Key West - Henry Flagler

Henry Flagler had a large part in creating Florida - from the Ponce de Leon Hotel in St. Augustine through the construction of the railroad across the sea to Key West. His railroad opened travel to Florida, bringing people new to Florida.

The train station in Key West functions today as a museum to Flagler's accomplishments and the building of the railroad through the Florida Keys.

During the planning, Flagler was told it was impossible to build a railroad to Key West.  During the construction, it was called Flagler's Folly.

After the railroad was completed, it was called the 8th wonder of the world.  Quite a change in public view.

Henry Flagler and his wife rode the first train into Key West to celebrate its completion, one hundred years ago.  When Flagler arrived in Key West, he said, "Now I can die happy.  My dream has been fulfilled."

Much of the railroad bridges stand today in testimony to the engineering and construction techniques developed for this endeavor.  The seven-mile bridge is so long that the opposite end disappears over the horizon.

The seven-mile bridge still stands strong today, 100 years and many hurricanes later.  When the railroad was converted to an automobile highway, a wider deck was installed and the old railroad tracks were used as guard rails.

The lower end of the 7-mile bridge and the Long Key bridge both have the arched supports that became a symbol of the Overseas Railroad.

The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 changed the history of the railroad.  It was a category 5 hurricane with record low pressures.  A train that was sent to rescue people on Islamorada was unable to return to Miami before the tidal surge washed it off the tracks.  The Great Depression had cash starved the railroad making it unable to rebuild.  The Overseas Railroad was sold to the State of Florida and became the Overseas Highway.

Another book for your reading list - The Last Train to Paradise.  Les Standiford has written a complete, well-researched history of the building of the railroad, in an easy to read, novel style.  Standiford, head of the Creative Writing Department at Florida International University, has also written a series of ten mystery novels set in South Florida, with the character John Deal.  More books for your list.

http://www.thrillingdetective.com/deal.html