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Poor Beginning Henry
Morrison Flagler was born on January
2, 1830 in Hopewell, New York.
Upon completing the eighth grade
in 1844, Flagler began working for
L.C. Harkness in Ohio as a store clerk.
In 1853, Henry Flagler married Harkness'
daughter, Mary. It was Mary's
poor health that would later bring
Henry Flagler to Florida. | |
Rockefeller
& Standard Oil
In 1867, Flagler became
partners with John D. Rockefeller, an oil refiner in Cleveland, Ohio. The partnership
emerged as the Standard Oil Company and, in less than two years, was leading the
oil refining industry, producing over 10,000 barrels a day. Rockefeller was once
asked if it was he who conceived the idea for Standard Oil, to which he replied,
"No, sir. I wish I'd had the brains to think of it. It was Henry M. Flagler."
By the time he was 50, Henry Flagler was one of the wealthiest men in the world.
Florida
In winter of 1876-77,
the Flaglers went to Jacksonville, Florida for Mary's failing health. This was
to be the first of Flagler's many visits to the state. In 1881, Mary Flagler died.
In 1883, Flagler married Mary Flagler's former nurse, Ida Alice Shrouds. The couple
took a delayed honeymoon to St. Augustine, Florida. Flagler was enchanted by the
city but dismayed at its mediocre accommodations and transportation systems. While
Flagler was to remain on the board of Standard Oil, his new venture was the wilderness
of Florida's east coast. |
Hotels & Railways
In 1888,
Flagler's hotel Ponce de Leon in St. Augustine opened to rave reviews. Needing
suitable transportation to bring guests to the hotel, Flagler purchased the St.
Augustine & Halifax railroad, which later became the Florida East Coast Railway.
The F.E.C. Railroad continued expanding through the wilderness of the Florida
east coast. Along the tracks cities sprang up and Flagler continued to build luxury
hotels to accommodate the tourists. In 1896, Flagler reached Biscayne Bay in Miami.
On To
Key West
In May 1905, Henry Flagler
was 75 years old and ready to begin the most daring and difficult venture of his
life. He proposed to build a railroad 130 miles out to sea and instructed his
engineers, "Go to Key West."
Key West was, at the time, the largest city in the state and strategically
located in the Straits of Florida. It was America's closest deep water harbor
to the new Panama Canal. Combating
mosquitoes, hurricanes, labor problems and the wilderness, the railroad took seven
years to complete. On
January 22, 1912 at 10:43 a.m. the first New York to Key West train arrived in
the Southernmost City with Henry and his third wife, Mary Lily, aboard. The Key
West Extension was considered Flagler's greatest triumph and the grand culmination
of his legendary career.
On May 20, 1913,
Henry Flagler died in Palm Beach but his legacy lives on at the Flagler
Station Over-Sea Railway HISTOREUM® Museum. | |