WOMEN PIONEERS IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

by Sandra Lea Layman

A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of the College of Humanities ...... _ .... ~,. "" . in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements· for the Degree of Master of Arts

Florida Atlantic University Boca Raton, Florida August 1986

.-.1· WOMEN PIONEERS IN SOUTHEAST FLORIDA

by Sandra Lea Layman

This thesis was prepared under the direction of the candidate's thesis advisor, Donald w. Curl, Department of History, and has been approved by the members of her supervisory committee. It was submitted to the faculty of the College of Humanities and was accepted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts. SUPERVISORY COMMITTEE:

~a•d~ J (Thesis Advisor) uh< I.£~~ ~IQ- I .Do&

~aOd • llJI)JL~q Chairperson, Department of \ History

ii ABSTRACT

Author: Sandra Lea Layman Title: Women Pioneers in Southeast Florida Institution: Florida Atlantic University Degree: Master of Arts Year: 1986

This thesis examines the roles and contributions of women who pioneered Southeast Florida in the late nineteenth century. The area researched is nineteenth century Dade County which extended from the St. Lucie River south to Indian Key. Dade County women and women's groups were instrumental in transforming the wilderness settlements into communities through the establishment of comfortable homes, public schools, churches, libraries, and community service organizations. Of particular importance, the thesis studies the change in lifestyles as women adapted to the new subtropical environment. Also examined are the three centers of pioneer population (Lake Worth, Biscayne Bay, and Fort Lauderdale) and the individual women who contributed to these settlements.

iii TABLE OF CONTENTS

ABSTRACT • • ~ 0 0 • • • iii INTRODUCTION . . . . . 1 Chapter I. A DESCRIPTION OF EARLY DADE COUNTY AND ITS HISTORY • . • • • • . • • • • 4 II. PIONEER LIFE 15 III. WOMEN PIONEERS OF LAKE WORTH 50 IV. WOMEN PIONEERS OF BISCAYNE BAY 63 V. WOMEN PIONEERS OF FORT LAUDERDALE •.• 104 CONCLUSION ...... 117 ENDNOTES . . 119 BIBLIOGRAPHY 131

iv DADE COUNTY IN THE LATE NINETEENTH CENTURY

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i i T H f £ vi£ RGLAD£8 I ... i -·-·-·-·-! I i 0 i i z i i' !I,. II ll 'I ___1:I•

Charles Ledyard Horton, A Handbook of Florida (New York: Longmans, Green, and Co., 1891), p. 20.

v

-'· INTRODUCTION

The pioneer era of Southeast Florida came after the settlement of the American west. With inexpensive western land diminishing, Americans sought a new frontier. Southeast Florida offered new opportunities and new adventures. This thesis will examine the role of women who pioneered Dade county (which encompassed parts of six present-day counties) in the late nineteenth century. The Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay settlements were located on · natural waterways and became the earliest centers of population. These two regions will be studied from the migration of the first pe~anent settlers ending with the arrival of the East Coast Railroad. Henry M. Flagler's r~ilroad brought conveniences to th~ settled land and ended the pioneer period. The railroad also created many settlements along the east coast including Fort Lauderdale. The Fort Lauderdale settlement experienced pioneering iater and will be examined up to the turn of the twentieth century. The written history of the pioneer era in southeast Florida is that of men. Sources contain discussions on the great men of South Florida and their achievements. Indeed, the growth of South Florida could not have occurred without

1 2 these men, but the accomplishments of the women have laid buried. Historian William Fowler recognized this in 1876 when he wrote: The story of woman's work in great migrations has been told only in lines ~nd passages where it ought instead to fill volumes. Here and there incidents and anecdotes scattered through a thousand times give us glimpses of the wife, the mother, or the daughter as a heroine or as an angle of kindness and goodness, but most of·her story is a blank which never will be filled up. And yet it is precisely in her position as a pioneer and colonizer that her influence is the most potent and her life story most interesting.l Dade County women and women's groups were instrumental in transforming the wilderness settlements into communities through the establishment of comfortable homes, public sch~ols, churches, ~ibraries, and community service organizations. Combatting the natural elements of the subtropics, the women created comfortable residences. They learned to prepare food, wash clothes, maintain the homes and tend to the ill in the new environment. Women opened their homes to educate children and hold religious serv­ ices. As settlement increased, women organized clubs to raise funds for public schools, libraries, and churches. Women assumed roles in preserving the unique Florida environment and assisted in establishing a resort area through the operation of hotels and eating establishments. Several pioneer women established their names in history through unique and extensive contributions. Julia Tuttle's assertiveness and business knowledge led to 3 Flagler extending his railroad to Biscayne Bay, thus creating the City of Miami. Ivy Stranahan worked for several decades in educating s~~inole children and helping the Indian adjust to the white settlers. These two women will be ex~~ined in depth. The thesis will demonstrate the various ways in which female pioneers contributed to the new Florida society.2 CHAPTER I

A DESCRIPTION OF EARLY DADE COUNTl AND ITS HISTORY

The Florida Legislature created Dade County from a part of Monroe County in 1836. Its 4,424 square miles extended along the east coast from Indian Key on the south, to the St. Lucie River on the north, and west to Lake Okeechobee. Named to honor Major Francis Langhorne Dade, one of the earliest victims of the Second Seminole War, the county claimed por-cions of today's.Lee, Okeechobee; Palm Beach, Broward, Martin, and.Dade Counties, making it as large as the present state of Massachusetts.3 White settlement in Dade County developed slowly. Even though Spanish records indicated the presence of Europeans as early as the latter part of the 1700s, large scale settlement did not begin until the 1870s. In 1840, the first Dade County census gave the total white popula­ tion as 412. Population declined during the following three decades. The census reported 147 whites in 1850, 80 in 1860, and only 72 whites in 1870. By 1880 the popula­ tion had risen to 257 with 86 people living in Dade County in 1890. As in other frontier areas, men outnumbered

