HistoryMiami Presents Ghost Tours Of Miami City Cemetery

In honor of Halloween, HistoryMiami's City Tours is hosting ghoulish Miami City Cemetery tours. There are two nighttime tours; on Friday and Saturday, October 28 and 29 from 8pm-10pm. For those faint-of-heart, the daylight walk is on Saturday, October 29 from 10am-noon.

Many prominent figures are buried at Miami’s City Cemetery, including settler Julia Tuttle, known by many as "the mother of Miami," and business pioneers like the Burdine family. It was created in 1887, making it the first and oldest cemetery in Miami. Visitors can appreciate the rare tropical plants and trees here, as well as, admire the Mediterranean Revival architecture, and the historic styles of the tombstones and mausoleums.

These Ghost Tours offer a unique opportunity to learn more about Miami’s fascinating past through the cemetery’s inhabitants. Featuring historian Dr. Paul George and other HistoryMiami guides, tourgoers will hear some of the tragic and bizarre stories of those entombed at City Cemetery, for example, the story of the “Lady in Concrete,” a woman buried in concrete by her loving husband who chose this method to preserve her body for eternity.

To book these City Tours or for information please call 305-375-1621, e-mail citytours@historymiami.org, or visit the City Tours website.

HistoryMiami is the premier cultural institution committed to gathering, organizing, preserving and celebrating Miami’s history as the unique crossroads of the Americas. The organization accomplishes this through exhibitions, city tours, education, research, collections and publications. Learn more online at historymiami.org.

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DeBunking the Orange Blossom Myth, by Seth Bramson

For many years, because of the wonderful publicity generated by the City of Miami beginning shortly after its founding in July, 1896, it was believed that the legendary Henry Flagler extended his fabled railroad to the shores of Biscayne Bay because Julia Tuttle, the "mother of Miami," sent him some orange blossoms following the great freezes of December of 1894 and January and February of 1895.

Wonderful story. Totally false!

Mrs.Tuttle had beseeched first Henry Plant, the builder of the hotels and railroads in central Florida and on the state's west coast, to extend his railroadacross the state, but Mr. Plant rejected the idea. Without a moment's hesitation, she began pleading with Mr. Flagler to extend his railroad from West Palm Beach to the barely-a-pioneer-outpost 65 miles south, but was met with the same negative response. As Mr. Flagler pointed out, there was simply no reason to make the not inconsiderable expenditure. With the 1894 and '95 freezes, Mrs.Tuttle knew that her time had come, and in a telegram to Mr. Flagler in early March, 1895, she wrote,"Region around shores of Biscayne Bay untouched by freezes. Please come see for yourself."

Mr. Flager did not "come see" but sent his close associates, James E. Ingraham and Joseph R. Parrott, who returned to Palm Beach with bushels of produce and citrus and explained to Flagler that, while the freeze had killed almost all of the fruits and vegetables into what was then middle-Dade County, the region south of what is approximately today's 163rd Street in North Miami Beach was untouched by the horrific weather.

Flagler cabled Julia, asking, "Madam, what is it that you propose?" Her answer was to the point: "If you will extend your railroad to the shores of Biscayne Bay and build one of your great hotels, I will give you 50 acres for shops and yards plus half of my holdings north of the river and Mr. [William] Brickell will give you half of his property south of the river," and with that an agreement was made, a contract was signed and on April 15,1896, the first Florida East Coast train rolled into town followed, a week later, by the first passenger train.

Miami was incorporated on July 28,1896; the Royal Palm Hotel, on the banks of the Miami River, opened on December 31,1896; the rest, as they say, is history.

But there were no orange blossoms!

Miami Beach's recorded history goes back to 1870,when father and son Henry and Charles Lum sailboated on to a large sandbar east of Fort Dallas (which would later become Miami). Returning to Key West, they arranged to buy the sandbar and its submerged vicinity for $.35 per acre!

Returning to the area in 1882, they sold the property to Ezra Osborne and Elnathan Field for about $.75 an acre, clearing a hefty - for the time - profit. Osborne and Field, several years later, would sell the same property to John S. Collins (yes,THAT Collins!) and his son-in-law Thomas Pancoast for approximately $1.25 an acre.

Eventually, running short on money, Collins and Pancoast sold most of their holdings to the Lummus Brothers (for whom the great oceanside park on Miami Beach is named) and Indianapolis automobilist Carl Graham Fisher, who is considered the father of Miami Beach.

Fisher filled and built Miami Beach, incorporating the city in March of 1915. Several years later he erected the beautiful monument in Biscayne Bay dedicated to Florida's Empire Builder, the greatest single name in the history of the Sunshine State: Henry Morrison Flagler. Today the Flagler Monument, floodlit at night and visible from the causeways during the day, is a fitting tribute to two of Florida's most revered names.

Seth Bramson is considered Miami's foremost and leading historian. The author of 14 books on Florida transportation and south Florida local history, he is Company Historian of the Florida East Coast Railway and is Adjunct Professor of History at both Florida International University and BarryUniversity. See more of his work at www.lchaimmiamibook.com. 


All images courtesy of the collection of Myrna & Seth Bramson.

Who Are Collins and Flagler Anyway?

