Three Women Built Miami

In the 1890s, the Miami area had fewer than 500 white American settlers. Over the next century, three women strongly influenced the development of the area. The first was Julia Tuttle. She is known as the Mother of Miami.

Julia Tuttle was a wealthy widow from the north who owned land in Miami. She believed that Miami could someday be an important link between the United States and South America. So, she offered land to businessman Henry Flagler, who owned what became known as the Florida East Coast Railway system. He extended his railroad to Miami.

The area grew quickly after the railroad arrived in 1896. But, a powerful ocean storm damaged Miami in 1926. Then, in the 1930s, the Great Depression slowed most new building projects.

The city began growing again after World War II. Miami became a leading center of trade with countries in the Caribbean, Central America and South America. Many people from other parts of the United States moved to Florida permanently to enjoy the warm weather.

Only 50 years after Julia Tuttle made her deal with Henry Flagler, the population of the Greater Miami area had grown to about 500,000 people.

In 1947, the writer Marjorie Stoneman Douglas helped people in Miami understand how development could destroy the Everglades. The Everglades are huge wetlands. They include grasslands and a very shallow, slow river. Marjorie Stoneman Douglas’ book, called “River of Grass,” explained how important the Everglades were to the survival of Miami. That same year marked the opening of the Everglades National Park.