4 5 women. For example, the 1860 census reported 54 men and only 26 women.4 People left the comforts of northern homes (most were Yankees and not resettled southerners) to settle the subtropical wilderness for various reasons. Some of the first settlers, such as John Addison of cutler, came to Florida to serve during the Seminole War and decided to stay. Others sought inexpensive or homestead land, relief from the 1873 depression, or a solitary life of living in a scarcely populated area. The climate attracted some settl~rs, including those who were ill. Northern doctors often prescribed a warmer climate for those afflicted with respiratory diseases or who were ill "without any well­ defined special form of disease."S Nineteenth century travel books agreed with the physicians and suggested south Florida. James Davidson's The Florida of To-Day: A Guide for Tourists and Settlers, published in 1889 stated: [In South Florida] are to be found the most marked results of these exceptional climatic agencies--an equability greater than is to be found anywhere else in either of the grand divisions of the American continent."6 Davidson further claimed that the absence of Spanish moss in subtropical Florida proved the purity of the atmosphere making it the healthiest place in the union.? Then too, near the turn of the century, people migrated to South Florida for many of the same reasons as today, often seeking the mild climate for recreation and retirement. 6 Women of the pioneer era generally arrived after their husbands. Often the husband came to Southeast Florida, explored the land, and then related accounts of "wonderful weather, delicious fruits, and the ease and freedom of a life in the wilderness."8 Nonetheless, many single and widowed women also ventured to Dade County, and several women, discussed in this thesis, even challenged the wilderness alone. The journey to Southeast Florida prior the 1890s was long and uncomfortable. To reach the Lake Worth area, settlers took the train from Jacksonville to Titusville, then proceeded by boat down the coast. Most sailboats that arrived in Dade County were small with limited comforts. Women supervised the family's welfare throughout the voyage. They performed such housekeeping duties as cooking (often fresh caught fish) on oil stoves, washing in seawater, and mending clothes. Jupiter became a transfer point since most boats traveled by the Indian River which merges with the Loxahatchee River near Jupiter. Here the traveler chose one of two routes: sail out the Jupiter Inlet on to the Atlantic Ocean, then south ten miles; or row a small boat inland, through eight miles of sawgrass. By the 1890s, better transportation existed. Steamboat lines plied the Indian River between Titusville and Jupiter. The eigt.t-mile-long Celestial Railroad brought travelers from Jupiter to Juno. From Juno (the most 7 northern settlement on Lake Worth) the traveler could use a hack line or steamboat to continue down the length of Lake Worth. For those traveling beyond Lake Worth, there were four ways to reach Biscayne Bay. Many people sailed down the coast to the bay. The more adventurous travelers walked the beach to Miami. Florida pioneer, Mary Douthit Conrad, recalled an incident of a woman walking the sixty miles. Mary's brother sob Douthit, soon after arriving in Dade County, assumed the position of assistant to the barefoot mailman. At that time, the mailman allowed people to walk down the beach with him for a small fee. For their fee, these "passengers" received a guide and the use of the mailman's boats to cross the inlets. On one such occasion, Douthit questioned the health of a frail young boy. When convinced the passenger could make the walk to Miami, the two proceeded down the beach, only to find the rowboat missing at New River. Douthit told the boy they would have to swim across, avoiding crocodiles. At this point his passenger broke down, confessing she was a yoQ~g woman by the name of Jessie Keller. Jessie made it to Miami and opened the first dancing school in the area.9 In 1?97, she married John sewell and later served as the first president of the Women's Relief Association in Miami (an organization established to assist women in the community). 8 A third route to Biscayne Bay called for sailing Florida's west coast, south to Key West, then up the east coast to the bay. Finally, some travelers preferred taking a steamer to Key West, then sailing north by small boat. Almost all travel in Dade County was by boat or on foot. The only road that existed in the earliest period was the Military Trail, cleared by soldiers during the Seminole Wars. The Trail, which was nothing more than a path, had disappeared by the 1870s. Early in the 1890s, Guy Metcalf, editor of The Tropical Sun, called for the county to build a road between Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay. After approval by the county commission, E. c. White, one of its members, surveyed the route and Metcalf then received the contract .....:.····'1" to construct the road. After completion, ·many settlers arrived on the bay in wagons. Several Dade county women possessed land. A Spanish land grant was one method of acquiring property. During the second Spanish occupation of Florida, 1783-1821, the King of Spain made "land donations" to anyone "who would settle and cultivate them.n10 This Royal Order applied to any person, Spaniard or foreigner, willing to reside on the land for about ten years. One hundred arpentsll were granted to heads of families, fifty arpents per child, and twenty-five per slave.12 When the United States acquired Florida through the Adams-Onis Treaty, it agreed to accept all Spanish land grants dated before January 241 1818. The 9 American Government established a commission to review residents' claims. By 1825, five people had presented evidence of receiving Spanish land grants in the South Dade County area. One of the first people to present a claim to the board, and the first white woman to appear in Dade County's written history, was Frankee Lewis.13 Frankee Lewis settled in southeast Florida in 1793 with her husband Charles. It is believed, as with other early families, that the Lewises came from England by way of the Bahamas. The family settled eight miles from the mouth of the New

River in present-day Fort Lauderda~e. By.the time the

··c·-~United States acquired Florida, Charles Lewis had died. In 1824, under the provisions of the Donation Act, Frankee Lewis made a petition for the land. She, as head of the family, claimed 640 acres being "in possession of surl, her husband for 30 years.n14 The claim was confirmed and became known as the Frankee Lewis Donation. When the coastal ridge was surveyed in 1870 this land was the only privately owned property in all of today's Broward County. In 1830, Lewis sold her land to Richard Fitzpatrick for $400 and joined her children on the Miami River. Fitzpatrick bought many land donations borrowing the money

from his sister Harriet Fitzpatrick English. Harrie~'s son, William, later purchased his uncle's holdings. 10 Portions of the English land would eventually be sold to pioneer Julia Tuttle.

Charles and Frankee Lewis had three sons. B~ 1808, two of them, Jonathan and William, and William's wife Polly, had settled on the south side of the Miami River. In 1824, Jonathan and widowed Polly petitioned for land under the Donation Act. The Polly Lewis Donation consisted of 640 acres, one mile south of the Miami River, "in possession of the owner from seven to nine years.nlS Although her. relationship to the other Lewises is unclear, Mary Lewis also claimed land in 1824. One source states tha~ Mary was actually Polly's real name which she used in legal documents.16 However, the Spanish land grant records indicated the existence of both a Mary and Polly Lewis. The records show that Mary had settled in 1808 on the east side of the Miami River, "near Key Beskene at Cape Florida."17 Another family involved in acquiring Florida property was John and Rebecca Egan (sometimes spelled Hagan). In 1808, the Spanish government granted John Egan 100 acres on the north side of the sweetwater (Miami) River. By 1821, John had died and Rebecca, along with her son Jamesv petitioned for 640 acres on the south side of the Sweet­ water River, just north of the Lewises. susan Hagan also petitioned for land. Although her relationship to the other Hagans is unknown, in 1824 she claimed 640 acres on 11 the south side of the Miami River, being "in actual habitation and cultivation of the land between fourteen and fifteen years.n18 In 1829, Dr. Benjamin Strobel visited the Biscayne Bay area and came upon ~he property of Susan Hagan. He reported a rude flight of limestone stairs leading up to a "neat" palmetto hut seated on the brow of a hill. "The cottage was shaded on its western aspect by several large Indian fruit trees, whilst on its eastern side we found a grove of luxuriant limes.n19 Eighty-year­ old Susan Hagan graciously received the doctor. After serving refreshments she guided Dr. Strobel around the grounds, showing him fields of vegetables cultivated with the assistance of Indians. Richard Fitzpatrick eventually bought the Hagan grants and established an extensive plantation. one of the most interesting women to own property in early Dade County was Mary Ann Davis (sometimes spelled Davies). Davis bought and owned land as a married woman. All the women previously mentioned were single or widowed. Nineteenth century conventions kept married women from owning property or incurring debts in their own names. Mary Ann Davis was married to a St. Augustine deputy marshall, William G. Davis. Obviously interested in real estate, Mary Ann purchased, with the consent of her husband, 500 acres located between st. Augustine and cowford.20 Two years later Mary Ann bought 175 acres on 12 Key Biscayne. In 1805 land had been granted to Pedro Fornells on "Key Buskun." Farnell and his wife left the property to their son, Raphael Andreu. He sold it to Mary Ann Davis on July 12, 1824 for $100 cash.21 Soon after the purchase, the Davises sailed to Key Biscayne and settled the island. They cleared and cultivated land and built a house. William Davis envisioned a new city, which he began to plat out into lots. In 1837 Mary Ann sold the United States Government three acres of land at the tip of the island known as Cape Florida. The government "satisfied of her title, paid two hundred.and twenty-five dollars to her and has held the tract claiming under her since.n22 With the Seminole uprising, the Davises moved to Galveston, Texas. Mary Ann Davis subdivided the property and sold it, apparently to relatives. She died in Texas. in 1886. A year later, a grandson, Walters s. Davis, Jr. of Galves~on, with his wife and two daughters, came to occupy the Cape Florida tract.23 Between 1836 and 1842 the United States government built various forts in Southeast Florida to subdue the Seminole Indians. Some women arrived after construction and worked in the fortso24 Their numbers were small and it is doubtful any were single. Dr. Ellis Hughes, a surgeon stationed at Fort Lauderdale, wrote in a 1839-1840 journal, "No female society to vary the usual currents of sentiments appropriate to our sex. True we have four females

