The Miracle of Miami Beach

The Facts About the Early Days

By JN Lummus

Pioneer Developer and First Mayor

Copyrighted 1940-1944-1952

Dedication

Through the insistence of numerous friends that I publish an historical record of the founding, early history and development of Miami Beach,

‘The Sun Seekers’ Paradise”

I hereby dedicate the following pages to the parts played by these outstanding pioneers realizing that, in years to come, legends may be accepted as facts. I trust these printed words may ever remain a monument to truth. J. N. Lummus

Friends:

I certainly enjoyed seeing the moving picture “Miami Beach Today” as shown at our dinner party February 20, 1952 at the Community Church, 1620 Drexel Ave., but most of the early day pictures shown were taken north of 23 rd Street after 1918. In other words, six years after the development commenced and three years after Miami Beach Incorporated.

John Frazure of the Beach Realtors invited me to speak on the early days at the Realtors meeting February 11, 1952. I did not positively turn him down at first, but called him up a day or two later and tried to get out of it but it was already in the newspapers, so I said a few words. John’s father was an old time friend of mine and was a conductor on the Plant System R.R., now the Atlantic Coast Line, when I was chief Train Dispatcher in the 90’s.

Here comes the early record of Miami Beach; no one ever asked for the facts before, and J. E. Lummus, J.N. Lummus and Carl Fisher are the only ones who knew that facts because they did the work and paid for it.

I am showing some photographs of the early development of Miami Beach and the developers in their order from the start in 1912. Some of these photographs were taken as the work was going on. This shows what has been done and can be done in this part of South Florida on account of our climate, which is controlled by the Gulf Stream.

My brother and I spent over $25,000.00 per year in 1913, 1914, 1915, and 1916 advertising Miami Beach in other Cities was we had a few thousand people in Dade County when we started Miami Beach and now have over a half million.

In 1912 The Lummus Company purchased 605 acres of swamp land from Lincoln Road South and immediately put men chopping down swamp, clearing and grading the Ocean front at the South end. We paid from $150.00 per acre to $12,500 per acre for swamp land. The large price was paid for small tracts but we had to have them to put streets through. The Lummus Company started the development as it is known as the Ocean Beach Realty Company and was owned by J. E. Lummus and J. N. Lummus. We had a few other stockholders at first but bought them all out and paid them a profit when we decided to lay a foundation for a City.

When I used the word swamp, I mean swamp and mangrove trees so thick that a man could not get through without an axe to cut his way.

Our development was from 15 th Street South and was known as “Ocean Beach.”

Fisher’s was the Alton Beach Realty Company and was known as “Alton Beach,” bounded on the South by 15 th Street, on the North by 23 rd Street, on the Ocean, and Purdy Boat Ways on the Bay. Collins was the Miami Beach Improvement Company and was known as “Miami Beach.” All of the above was before the Town of “Miami Beach” was incorporated.

The Lummus Company’s first plat is recorded in Book 2 of Plats, page 38, Records of Dade County, Florida, and July 9, 1912. Collin’s first plat is recorded in Book 2 of plats, page 47, December 11, 1912. Fisher’s first plat was filed, January 15, 1914 in Book 2 of Plats, page 77.

In 1913 my brother and I met Carl Fisher, who had a winter home on Brickell Avenue, Miami. Fisher asked me why we did not do all this work at once. I told him we had an awful good reason and that was we did not have the money, so he loaned us $150,000 and paid him 8 per cent interest for the money and gave him 105 acres of swampland from Lincoln Road South to 15 th Street as a bonus for the loan. We paid $150.00 per acre for the land we gave Fisher. That and that alone, is what started Miami Beach in a big way.

On July 1, 1913 the Lummus and Fisher Companies signed a contract together with the Furst Clark Dredging Company of Baltimore to move 6 million cubic yards of material out of the Bay to build up the Bay side of the Beach and make the Motor Boat Race Course at the same time. Lummus Company’s part of that contract was $315,000 and Fisher’s was $285,000. The Dredge Contract was completed July 1, 1914. Attorney Frank Shutts and I went to Tallahassee and got the State permit to do the Dredge work. The Governor and his staff wished us well because this was the first work of its kind in Florida.

Attorney Crate Bowen, representing Fisher Company, and I, representing the Lummus Company, went to Washington and got a permit from the U.S. Government. This U.S. Permit was Number One in the state of Florida for Dredge work.

