by Jeff Blakley The Town of Homestead was incorporated on January 27, 1913 but its officials had no municipal building in which to meet. They met at two different buildings before the Town Hall was built in 1917: Tatum’s Real Estate office on Railroad Avenue or in Sistrunk Hall, which was a wooden building located…
By Jeff Blakley It is often noted that history is told by the victors. Those who don’t tell their stories are forgotten but those who do assume out-sized importance in the historical record. Such is the case with Edward Stiling, who, in the published histories of Detroit (now known as Florida City), overshadows many others,…
The following article appeared in the October 3, 1918 issue of the Homestead Enterprise and is re-published here because it will be of interest to many of you who subscribe to posts. The descendants of Charles H. Gossman married into the Caves, Chambers, Aman and Vihlen families, among others. “Uncle Nick” is Lilburn R. Nixon,…
I transcribed this document from a very fragile typescript that I found in the Town Hall Museum. Judging from the context, it appears that it was written prior to 1927, when the Seaboard Railroad arrived in Homestead. George Washington Kosel was born on August 5, 1875 in Hempstead, Queens, New York to Ludwig and Bodil…
The following article, by Lilburn R. Nixon, appeared in the Homestead Enterprise on September 26, 1918. In March of 1902, Nixon claimed John Brinzel’s relinquishment of his homestead, which ran south and west from the intersection of Newton Rd. and Silver Palm. Later, he sold the corner 5 acres to Will Anderson, who built and…
by Jeff Blakley If you stop at Robert is Here, at the corner of Tower Road and Palm Drive west of Florida City to buy a milkshake or some of their other offerings and if you look very closely at the overgrown northwest corner of the intersection you might by able to see that there…
By Jeff Blakley I ran across an article that appeared in the Homestead Enterprise on July 16, 1914, giving a history of the Women’s Industrial Club in Detroit. It was organized for social reasons as well as to promote the civic betterment of Detroit on October 29, 1911, shortly after the Longview Club was organized…
An interesting project for someone to undertake would be an article exploring the role that the Women’s Industrial Club in Detroit played in the establishment of the Royal Palm State Park in 1916. An article that appears on the website of the National Park Service doesn’t mention the members of Women’s Industrial Club. Instead, it…
By Jeff Blakley In part 1 of this series on the Reverend Joseph A. Kahl, I explored the early lives of Joseph and his future wife, Harriet Woodbury. I ended that post with their marriage, on August 20, 1908. After their marriage, the Methodist Episcopal Church sent the Reverend Kahl and his new wife to…
by Jeff Blakley I was saddened to learn from Karon Buckley that two of our historic houses were recently demolished: the Kosel home at the northwest corner of Redland and Plummer and the Schaff house, on Krome at 273rd St. I’m posting the following, kindly provided by Bob Bow, who knew Howard E. Schaff and…