.-I· . 13 here--but alas they are all married. n25 Dr. Hughes noted that the women washed for the company. More than likely they performed other household duties as well. The Wagner family served at Fort Dallas •. William Wagner moved to Miami in 1855. He became the storekeeper and supplied food for the fort. Three years later Wagner sent for his wife, Eveline, youngest son (two older sons had arrived with him), and six-year-old daughter, Elizabeth Rose. The_ family reached Miami en the day the third Seminole Indian War ended. Eveline Wagner represented women who arrived in Dade County because of the federal · forts. Daughter Rose Wagner later married Adam Richards and provided much information about South Florida's pioneer era before she died in 1933 at the age of eighty-one. Dade County, in the late nineteenth century, was extremely large, encompassing part~ of six present-day counties. Settlers came to Dade county for various reasons, though most were seeking a healthier climate. Primitive transportation made the journey to Southeast Florida both long and difficult. The first women to appear in Dade County's history claimed Spanish land grants. Some of these women, such as Frankee Lewis, were widowed. Others, such as susan Hagan, were single. Mary Ann Davis was an exception. She bought and owned land as a married woman--an uncommon practice in 14 nineteenth century America. As this thesis will demonstrate, many Dade County pioneer women owned land. CHAPTER II

PIONEER LIFE

Though Florida pioneers settled in a different environment, they exhibited many of the same qualities as the American western pioneer. Florida pioneers "came before the railroad and hung on despite the great odds to witness the end of the frontier.n26 They were independent people who hoped "for change and better things •. "27 Mary Barr Munroe, a noted pioneer of Coconut Grove, wrote a manuscript entitled '·'Reminiscences of Early Days When College Bred Girls Gave Up the Comforts of Home to Come and Live in the Wilderness among the Orange Trees." The manuscript was ~ublished in Tequesta (The Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida) under the title "Pioneer Women of Dade County.n28 Mary Munroe described the pioneer character: A pioneer is a title that any man or woman is proud of, for it at once places a person above the ordinary and marks the individual as having had interesting experiences. So the pioneer is always a hero in whatever company he finds himself, especially in the eyes of the young.n29 One pioneer characteristic was that of cooperation. People bonded together. There existed a sense of "community spirit" before there was a community. Neighbors were 15 16 important. People who had never met depended on each other. Troubles such as storms, fires, sickness, and death brought the settlers together. Lake Worth pioneer Charles Pierce wrote that a pioneer's call for help was never· unanswered.30 Eva Bryan Oliver, an early settler of Fort Lauderdale, also recalled the bond between pioneers, "We loved our neighbors and neighbors meant something to us in those days. n31 Northern arrivals often found the cooperation startling. Florida pioneers also possessed a "frontier hospital­ ity." The wilderness home ~as always opened to new settlers or people passing through. Many times women found themselves hostesses to a person, family, or group of people. Francis Enfinger remembered cooking dinner and breakfast for her family and thirteen unannounced guests brought home by her husband. Women extended a particular assistance to other women. One pioneer recalled, "Everyone I met was glad to help and my wife had the same experiences with the ladies.n32 The first pioneer women welcomed the company of newly arrived females. They related their experiences of life in the wilderness, giving the newcomers instruction on adapting to the new environment. A Miami woman walked two miles, carrying the ingredients to teach another how to bake a type of cornbread. Others brought cuttings of tropical plants. Usually a newly arrived family had to live in a 17 tent before their house was built. Often women already settled in the area would invite females of the family to stay with them. Those pioneers with a convenience, such as a sewing machine, shared them. Female settlers visiting the north took "conunissions" from neighbors to buy such goods as hairpins or gowns. As in the American West, Florida pioneers exhibited cooperation, frontier hospital­ ity, and the desire to assist new arrivals. The people often depended on each other for survival and never refused to give assistance.33 The.type of house the pioneer built, the furnishings, and the methods of housekeeping were all indicative of the subtropical environment. The first pioneers to Dade County lived in houses of palmetto fronds placed over frames. Charles Pierce recalled his mother assisted in the construction of their hut.34 Later, houses were built from the abundant Florida pine. The pioneers continued the use of the palmetto frond roof. The palmetto roof did not leak and except for roaches, lizards, and an occasional snake, worked extremely well. Most early cabins consisted of an all-purpose room with a loft for sleeping. The pioneers ate on the porch or under a tarpaulin stretched between trees. Although some early cabins had sand floors, it appears that most floors were made of wood. Windows and doors were left bare but when insects became intolerable, the pioneers tacked netting or empty fertilizer or flour 18 sa.cks over the openings. In any case, life was uncomfortable. Rain and wind easily entered the house and during the summer, material over the windows blocked the breeze.35 As time progressed, houses became more comfort­ able and attractive. Women around Lemon City (today North Miami with the center at Northeast Sixty-First Street) were impressed when Reverend Stanton built the first sidewalk for his wife who disliked sand in her shoes. Later, pioneers built summer houses similar to the Indian chickee. The open sided structures allowed for many pleasant evenings.36 Since most people arrived in Dade County by sailboat, few furnishing were brought from the north (though Mary Brickell arrived in Biscayne Bay with a grand piano). As there were no stores, pioneers usually built furniture rather than purchasing it. The first pieces to be built were the beds. These consisted of frames or platforms attached to walls. The pioneers then stuffed mattresses with shredded palmetto fronds and pillows with pine straw. Those who had it, stretched netting over the bed to ward off mosquitoes. Other furniture consisted of homemade tables, benches, foodsafes, or shelves protected by doors with small holes which kept out insect.s but allowed air to circulate. One pioneer family made chairs from cut down sugar barrels and sail cloth. Another transformed packing 19 boxes into cupboards. Women attempted to make the frontier house attractive by adding such items as colorful curtains. Tending for the pioneer home was different from that of the northern home and, surprisingly, much easier. One pioneer wrote, "My wife, lacking the facilities for good housekeeping, yet delighted in certain features of it.