I, as president of the Southern Bank & Trust Company, Miami, before going to the Beach in 1912 to take charge of our development, loaned Collins $10,000.00 to start his wooden bridge, and J.E. Lummus, as President of the Bank of , Miami, loaned him $15,000.00 Collins thought he could finance it to completion but he was in his 70’s and could not.

The Lummus Company hauled passengers on boats for 5 cents each way. We owned three boats. These boats could carry about 50 passengers each. They ran from Flagler Street, Miami to Biscayne Street, Miami Beach.

I got out of the banking business in 1912 and my brother was President of the Bank of bay Biscayne and the Southern Bank and Trust Company after that.

After Fisher and Lummus made their deal and started work on , Fisher loaned Collin’s $50,000 to complete the bridge and it was completed the early part of 1914. In 1914 the Lummus Company put a notice in both Miami newspapers offering to give away 25 lots on to anyone to build houses as per our requirements. and then have them completed and occupied in 1914. I built mine in 1914. It is located on 12 th Street and Ocean Drive next to the Tides Hotel and now is owned by Mrs. Harris. We actually gave away 33 lots and houses were built and occupied in 1914. I lived in a small house on Collins Avenue between Biscayne and 1 st Street up to that time.

On March 26, 1915 we incorporated the “Town of Miami Beach” and I was made Mayor. The Town took in all the territory for the Government Cut, a ship channel, to what is now known as the Firestone Place, or 42 nd Street. This took in all the Lummus’ Holdings which ran from Biscayne Street to 15 th Street to 23 rd Street to 23 rd Street on the Ocean to the Purdy Boat Ways on the Bay; also Collins’ swamp and his farm which was located about 41 st Street. The only way of getting to Collin’s farm was by boat in Indian Creek and Biscayne Bay. When the “Town of Miami Beach” was incorporated, all of the voters lived on the Lummus development south of 15 th Street except three. They were T. J. Pancoast, Arthur Pancoast and one man living on Collins’ farm. Women did not vote in Florida in 1915.

World War I caught us in 1914 and was still going strong in 1916. We were operating on borrowed money and The Lummus Company sold all of its holdings West of Washington Avenue and North of 5 th Street to Jim Allison, Arthur C. Newby, Jim Snowden, George Snowden, Carl Fisher and Henry McSweeney, all millionaires. I had this chance of getting all of the Lummus Company money back and paying all debts and did so. The above boys organized the Miami Ocean View Company in 1916 and put this property in that Company. I stayed with the Miami Ocean View Company one year as Vice- President as per agreement. Jim Snowden was made President and John Levi, Secretary-Treasurer permanently.

We built Star Island, lots of house West of Washington Avenue and rocked roads, the year I was with them, also planted $10,000 worth of trees and shrubbery; we bought that much from Griffin Brothers at one time.

Jim Allison was head of the Union Carbide of America. He built the St. Francis Hospital for a doctor friend of his at Fort Lauderdale and it was later sold to the St. Francis.

Arthur C. Newby was President of the National Automobile Company at that time.

Jim and George Snowden were big oil operators in practically all the oil fields of America.

Carl Fisher was the Indianapolis Speedway and Prest-O-Lite man. Henry McSweeney was in with Snowden and known as “Snowden and McSweeney Oil Co.” He was 30 years Attorney for the Standard Oil Company of New Jersey. His mother had a home on the corner of Ocean Drive and 11 th Street, Miami Beach. She introduced me to him. When I sold them two million dollars worth of real estate for a half million dollars, Allison said to the others, “I’m going fishing. You boys take what you want of what Lummus is offering you and I will take the balance.” He was a real sport. They only left him about $50,000 worth. But he put in more later.

Jim Snowden, being a big oil operator which is a fast money making business, was hard to interest in real estate, so J. E. Lummus and J. N. Lummus gave John Levi $10,000 stock in the Miami Ocean View Company to keep Jim Snowden interested until Fisher and I could get them all together to close the deal. John knew Snowden well and had sold him yachts and had sold him yachts and had worked for him.

When Collins opened his wooden bridge he charged $1.00 for each car and 25 cents for each passenger, so Fisher paid Collins $2,500 per year and the Lummus Company paid him the same in 1914-1915 and 1916 to get him to make the fare 25 cents for all cars regardless of how many passengers. In 1916 we realized that the wooden bridge could not last long so J. E. Lummus, J. N. Lummus and Carl Fisher donated $2,000 each to put over a $600,000 County Bond issue to build the Causeway, the first in Florida, from 13 th Street, Miami to 5 th Street, Miami Beach, now known as the McArthur Causeway.