A Brief Guide to Miami Street Names
Flagler Street: Henry Flager's East Coast Railway made Miami possible. Before 1896, there was no easy way to move goods and people in and out of Miami. The railroad arrived in April, 1896, and Miami was incorporated in May. Henry Flagler is known as the "father of Miami" and his name graces many places in South Florida.

Collins Avenue: John Collins was a farmer and land developer who built the first wooden bridge from Miami to Miami Beach in 1913. The opening of the bridge is seen here. Collins Avenue is also referred to as A1A - it stretches from the southern tip of the island that is Miami Beach all the way north to Broward County. John Collins and his son-in-law owned most of Miami Beach at one time, and eventually sold their property to the Lummus brothers, whose names grace Miami Beach's Lummus Park. 

Biscayne Blvd.: Named for Biscayne Bay.

Brickell Avenue: William and Mary Brickell owned a trading post on the south side of the Miami River in the late 1800s. Everything south of the river was called Brickell for many years.

Julia Tuttle Causeway: Julia Tuttle was the "mother of Miami." It was she who persuaded (badgered some say) Henry Flagler into expanding his rail line south from Palm Beach to Miami. Flagler wanted to stop in Palm Beach and did until the great freeze of 1895, which spared Miami. Tuttle sent him fruit from Miami to prove that the crops down here were still fine and Flagler changed his mind.

Rickenbacker Causeway: Named after WW1 ace pilot and Medal of Honor winner Eddie Rickenbacker. He later became the president of Eastern Air Lines, which was based in Miami. He had a home for many years in Coconut Grove, not far from Key Biscayne, which is connected to the mainland by the Rickenbacker Causeway.

Don Shula Expressway: Don Shula IS the coach of the Miami Dolphins to many, no matter who else has held the job since his retirement in 1997. Shula holds the coaching record for most wins in the NFL (347) and coached the perfect season 1972 Dolphins.

Killian Drive: Named for pioneer Dan Killian, who had a country store south of what is now Coral Gables and was responsible for the first schools, streetlights and churches in this area.
Kendall Drive: Named for Henry John Broughton Kendall, a director of the Florida Land and Mortgage Company, which bought the land that is now Kendall (a census-designated but unincorporated part of Miami-Dade County) from the state of Florida in 1883.

Ives Dairy Rd. & Milam Dairy Rd.: At one time, these actually went to (you guessed it!) dairy farms. Now Ives Dairy Rd. runs out to Sun Life Stadium and becomes Dan Marino Blvd. and Milam Dairy Rd. goes to Miami Lakes. The Milam family name still graces their chain of local upscale grocery stores, Milam's.

Miami's Famous Firsts!

Miami is the first and only major city in the US conceived by a woman, Julia Tuttle, who is regarded as the "mother of Miami."

The first photo-finish capability for deciding the winner of a horse race was installed at Hialeah Racetrack in 1936. The Racetrack is seen here as it was in 1925. It re-opened in November, 2009, for quarter horse racing. The season has ended, but racing will begin again in the fall of 2010. Hialeah Racetrack is also home to some very famous flamingos, seen in the opening credits of Miami Vice in the 1980s. 

The University of Miami was the first academic institution in Florida selected to host a Presidential debate (2004); those were the first ever Presidential debates in South Florida.

UM's Hurricanes are the first ever NCAA team to win more than 50 home games in a row. Their 58 game winning streak is a record that still stands in the NCAA.

Miami-based Pan American Airlines was the first international airline in the US. Pan Am was also the first airline to provide economy class service at a reduced rate to make mass air travel a reality. The globe from Pan Am headquarters can still be seen in the lobby of the Miami Science Museum, where is was moved when the airline closed.

The Miami Dolphins are the first, and so far the only, NFL team to have a perfect season. In 1972, the Dolphins went 17-0 and won the Super Bowl.

Joe's Stone Crab of Miami Beach was the first ever restaurant to start cooking and serving stone crab claws. No one else had figured out what to with plentiful stone crabs until Joe figured out to serve them cold with his signature mustard sauce! Joe's is still a must-see on every foodie's list when visiting South Florida. 

Miami's Virginia Miller Art Gallery made international history in 1991 when it became the first art gallery to photograph visitors using a Canon digital camera developed for use in the Persian Gulf War. Those pictures were manipulated and then printed using a Canon color bubble jet printer, making it the first gallery ever to use digital art.

In 1920, Miami resident Arthur Wynne, formerly from New Jersey, invented the crossword puzzle to entertain his children.

In 1933, Dr. William Homer Walker came to Miami from Pennsylvania and opened Miami’s first Savings & Loan Association. Dr. Walker was granted the first ever Federal Savings & Loan charter ever issued by the US government.

Gwendolyn Boyd-Savage was the first African-American woman to be sworn in as a police chief in North Miami, in 2002. She was the first Florida police chief, male or female, to hold a doctorate.

The first ever night racing in dog racing history was in Miami, in 1925. It was started by O.P. Smith of the Miami Kennel Club, who also invented the mechanical rabbit, and who is regarded as the "father of modern greyhound racing."

Chalk Airlines, which operated in Miami well into this century, was the first airline ever to have scheduled passenger flights. It started flights to the Bahamas in 1917.