There was no ~~1st, no soot, no mud even after heavy rain; clothes and curtains remained clean so long.n37 The pioneer housewife washed her clothes outdoors in large tubes. Water was obtained from surface tanks or shallow wells. The water presented problems since it was hard and disc~lored everything. Rain water became prized and later houses were supplied with gutters to collect this water. Food preparation in Southeast Florida provided a great challenge to the pioneer woman. Both the method of preparation and use of different foods required an exten­ sive learning process. The earliest women cooked outdoors, Indian style, over an open fire. Logs were fixed as spokes of a wheel with the fire at the center. When a log burned down, it was pushed towards the center until again in the fire. Posts placed at opposite ends of the fire were connected by rods allowing pots to hang over the flame. A dutch oven over coals baked foods. Outdoors cooking was uncomfortable. Women constantly had to battle insects and rainy days meant cold meals. Later houses cont~ined separate kitchens attached by breezeways. Some pioneers 20 used iron wood burning stoves which produced large quantities of heat. Though the kitchen could be used in all weather, heat concentrated in the shack made cooking at times unbearable. Most families owned kerosene stoves which produced little heat.38 The types of food available on the Florida frontier were both varied and new to the pioneer cook. It was women's task to convert nature's food into enjoyable dishes. Women pioneers contributed much to Florida life through acquiring new methods of food preparation and by substitution. Staples were available but not with ease. Items such as flour, sugar, coffee, salt, and grits could be purchased either at Key West or Titusville. Trips to these towns occurred every few months. If. a family stretched the trips too far apart--women sought substitutes for the staples. "In these cases many were the substitu- tions used to help along the lack of real food. Tea was made from the dried green leaves of the wild coffee found growing in the hammocks •••• n39 Hypoluxo's Margaretta Pierce (mother of Charles Pierce) discovered a substitution for coffee. She cut sweet potatoes into small chunks and baked them in an oven until a dark, crisp brown. The potatoes were then grounded in a coffee mill and brewed. Settlers in the area found the taste similar to Postum and duplicated her method.40 The Pierce family also learned to make soap from alligator fat. Later, staples could be 21 obtained from local stores but at high prices. In 1882, a quart can of tomatoes at Brickell's Trading Post on the Miami River cost sixty cents and eggs sold for seventy-five cents a dozen.41 Women quickly learned the availability of food from the subtropical land. Fresh meat was obtained through trade with the Indians or hunting. Many women themselves learned to shoot and some became acceptable hunters. Floridaes wildlife consisted of fowl, gophers (land turtles), hogs, deer, and bear. Some of the protein came from the sea. Oysters, clams, fish, and turtle meat were very popular. The large sea turtles also provided eggs. _,_ .. ;rurtle eggs were substituted for hen eggs in baking. Women proclaimed they were lighter but did give the food a slightly salty taste.42 The first pioneers depended on wild fruits until cultivation of their own. The use of such strange fruits as hog plum, cocoa plum, huckleberries, sea grapes, custard apples, paw paw, gooseberries, and Indian posseman provided a challenge to the pioneer woman.43 Settlers cultivated such fruits as guavas, limes, sapodillas, and pomegranates. Guava became important because it could be made into syrup and along with wild honey provided the principle sweetener. Indians introduced many foods to the pioneer cooks. Indian pumpkins, squash, palmetto cabbage, and comptie were prepared often. Comptie, a native starch plant, similar to' 22 arrow root, was used in such dishes as puddings and pancakes. Many native foods prepared by women amazed northern visitors. Johnny cakes, stewed venison, turtle steaks, roast wild hog, cornpones, and the many variations of sweet potatoes produced excellent meals. Women also learned to preserve food. During the pioneer era, neither refrigeration nor ice were available. The pioneers hung meat in the air where it would keep for a few days. The Pierce family learned early to preserve butter by bu+ying it in the sand. Women praised the large tin cans of the late 1800s. The tightly sealed cans kept out path humidity and insects. In spi-te of the numerous methods of preparation, women often complained about the difficulty in planning meals. Ralph Munroe wrote that Biscayne Bay, in 1877, lacked variety in food.44 Canned meat often substituted for unavailable fresh meat. Later, pioneers raised chickens. Fresh milk was also unavailable. Pioneer children drank only canned or condensed milk. Julia 'luttle brought the first cows to Dade County in 1891. The presence of different, native food required experimentation by the pioneer cook. Not only did she have to adjust to the new vegetation, but learn new methods of food preparation and substitution. As mentioned earlier, supplies were obtained from distant stores and later, through great expense, in area 23 stores. The Montgomery Ward Catalog also provided a method of obtaining supplies. Pioneer Mary Conrad recalled that several families combined their orders, buying in bulk from the "cracker's bible.n45 People of Linton (today's Delray Beach) bought many varieties of fruits and vegetables off schooners traveling north from the islands. Ship wrecks provided perhaps the most unique method of obtaining supplies in Southeast Florida. Many ships traveling the Gulf Stream found themselves victims of a tropical storm on the coast line. The abandoned ships' cargos became anyone's prize. Settlers along the coast dropped everything to rush to a ship wreck. One pioneer recalled, "A wreck was the most wished for and thoroughly enjoyed thing that could happen •••• n46 As soon as the news was heard, the men assembled to inspect the boat. They searched for crew, cargo, and ship parts that could be salvaged. While the men were at the wreck, women and children joined together for company and to comb the beach for cargo. In most cases the goods were usable and always appreciated. Furniture (often children's furniture), clothing, canned and dry goods, wine, cheese, and candles were salvaged. The wreck of the Victor in 1872 provided the people of the Jupiter lighthouse with books, shoes, animals, butter, black silk, and French brandy. Margaretta Pierce obtained the first sewing machine in the Lake Worth area from the wrecked Victor.47 The people of Lemon City 24 salvaged coffee, condensed milk, linens, and silverware from the wreck of the Alicia. The first wooden houses of Dade County (such as the Pierce home) were built from salvaged lumber, often carried as ship's balance. Many unusual goods appeared from wrecks. Julia Tuttle found Spanish tile for her Fort Dallas house.48 Wrecking produced so many goods that it developed into a lucrative business. Even when there was no word of a wreck, women often combined the beach for the many usable items which washed ashore such as copper rivets (from broken ship timbers) which local stores accepted as money. Some women took their children and sailed the coast searching for wrecked boats or loose cargo. Both men and women pioneers benefitted from the misfortune of wrecked ships. Though supplies were difficult to obtain at times, -ship wrecks, mail order catalogs, traveling schooners, and distant. • stores supplied needed materials. Pioneer life represented a period when people lived and worked on the land. The periods of American history where both the man and the woman worked on the homestead allowed woman a greater equality. As the husband and wife worked together they performed many of the same duties. Thus sex roles were less defined. This is contrary to the nineteenth century industrial societies where the male left the home to perform his tasks. The value of his work was easily projected in his salary. Female domestic work 25 appeared to project little in the way of survival needs. Instead, her duties were viewed as secondary or not' important. The nineteenth century urban female lived a

subservient life to the male. Florida's worne~pioneers and their colonial and western sisters experienced a greater degree of equality relative to man than did their urban counterparts. The pioneer woman was still responsible for the family's welfare but assumed new responsibilities on the frontier. With both the man and the woman performing similar tasks on the Florida homestead, sex roles became less differentiated. This, along with the fact that pioneers were generally of similar socioeconomic status, produced a more equalitarian society than that of the urban areas. When the first settlers arrived in Dade County they