When Fisher sent me his $2000, he said, “J. N., I don’t think you can do it,” but we carried the Bond Issue 2 to 1. Sam Belcher was chairman of the County Commissioners and gave us great help. He was head of the Belcher Oil Company. The Lummus Company gave Dade County 500’ x 300’ for the landing on the Beach. Dade County sold the Allison Realty Company, $14,400 of it, and sold the City of Miami Beach $75,000 of it and still owns the landing. That is where the Chamber of Commerce now stands and the car barn adjoining, so the Lummus Company donated Dade County $89,400 for the first Causeway and paid two-thirds of the cost of putting the bond issue over.

In 1917 we sent Attorney Mitchell D. Price to Tallahassee and he got us a legislative Charter, making it the “City of Miami Beach” which is published in full in Special Acts of the Florida Legislature in 1917, on page 806, Chapter 7672.

Carl Fisher organized another company at about 1919, taking in all of Collin’s holdings north of 23 rd Street with John S. Collins and Sons – also T. J. Pancoast and others completed the project.

In 1913, after meeting Fisher and arranging to borrow the money, after the dredge contract was let in July 1913, my brother, J. E. Lummus and I arranged to have the county commissioners visit the development with us. In the party were John S. Collins, Carl G. Fisher and J. A. Mc Donald.

On a barge, I sent a wagon drawn by a couple of mules, to meet the party of men when they arrived from the Miami side and to bring them to the Beach, but with the exception of Mr. McDonald, they all walked.

When the commissioners looked over what the Collins crowd, the Fisher interests, and the Lummus Company were doing and planned to do, they agreed to accept a deed to the land where Collins Avenue is now located, and the road along Collins Canal to the Bay to connect with Collins Bridge.

Dade County was to pay one-third of the cost of building these roads, The Lummus Company one-third, and Fisher one-third. It took ten men one week to cut a right of way from where Mr. Collins was then having the canal dug to South Beach. I started cutting the right-of-way at South Beach and Fisher met me with his cutting at Fourteenth Lane, or Midway on the Carney Tract. This was the first road suitable for automobiles, built on Miami Beach and it was 1913. I decided to visit Atlantic City, to look over that city’s famous boardwalk.

After returning to Miami Beach, we immediately went to work on the construction of sidewalks, but did not build them as wide as in Atlantic City. Our sidewalks were only ten feet in width, and the first one was laid along Biscayne Street to the Ocean, Thence along Ocean Drive to Fifth Street. North of Fifth Street we built a walk ten feet wide of concrete. All of these walks were completed long before Miami Beach was incorporate, and the streets south of Fifth Street were paved by the Lummus Company. This company built many additional sidewalks.

Up to this time, development of Miami Beach had consisted of clearing the swamp, dredging the Bay bottom, pumping in the material to fill in the land and constructing the bulkheads.

The people of Miami Beach have built it fast. It took lots of nerve to buy 605 acres of swamp and undertake the development. My brother and I were looking for capital and our work at the South End of the Beach was what attracted Fisher when he went fishing through the cut in the speed boat “The Raven”. I afterwards bought that boat from Fisher and let J.N. Lummus Jr., run in the boat races. He won the races in its class.

We killed 17 of the largest rattle snakes south of 15 th Street that I ever saw. The boys estimated that they were over 100 years old. When you kill one, tie it to a stake and another one will be coiled there the next morning. We had thousands of rats. I advertised for cats

And people brought me bags full of cats. I just turned them loose on the Beach and they cleaned up the rats.

We had hundreds of coons and my youngest son, Tom and I, with my old dog “Black Joe” caught and killed the coons. It takes a good dog to catch a coon- they are real fighters.

