flagler declined the honor, preferring to name it after the river. Historic photograph of Henry Flagler's first hotel, Hotel Ponce de Leon, in St. Augustine (now Flagler College). If you live in Florida, you’re probably familiar with some of oil tycoon Henry M. Flagler’s work. News and Articles. ©Flagler Museum Archives. In discussions of railroads and their impact on One Whitehall WayPalm Beach, FL 33480(561) 655-2833Terms & Conditions - © Flagler Museum, 2020, Walk This Way: Historic Footwear from the Stuart Weitzman Collection. However, before he got started on the offshore part of the route, Meredith had to lay 91 miles (146km) of railroad through the Everglades, an ordeal in which every kind of danger and annoyance was encountered, from apparently bottomless swamps and uncharted lakes to snakes, alligators, mosquitoes, and obstacles that only the biggest dredgers in the country could move. In 1885, Flagler took a trip to Jacksonville, Florida that would change his focus. Many considered the project impossible, but build it they did. "To understand the railroad, you must first understand a little about its developer, Henry Flagler," said Tom Hambright, historian at the Monroe County Public Library in Key West. Workers lay rail tracks for the Florida East Coast Railway. For the first time, Flagler was able to experience the warm, sunny atmosphere of Florida. Huge collection, amazing choice, 100+ million high quality, affordable RF and RM images. For decades before his great Florida adventure, Flagler had been a key partner in the creation of Rockefeller’s gigantic Standard Oil monopoly. The elements also caused havoc, not least in 1906, when a hurricane sank an accommodation barge, causing at least at least 70 deaths, and delaying construction for a year. This hotel was completed in 1888, and it was during it's construction that he began to add railroads to his collection of businesses. Find the perfect flagler railroad stock photo. FAQ; Railroad News . The wealthy Flagler took an interest in Florida while seeking a warmer climate for his ailing first wife in the late 1870s. 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