When did Henry Flagler build the railroad in Florida?
1892
Flagler began his railroad building in 1892. Under Florida’s generous land-grant laws passed in 1893, 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) could be claimed from the state for every mile (1.6 km) built.
When did Flagler build the railroad in the Keys?
1912
Completed in 1912 after seven years of unrelenting labor, it cost Flagler an estimated $50 million and required unparalleled vision and unswerving perseverance. According to a volume released in 1912 announcing the railroad’s debut, Flagler possessed those qualities in abundance.
Who built the railroad from Miami to Key West?
Henry Flagler’s Overseas Railroad
Over a hundred years ago, the first train to cross the Overseas Railroad, technically known as the Key West extension of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway, chugged into Key West.
Why did Henry Flagler want to build the Flagler railroad?
The Florida Keys would not be the vacation destination they are today if it weren’t for the vision of Henry Flagler. Flagler saw the benefit of connecting Key West with the rest of the country after construction of the Panama Canal began. It was then that he decided to expand his railroad from Miami through the Florida Keys.
How old was Henry Flagler when he invented Florida?
In essence, Henry Flagler invented modern Florida. Amazingly, Flagler accomplished these feats after retiring from his first career and having reached an age equal to the average life expediency for an American male of the time.
When did Henry Flagler open his first hotel?
The first passenger train, called Mr. Flagler’s Special, arriving at Key West on January 22, 1912. ©Flagler Museum Archives. Historic photograph of Henry Flagler’s first hotel, Hotel Ponce de Leon, in St. Augustine (now Flagler College).
How many photos of Flagler’s Overseas Railroad are there?
To commemorate ‘Flagler’s Folly’, which blew away in a hurricane in the ’30s, the Monroe County Public Library uploaded hundreds of photos of the old railroad to Flickr, where the whole extraordinary ordeal that was the Overseas Railway can be explored. We’ve uploaded 30 of them here. It may have been a folly, but oh what a folly it was.