We also had millions of mosquitoes and I, as Mayor, wrote our Florida Representatives in Washington and Fisher wrote his Indiana Representatives in Washington. We offered to pay the government to send someone here to show us how to get rid of the mosquitoes. The Government sent us a man who cleaned up the mosquitoes on the Panama Canal; if the Beach management carries out the plan they established for us there will be no more mosquitoes on Miami Beach. We offered to pay the Government but no charge was made. I furnished a man and transportation and went with them. At that time we had 32 varieties of Mosquitoes on Miami Beach. I gave the Pioneers club when it was organized, the book ‘The Miracle of Miami Beach”. I had 3500 printed and only have one left. I sold the City 1000 at one time and 50 several times. The City may have some left. That book contains the development record from 1912 to 1918. I have the copyright from the United States of America of all the photographs in it and, of course, no one can use them without my permission.

I am getting out this small issue just to show the facts of its start and who started it.

Lummus Park was the City’s best asset and helped to make the Beach popular in the early days and has held its own.

See Resolution 183, which follows:

Resolution No. 183

A resolution of the City Council of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, naming that the City Park within said City which is bounded on the North by Fourteenth Place, on the east by the Atlantic Ocean, on the South by Sixth Street, and on the west by Ocean Drive.

Whereas Honorable J.N Lummus, with an unusual foresight was one of the first and greatest promoters of improvements of Miami Beach, and was chief among the organizers of the City of Miami Beach, of which City he was the first Mayor and afterwards an able, discreet, and very business-like Councilman, and,

Whereas said J.N.Lummus anticipated that said City would be a beautiful place and a playground for many people, urged the purchase of that property lying within the City of Miami Beach, Florida, bounded on the North by Fourteenth Place, on the East by the Atlantic Ocean, on the South by Sixth Street, and on the west by Ocean Drive, for the purpose of a city park and play-ground, and urged its beautification for the benefit of the residents and visitors of the city of Miami Beach, and

Whereas he has always said and done things for the welfare of said City,

Now, therefore, be it resolved by the City Council of the City of Miami Beach, Florida, that the above described City Park be, and the same is hereby named, and shall hereafter be known as Lummus Park, in commemoration of the name of one of the City’s greatest benefactor.

Adopted by the City Council of the City of Miami Beach, Florida this 27 th Day of July, A.D. 1921. /SW.E Brown, President of City Council Attest:

/S/ C. W. Tomlinson, City Clerk

Approved this 27 th Day of July, A. D. 1921.

/S/ T. e> James, Mayor

The City sent me a large copy engraved by Park by the City Officials, but the original agreement between the Ocean Beach Realty Company and the “Town of Miami Beach” is recorded in Deed Book 146 at page 28, Records of Dade County, Florida, dated November 5, 1915. That is not just a Reverters clause but an agreement signed by all and passed upon by the best legal talent we had in Dade County and in the Supreme Court at that time. So Lummus Park will be a park always. The Ocean Beach Realty Company parted with the Title recorded in Deed Book 145, page 202.

Here are the restrictions in the Contract Deed:

The property herein conveyed to the Town of Miami Beach is conveyed exclusively for park purposes, and should the Town of Miami Beach at any time abandon this property as park property, or use for some commercial or residential purposes; then in such event, all rights, title, and interest hereby vested in the said Town of Miami Beach be and the same shall be immediately terminated and the legal title immediately revested in the grantor herein.

In 1938 the right of reverted contained in the original deed form The Ocean Beach Realty Company was cancelled by written agreement which appears in the public records of Dade County, Florida, but this instrument did not in any way abrogate or terminate or release and discharge the basic deed restrictions against using the park for commercial purposes, and any citizen and tax payer of Miami Beach would have the right to enforce these restrictions, and particularly the property owners who face on the park.

The park was given to Miami Beach by J. E. Lummus and J. N. Lummus.

For the information of all concerned, the Ocean Beach Realty Company spent more than $40,000 for making and maintaining Lummus Park for 1912 to 1917. We built a 10’ sidewalk from end to end and planted most all of the coconut trees, planted the whole park in Bermuda grass and watered the grass by hand. We had 12 pumps and 2 tennis courts in the park when we gave it to Miami Beach. It is 4120 feet long – Ocean Front from 6 th Street North to the White Hall Hotel or 15 th Street.

I am also satisfied that one of the cases of confusion by some of the early pioneers of the development is that Collins end was called “Miami Beach” before the town was incorporated, but Collin’s end was developed by Fisher, Collins and Pancoast and was the last of the Beach development.

Lummus Park is worth now, if it could be sold, at least $16 million dollars. The lights in the coconut trees at night is something that everyone could see. Mr. Aaron Courshon of Breakwater Hotel, 920 Ocean Drive, deserves the credit for the lights. It was his idea and he got the City to spend $31,000 to do the job.