. found themselves surrounded by thic~, semi-tropical foliage. The land was covered with palmettos, pines, scrub oaks, wild grape vines, and various palms. The earliest settlers recalled the absence of flowers and fruit trees. These appeared only after the family cleared the land (a difficult task) and began cultivation. Many sources indicated that women worked along with the men in creating the homestead.49 Women learned early to handle an ax and a rifle. During the clearing and building of the homestead pioneers interacted little with each other. After houses 26 went up and the land was cultivated interaction increased as they shared the products of their efforts. Inadequate transportation facilities kept the early settlers from marketing their produce. The 1870 United States Census reported neither agriculture nor livestock in Dade County.50 one of the few ways early pioneers could obtain cash for work on the homestead was by producing starch. Starch making was Dade County's earliest industry. The native coontie plant which the first pioneers found in ample supply, produced a starch similar to arrowroot. The plant was first dug up then processed in a mill. The result was a snowy white starch that held many purposes such as thickening food, stiffening clothes, and fertil­ izing crops.51 Miami pioneer,· Julia Tuttle, discovered one of the refuse products from starch making known as "sofke," which provided a nutritious feed for her hogs.52 Almost every homestead in Dade county produced starch as a family of three or four could operate a mill with little effort. Women worked with men to produce the starch which sold for $12.50 a barrel (250 pounds). The starch was taken to Key West and then shipped north. Many families traded the starch for groceries in Key West. The wild coontie could not be cultivated and the starch industry died when the plant disappeared.53 As transportation improved the pioneers began farming on a large scale, producing pineapples, tomatoes, and other

,...r. -- 27 vegetables. Women's task in the production was to pack the vegetables for shipping. This required long hours, often into the night, and the combatting of insects. Men and women worked together to clear the homestead, build shelters, cultivate crops, and earn cash by producing starch. With both performing similar tasks, sex roles were less defined and women enjoyed a more equal status with the men. Life on the Florida frontier was not all work. When time allowed pioneer families visited neighbors. Because of the distance and slow travel they often stayed for several days. The family went together even if the visit b~nefitted one member. Sometimes women gathered for an all day work visit. They socialized while they embroidered, sewed, or made hats. At the end of the work session the group feasted on· a pot-luck dinner. Many of these women's groups sold their handiwork to raise funds for the commun­ ity. Later, pioneers gathered for taffy pulls, hayrides, or an occasional ice cream social (the ice was brought up from Key West). A popular home to visit was ·the Brown's of Lake Worth. Mrs. Brown, an educated woman, was a noted reader among the Lake Worth homesteaders. Many settlers spent hours listening to her read such novels as the Swiss Family Robinson. 54 28 The waterways provided a form of recreation. Women enjoyed boating expeditions. They wore hats made from palmetto or palm fronds and often veils to protect against the sun. Charles Pierce recalled, on sunday afternoons, when the weather was fine, the women and children would be sailed to the inlet or to the rocks up Indian River where they would spend two or three hours gathering shells. This was the only recreation they had outside the daily grind of household duties.sS. The pioneers often combined sailing trips with beach trips. They enjoyed the ocean, spending the entire day picnicking and swimming. The women covered all of their bodies with old calico dresses and black stockings. Many enjoyed combing the beach for shells. One woman collected and dried various types of seaweed.S6 The community often gathered together for music and dance socials. Lake Worth visitor, Emma Gilpin, wrote about Florida's active social life noting the presence of music.S7 Many women played musical instruments. Miss Cluett of Lake Worth performed on the piano at musical meetings. Lydia Bradley, a member of the H~~oluxo String Band, played the guitar. Other instruments heard included the harmonica and violin. Although isolated, Dade County was not without its music. One form of entertainment on the Florida frontier was the celebration of holidays--especially Christmas. From the earliest pioneer days settlers celebrated Christmas 29 together as a community. The first recorded Dade County Christmas celebration occurred on Lake Worth in 1873. Charlie Moore invited the Pierce family to his homestead. They arrived Christmas Eve and slept on the floor of Moore's house. The next day Charlie Moore prepared a possum and Margaretta Pierce baked biscuits. In 1880, the lake pioneers repeated the community Christmas picnic on the grounds of E. N. "Cap" Dimick's Coconut Grove Hotel.

After dinner they retreat~d to the hotel for a dance. Three pioneers, including Minnie Brelsford, provided the music. After 1880, the pioneer picnic became a Christmas tradition. 58 People of Biscayne Bay first celebrated a community Christmas at Coconut Grove's Peacock Inn. Everyone from Lemon City south to Cutler were invited. A "community" tree was erected. Flora McFarlane brought candy and small gifts from New Jersey which she distributed among the children. Isabella Peacock prepared dinner. The menu included'green turtle steaks, venison soup, and English plum pudding.S9 The first Fort Lauderdale community Christmas took place in the schoolhouse in 1900. Twenty-five people walked several miles to gather together. The pioneers, concerned with just being together, included neither gifts nor decorations in their celebration.

J, 30 Pioneers found it important to share both the tragedies and the celebrations of life. During these years Dade County consisted of only scattered homesteads, people felt the basic human need to associate with one another and to feel part of the group within their area. The estab­ lishment and development of the community characterizes the history of human development. Florida pioneers used holidays as a reason to unite and express themselves as a group and a community. Medical knowledge lagged behind most other aspects of nineteenth century western civilization. For this reason the treatment of frontier people differed little from that of the nineteenth century urban society. Before healing became a profession requiring extensive education, women assumed the role of family physician. Working within their accepted nurturing realm, women treated diseases, performed surgery, and assisted in childbirth. Nineteenth century Dade County was one of the most isolated places in the United States. With the closest doctor in Key West, pioneer women were the first to provide medical services. Disabilities were "taken care at home by your wife or mother. If she and the rest of the women called into consultation could not cure you, "you sought passage to Key West. Even as late as 1893 when Flagler began to extend his railroad and build a hotel at Palm Beach, professional medical care was scarce in the county.GO 31 Women cured the sick with home remedies. They had to substitute the usual northern remedies with those available in the subtropics. For example, pomelo proved an excellent substitute for quinine. Many women, such as Lydia Bradley of Lake Worth, assumed the role of midwife. Most children were born with the assistance of female neighbors. Many pioneer women performed medical services. Emma Gilpin, a tourist of Lake Worth, described a time when a visitor contacted pneumonia. No nurse could be found, so the women in the area treated the sick patient. Isabella Peacock nursed and comforted her close friend, Mrs. Ewan, until Ewan passed away. During his first visit to Biscayne Bay, Henry Flagler sprained his ankle inspecting Julia Tuttle's grounds. Tuttle, with the assistance of her cock, Maggie Carney, bandaged the sprain.61 Fanny Brown of Lake Worth earned the reputation as an excellent nurse. Margaretta Pie~ce lived at the Orange Grove House of Refuge when her daughter, Lillian Elder, was born. The next night Pie~ce became extremely ill and went into convulsions. Her husband, fearing death, sent for Fanny Brown, the closest woman. Though she had never met the Pierces, the middle-aged, city woman walked the five miles down the beach. She immediately gave Margaretta Pierce a medicine that put her to sleep. Brown remained at the station until Pierce was out of danger. She. then invited Pierce to stay at the Brown home until she 32 recovered her strength. Pierce developed a close friendship with the woman who probably saved her life. Fanny Brown also cured William Lainhart of a high malarial fever. Unfortunately, one of Brown's patients did not recover. Her son, Jarvis, while on a hunting trip, was accidently shot. She treated his wound, but he died of a broken artery.62 A woman also served the medical needs of the people on Biscayne Bay. The difference between this woman and other Dade County women was that she was a licensed physician. Eleanor Galt graduated from the Female Medical College of Pennsylvania (the first chartered medical school for women) in 1879. :For a time she practiced in New York and New ....._ .•.. ~"- .. Jersey. In 1891, Eleanor Galt married Captain Albion R.

