by Jeff Blakley If you grew up in Goulds or Princeton, you know where Baile’s Road is. For those who never ventured far from Homestead as a child, Baile’s Road joins U.S. 1 at about S.W. 224th St., where the NAPA store is located. For years, I drove by the intersection and occasionally turned on…
A Postcard Tells Its Story by Jeff Blakley Piecing together the small number of remaining fragments of early Homestead history is quite a challenge. I’m writing this post to show how, sometimes, we historians are fortunate to be able to build on the knowledge contributed by others and are thus able to advance our knowledge…
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,…
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 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…
By Jeff Blakley At the turn of the 20th century, Florida City (originally known as Detroit) was marketed by its developer, the Miami Land & Development Company, as a planned agricultural community. While Homestead, to the north, had its roots in 160 acre quarter-sections of land homesteaded by individual settlers, Detroit had its roots in…
by Jeff Blakley I subscribed to Genealogy Bank the other day, at the suggestion of Larry Wiggins, and I’ve found it to be an invaluable source of information about the early days of this area. As I was reading newspaper clippings about Detroit, I was intrigued with the incessant boosterism tone of the articles and…
By Jeff Blakley William Alfred King was the first section foreman in this area for the Florida East Coast railway. He was born on 29 December 1860 in Troy, Pike County, Alabama. On February 28, 1882, he married Frances Elzada Jones in Hatchechubbee, Russell County, Alabama. She was born there on December 24, 1866. Their…
By Jeff Blakley In this post, I’m going to detour from my previous posts about pioneering families so that I can bring the role of the Florida East Coast Railway into the picture. Because history is not a popular subject to read about, the vast majority of people now living in Dade County have no…