Roy Wilson was the Lummus Company’s Engineer and is still living. He drew the plans for the first causeway. Dade County got Isham Randolph of Chicago to approve them and get the Government Engineers in Washington to approve them. W. E. Brown was Carl Fisher’s Engineer from start to finish. He worked with John Levi who had charge of Fisher’s development. Carl Fisher never claimed anything but the facts as above. J. E. Lummus and J. N. Lummus were his best friends in Dade County.

I am a member of the “Pioneers Club of Miami” and “Miami Beach”, also a patron member of the Historical Association of Southern Florida. They are all getting a copy of this report and will keep it as early history. It can all be verified in Dade County Clerk’s Office, Dade County Commissioners Office and the City of Miami Beach Clerk’s Office.

In 1909 J. E. Lummus took up with the Model Land Company and got it to sell to the City of Miami for park purposes all land bounded on the North by 3 rd Street, on the East by 3 rd Avenue, on the South by 2nd Street and on the West by the Miami River for $7500.00 except tow lots that were owned by B. B. Tatum, and J. E. Lummus got Tatum to sell those two lots to the City of Miami Beach for park purposes for $2500, so the park only costs Miami $10,000, and the City named it Lummus Park. J. R. Parrott was president of the Model Land Company and J. E. Ingram was Vice-President and both were personal friends of J. E. Lummus who helped build Miami and Miami Beach and helped provide the first parks in both cities.

On account of J. N. Lummus, Jr. being a good swimmer, he was Chairman for the Engineers when they were taking the soundings in Biscayne Bay in 1913 to see if we had sufficient material to build up the Bay Side, and make the Motor Boat Race Course.

He was Mayor of Miami Beach when he was 26 years old and has been County Tax Assessor since. He was overseas in World War II and Van Kussrow and Tom Lummus took care of his job while he was away.

Dammers & Gillett were real auctioneers. I gave them the first job they had in Florida – West of Washington Avenue and South Of 5 th Street. I bought china by the carload and they gave it away at their sales. Everyone got a piece of the china and we always had big crowds.

Lummus Company used school boys to plant Bermuda grass on its 500 acres of Miami Beach. These boys got a free ride from Miami and back on the boat and 10 cents per hour for work; the wind would blow the sand away if not grassed, so the boys had a big time, made some money and had a swim in the Ocean.

T. J. Pancoast was connected with Collins Bridge, Casino, and other development north of 23 rd Street. He was the 2 nd Mayor of Miami Beach, also head of the Chamber of Commerce for a long time. His big home faces Pancoast Lake and Collins Avenue, built in 1914. I haven’t a photograph of it.

Irwin Collins was John s. Collins son and was active all over the Collins development.

Tom Lummus is an Attorney-in-Law in the Olympia building. He has the State Agency for Kansas City Title Company with Malcomb Wiseheart and says he has not been coon hunting in a long time.

The Lummus Company paid all the cost of incorporating Miami Beach and paid the City Clerk’s salary and all other bills until the Town could get some tax money in 1916.

N. B. T. Roney built more houses than any one man on Miami Beach in the early days, he built “Spanish Village,’ Roney Plaza, the Cromwell hotel, Town House and the Shore Club and a many other buildings along Collins Avenue South of 14 th Street.

On Dec 1, 1951, Miami Beach had 368 hotels, also 1637 apartment buildings and 5336 home. In other words, room to accommodate 126,585 people.

Visitors to Miami Beach during the winter season are estimated to number more than a million and a quarter persons. Total number of summer visitors is estimated at 500,000. This information from the Chamber of Commerce April 2, 1952.

J.N. Lummus

341 N. W. 39 th Street

Miami Florida

Photo 1 J. N. Lummus Photographed March 20, 1952. I am getting younger since I passed 80 years.

Photo 2 J. E. Lummus He was a banker in Miami, but had his money in with me from beginning to end.

Photo 3 Carl G. Fisher He loaned us $150,000 in 1913 on 500 acres of swamp land.

Glenn H. Curtiss

Pioneer in Aviation. I gave him the use of a landing at 12 th street and the Bay. He was training to boys to fly for World War 1 in 1915.

Photo 4 John S. Collins He built the longest wooden bridge in the world in 1913, from 15 th Street, Miami, to Dade Boulevard, Miami Beach.