Sin'.mcns.. Th1~ couple moved south the following year because of the Captain's poor health. They purchased a homesite in Coconut Grove. Captain Simmons occupied his time with the production of pineapple wine and mango and guava jelly. Dr. Simmons began to practice from an office on the property. She was at that time the only licensed physician on Biscayne Bay.63 The Indians quickly became interested in her work and camped outside her office to obtain some of the medicines. Often Dr. Simmons sailed or rode her pony to patients, traveling as far north as Palm Beach. Dr. Simmons never refused a call for help. One night she rode out to a homestead to assist a woman experiencing a mental

.J•. 33 collapse. Perhaps her most famous patient was Sam Lewis. Lewis operated a saloon in Lemon City.64 on the night of July 26, 1895 he entered into a fight with two of his patrons. The next day Lewis confronted the two men and shot and killed them. Sam Lewis fled and a posse was formed to find him. After fleeing to Bimini, he returned to Lemon City. One member of the posse, Rhett McGregor, found Lewis just south of Bay Point. The two engaged in gunfire. Wounded, McGregor was carried to a nearby house. Lewis barricaded himself in a cabin. Dr. Simmons was sent for. She arrived at three in the morning and treated

McGregor's neck and side wounds. H~ later.died. The

·.:.····doctor then walked over to the cabin where Lewis sought refuge, explaining who she was and asking if he needed help. He answered yet, but said he would kill anyone who followed her into the cabin. Dr. Simmons entered and immediately removed three bullets from his legs, splinter- ing his left leg which broke while being pursued. The criminal then asked for chloroform to kill himself but Dr. Simmons refused.65 Author Helen Muir wrote that Dr. Simmons even persuaded Lewis to surrender.66 By 1897, two more physicians had moved to the Miami area. Dr. Simmons died in 1909. Her possessions (including many antiques) were stored in Ada Merritt's attic. Unfortunately, the house burned and the relics lost. Pioneers of the bay 34 respected Dr. Simmons highly and left records of her achievements. By the late 1890s Lemon City also claimed a licensed female physician--Dr. Henrietta Wheeler Martens. Henrietta Marie VeHiem was born in Paris, France March 1, 1860. Her family moved to Chicago and ten years later Henrietta graduated from Chicago Medical College. She was licensed as a homeopathist which Thelma Peters defines as "a doctor who treats a disease by giving minute doses of a remedy that would, in healthy persons, produce ·symptoms of the disease treated.n68 Soon after graduation Henrietta marr~ed Charles Irwin Wheeler. They had one child, Alix Florence. Two years later Wheeler died.67 Henrietta then moved to Florida to establish a practice. In 1896 she married Halfden E. Martens in DeFuniak Springs. Their only child died in infancy. Two years later the couple moved to a farm south of Lemon City. The Miami Metropolis reported in 1898 that Mrs. H. W. Martens, M. D. was the only physician in Lemon City. Dr. Martens advertised her practice by placing a professional "card" in the Metropolis each week. She visited patients' houses by horse and carriage. In 1906 the Martens family moved to a wheat farm in Estevan and Dr. Martens abandoned her practice.68 As in the other settlements discussed, the first medical services in Fort Lauderdale were performed by a 35 woman. Before Dr. Thomas s. Kennedy began practicing medicine in 1899, a practical nurse served the entire New River area.69 Pioneers recalled that the woman worked day and night treating the ill.70 Not only did women treat the ailing, but also the dead. With no morticians living in early Dade County, bodies were prepared by females of the wilderness communi­ ties. Women brought food to the bereaved family and laid out the body. Mrs. Eva Oliver of Fort Lauderdale prepared her first body when she was only nineteen. Women also conducted many of the funeral services. Life on the Florida frontier presented many difficul­ ties and hardships for the northern, urban woman. Mary Munroe wrote that pioneer life was "always hardest on a woman." As a group, pioneer women in South Florida probably endured as great hardships and as adverse condi­ tions as did their western sisters.n71 Both western and Florida pioneers had to adapt to a new environment. Florida's pioneers learned to combat insects and live with the constant threat of wild animals, natural disasters, and Indians. A land investor once told a newly arrived female that Florida was no place for women, only suited for men and dogs.72 One of the dangers Florida's pioneers learned to live with was the wildlife. The subtropical jungles were infested with panthers, wildcats, and bears. Perhaps the 36 most feared animal was the panther. Its sound, similar to a woman's scream, sent chills up the spine. One woman, . ,· feeding her chickens, heard a commotion in back of her. She whirled around in time to see a huge panther leaping over the bushes with a chicken in its mouth.73 Women had to constantly protect their chickens and vegetable gardens from such predators. Rattlesnakes, coral snakes, and water moccasins lived abundantly in the marshes and hammocks. Women learned to carry sticks or umbrellas with them to usa against the serpents. Snakes even entered the houses. One woman discovered a snake curled up in a tea cup. Another saw a rattler peering out through the stones of the fireplace. Rats were also common. Pioneer Olive Chapman Lauther recalled rats running on the rafters of their Linton home.74 Combatting the wildlife was not as severe a problem-as combatting the insects. "Not the least of the hardships were the insects, particularly the hordes of mosquitoes that plagued the pioneers in the summer.n75 During the rainy season pioneers remembered that in an instant, after venturing outside, the body would be black and stinging. Everything possible was used to ward off the mosquito. Burning green pine needles provided a protective smudge fire, but often the smoke was as annoying as the insect. During the summer every opening in the house had to be covered. At.night smoke pots were placed in the cabins and 37 no lamps could be lit. Fleas were almost as abundant as mosquitoes. Olive Lauther wrote, "the fleas led us a dog's life." She remembered her mother "defleaing" the family by dousing them with alcohol, followed by insect powder. Other insects included roaches, palmetto bugs, ants, and horse and deer flies.76 Pioneer courage was tested during a natural disaster. One of the most feared occurrence was the hurricane. Hurricanes struck quickly and without notice. One of the first women to endure a tropical storm in Southeastern Florida was Margaretta Pierce. When the Pierce family moved from Jupiter to Lake Worth they fortunately chose the inside route. This consisted of.poling a small boat through eight miles of sawgrass. The family was in the swamp when the storm hit. Mr. and Mrs. Pierce and young Charles sought refuge in an alligat9r crawl. The family possessed no coat, wrap, or blanket to protect them from the rain. The husband and wife held the boat over them­ selves against the forceful winds. Margaretta Pierce kept all warm by having them drink brandy. That night demon­ strated her courage. Charles Pierce remembered the incident and wrote that his mother never complained. "He paid high tribute to the courage and resourcefulness of his mother, a city bred woman who bravely pioneered in this wilderness.n77 Lake Worth pioneer Anna L. Benker recalled the terror of the 1876 hurricane·: 38 The terrible hurricane of '76 came on some weeks after my arrival, and to my mind there had been none since to rival it in force. The wind came up about four o'clock in the afternoon, and rapidly increased in fury until about midnight. No one thought of going to bed. We listened to the wind tearing through the upper part of the house, and sounding like cannon balls rolling back and forth over the floors •••• At midnight the rain came in literal torrents and we moved from one room to another trying to keep dry. The day break was a welcome sight.78 Fire was another feared disaster. Because of dry spells and the use of palmetto roofs, fires occurred often. The Pierce family lost all its belongings in a hut fire. Pioneer Page Wilson recalled a fire involving his wife: Hurrying on, I met a grim picture of frontier life; great clouds of suffocating smoke; the roar of flames; the staccato notes of palmetto leaves· just catching; -and--off at the far edge--my poor wife and a woman neighbor.dressed in men's overalls, blackened from head to foot, and almost exhausted in desperate efforts to stamp out, with wetted sacks and pine swi,~hes, the fire's stealthy, steady advance. One Fort Lauderdale woman saved a boy's life when his body caught on fire after a stove exploded. When he ran out of the house in ~lames, Mrs. Rawlings suffocated the fire. The boy'.s mother and an infant escaped before the house burned down.SO The Indians, in some cases, presented an obstacle in the settlement of Florida. People who lived in Southeast Florida at the same time as the Lewises (the late 1700s) did not have to live with a threat of Indians. The Tequesta Indians had been eliminated by the Spanish and the 39 Seminoles were scattered throughout Florida, primarily north of Dade County. Also, .·wni t:.e settlements had yet to occur on a large scale and the Indians did not feel threatened. By the early 1800s, settlers had to defend themselves against the Seminoles. During this time, two Indian massacres occurred in Dade County. One involved the Cooley family. The Cooleys tenanted a portion of the Lewis land on the New River. In 1836 Indians descended on the New River settlement in response to a threat of removal to western lands. Just ten days earlier they attacked two United States command posts but word had not yet reached New River. Mr. Cooley was away at the time. Mary Rigby, d~ughter of a nearby widowed settler, remembered the incident: Between twelve and one o'clock on Monday [January 6, 1836] I ~eard the report of guns and yells of Indians and the screams of Mr. Cooley's family • • • brother ran some distance down the river where he could see the Cooley house and speedily returned and told our family to run for Mr. cooley's family were all murdered.8 1 As soon as the Indians appeared, Mrs. Cooley snatched her infant and attempted to escape. She was shot in the heart about 100 yards from the house. The ball passed through her breast and broke the arm of the infant she held. An older daughter and son were found nearby also shot in the heart. The girl was holding a book. Joseph Flinton, a tutor, had been murdered with an ax. Flinton was scalped but the others spared. An Indian custom 40 prevented the scalping of women and children. William Cooley returned shortly after, discovering his family murdered, the house burned and the housegoods, including slaves, carried off. In 1971 the Daughters of the American Revolution placed a monument marker at the spot of the massacre.82 The second noted Dade County massacre occurred on Indian Key in 1840. During the early nineteenth century, Indian Key, the largest settlement in South Florida outside Key West, held the county seat. In 1838, Dr. Henry Perrine received a land grant to experiment in the use of South Florida plants. Perrine was allowed to select the land and in 1838 he moved to Indian Key with his wife, son Henry, and two daughters, Hester and Sarah. The family, which enjoyed life on Indian Key, had frequent visits from officers of the Navy and Army who courted the Perrine girls. Henry recalled his mother working in the production of silk worms and cocoons.83 She sent many of the cocoons to the Patent Office in Washington, D.C. On the night of August 7, 1840, a group of Indians struck the island. A restless sailor walking around the Key discovered them and gave the alarm. Mrs. Perrine helped her children out of bed and led them into the cellar. Dr. Perrine pushed a heavy chest in front of the door concealing it. Indians surrounded the house and after the doctor spoke to them, they left, only to return at daylight when they killed the 41 doctor. The Indians ransacked the house and then set it.on fire. The four surviving Perrines kept close to the cellar walls. A wharf extended from the cellar. Several Indians, raising a trap door on the wharf, just missed seeing the Perrines. The wharf soon caught fire and the cellar filled with water. Henry passed through a narrow spot under the wharf and headed for the trap door. Mrs. Perrine dug a passage with her hands for the rest to pass through. Sarah, ill at the time, had to be assisted by her mother and sister. When all reached land they discovered a launch. A schooner laid anchored about three miles offshore and all but Sarah rowed to it. Some Indians spotted the family and chased them in a canoe. A boat sent from the schooner deterred the Seminoles. When the boat reached the Perrines over twelve hours has passed since the attack began. The three women were in nightclothes and Henry was naked.84 The Perrine family demonstrated the courage of Dade County pioneers. They were more fortunate than other Indian Key residents. Captain John Matt, his wife, mother­ in-law, and two young children were all slain. In 1885, Hester Perrine wrote about her Indian Key experiences. The manuscript appeared in the Florida Historical Society Quarterly of July 1926. Henry Perrine, Jr. later returned to the area planning to develop a settlement. Hester assisted her brother and prepared an eighteen page pamphlet 42 to.attract settlers. Inadequate transportation caused the project to fail in less than a year.BS When settlers entered Dade County in the late 1800s, the Seminole Wars had ceased. Although the Indians no longer posed a threat to the pioneers, their massive appearance often alarmed the women. They "never acted mean or gave any trouble; but on the other hand loved to play jokes pretending to frighten the ladies, and laughing heartily if they thought they had succeeded."86 Women were most frightened by Indians when alone. When an Indian arrived at a house door, women sent the children to the bedroom (or loft) and placed a rifle close by before opening the door. Dora Doster Utz remembered an incident when her mother was alone with the children on a Jupiter homestead. Suddenly there was a loud pounding. Mrs. Doster placed a gun nearby and opened the door. She said a young brave staggered into the room and took a seat at the kitchen table, cradling his head in his hands. He said not a word and neither did Mama. Finally he looked up and said, 'Me drunk. Me very drunk. ' Mrs. Doster gave him coffee. After he felt better, the Indian gestured thanks and left.87 Almeda Armour, wife of the Jupiter lighthouse keeper, opened the door one day to find a large Indian with a kn.ife between his teeth. The Indian passed the frightened woman the knife, handle first, signifying friendship. He then asked permission to camp on the lighthouse property. After

--de..... 43 the incident, Mrs. Armour felt comfortable around the Seminoles. They visited the lighthouse frequently and never attempted to harm her family.88 The Indians did not always use the white custom of knocking. Sometimes they just walked in. "The Indians appeared so silently, apparently from nowhere that the young wife, preparing a meal in the kitchen would look up startled to find an Indian standing beside her.n89 Florida pioneers developed close friendships with many of the Indians. Often Indians appeared at settlers' houses requesting a cup of coffee or just wanting to visit. several Indians attended the wedding of Rose Wagner.90 Women knew survival required an adjustment to the

presence of wild anL~als, insects: and the Indians. One hardship not easily adjusted to was loneliness. For the first settlers, Dade county was very isolated. Mail came only when someone passed through. After the establishment of a post office, mail arrived only twice a month. Men outnumbered women and for long periods of time women saw no one of their sex. After living in Cutler for twenty-four years, Mary Addison claimed that she never got used to the loneliness.91 Mary Conrad recalled, "There were many nights after we got to Florida that I cried on my pillow wet with lonelinessftn92 · One Coconut Grove woman wore a

sunbonnet her first month, both in and out. of t~e house, so that her husband could not see her crying. Visiting 44 neighbors helped cure loneliness. Though the trips were infrequent, they temporarily replaced the feeling of isolation with that of belonging to a group, with people who shared the same experiences as themselves. The loneliness stemmed both from a desire for female companionship, and from the realization of how much they had left behind to settle in Dade County. Mary Munroe recognized this when she wrote: it is hard for a man to realize what it means to a woman to give up family, friends, church, doctor and a comfortable house and sleep in a tent, while the first house is being built, which is usually spoken of as the future packing house, or chicken house, when the grove comes into bearing. They do not realize the fear that women have. at finding out that·crawlirig creatures of the earth are so near to them, or the pain that comes with the hardening of soft hands.in doing the daily housework of life.93 By moving to an isolated subtropical wilderness, the urban woman had to both adjust to the lack of female companion- ship and a frontier life without urban comforts. Many women threatened to leave. Olive Lauther's mother of Linton often said if it had not been so far, she would have been tempted to walk back home.94 Sadie Gray arrived in Linton soon after her marriage. Her first few days of living in a tent were not pleasant: I told Guy he could hunt rattlesnakes to his heart's content but as for me. I was through and going back to Saginaw. I'm just a nervous wreck. We ran out of kerosene the other night and I was frightened to death. Black as pitch no lights, and the eyes of only God knows what shining in the bushes. Rustling sounds and strange noises. 45 What fools we are to stay in such a place. My honeymoon! A nightmare, if you ask me.95 In 1862 Congress passed the Homestead Act. For a $10 filing fee and five years of residency and improvement, the act granted 160 acres to the settler. Along with families, many single and widowed women acquired property through the Act. Mary Douthit Conrad homesteaded 160 acres in present­ day Miami. Sixteen-year-old Douthit left Winston-Salem, North Carolina, with her sister in 1892. The two rode a train to Tampa, then boarded a schooner for Key West. At Key West they transferred to another schooner heading north to Biscayne Bay. When they arrived on t~e Bay their father and three brothers greeted the sisters. ~ four men --~ere homesteading property fivemiles northwest.of Lemon CJ.ty, near the upper fork of Little River. Mary, who found the homestead isolated, recalled the "Old Crank," a cypress log canoe bought from a Seminole which provided their only transportation to town. "When we wanted to go to Lemon City we paddled down Little River to a place just below the big spring, tied the canoe to a big tree; and walked from that point to Lemon City, a distance of about two miles.n96

\~en she became of age, Mary Douthit homesteaded a piece of land herself, located on Snake Creek near Greynolds Park. Her family helped clear the land and build a log cabin. Fanny Tuttle, daughter of pioneer Julia Tuttle, also homesteaded land in the Biscayne Bay area. Ellen E. Potter, 46 the sister of Dr. Richard Potter, homesteaded a section of land in West Palm Beach between Dixie Highway and Clear

Lake. In 1909 she donated part of the land for a ~chool­ site.97 The widowed wife of Gus Miller homesteaded on the Loxahatchee River in 1894. several women took advantage of the 1862 Homestead Act. With the assistance of family and neighbors, women cleared and cultivated their land. They greatly benefited when land prices soared with the construction of the.East Coast Railroad. In 1875 ,. the United States Government constructed five Houses of Refuge along the Southeast Florida coast. The houses provided assistance to shipwrecked victims. The keepers, who had no rescue equipment, patrolled the beach looking for wrecked ships and survivors. For many years the only beach inhabitants in Dade County lived at the life saving houses. All houses were constructed similarly. Charles Pierce recalled the living quarters of the refuge house his family resided in, "The south room was a bedroom and the next was always used as a living room; the next was a dining room and then the kitchen.u98 The houses included a brick chimney for a stove. Windows possessed screens and shutters but no glass. A veranda ran around three sides of the house. One duty of the manager was to maintain a daily log. The log contained information of the day's activi­ ties, visitors, and an inventory of supplies. Dr. Thelma Peters, who researched the log of the Biscayne Bay House of 47 Refuge, reported the logs contained almost no information on women. Dr. Peters surmised that the keepers' wives performed various duties such as substituting for the keeper, recording weather and ships in the logs, scanning the beach through a glass, and nursing people at the house. The wife of keeper Johnson managed the station one evening while her husband was away. Keeper Fulford's wife repaired a torn sail. She helped her husband manage the Biscayne Bay station for ten years but was only mentioned twice in the logs.99 Steve Andrews became keeper of the Delray House of Refuge in 1878. His wife, Annie, established and operated a post office at the station from 1888 to 1892 calling it Zion.100 In several ways, life was more comfortable at the stations than in the wilderness. The only complaint families expressed was the isolation of beach life. Families would go days without seeing another person. Occasionally, travelers did arrive at the stations. People who visited came by foot along the beach (such as the Barefoot Mailman) or by boat. Once in a while sea travelers spent nights at the stations awaiting favorable tides and weather. Logs indicated that women visited the stations as well as men. The consumption of food at the Houses of Refuge varied slightly from that of the inland settlements. In 1882 the Pierce family moved to manage the Biscayne Bay House of Refuge. Their food consisted 48 primarily of the basics--salt pork, potatoes, and occasionally dried beans, biscuits, and canned tomatoes. Deer or turkey did not frequent the beach. The family caught mangrove snapper and coon oysters. Agnes Fromberger of the Fort Lauderdale station recalled that Indians often camped overnight on the station's grounds. They brought large pieces of venison for sale and cut off what they thought a fair amount for the money shown them. In most houses of refuge rain provided the only source of fresh water, but the rain brought mosquitoes. With an increased mosquito population, all had to remain indoors after sunset and lamps could not be lit.lOl Many women gave birth while they lived at a house of refuge. Martha Peacock had one of her eleven children at the Biscayne Bay House of Refuge. Dick Carney Peacock was the first white child born on Miami Beach. Mary Barno.tt•, wife of the second Biscayne Bay House of Refuge keeper, reported that she and her husband buried three babies in the dunes near the station. Agnes Fromberger gave birth to her first child, Henry Spencer, at the Fort Lauderdale station in 1896. She was more fortunate than most women because she had the assistance of a doctor and nurse. Margaretta Pierce gave birth to Lillian Elder at the Delray Beach station. Lillian Pierce was the first white girl born in the Lake Worth area. 49

Though Florida pioneers settled in a diffe~ent environment, they exhibited many of the same qualities as the American western pioneer. They were brave, independ- ent, and helpful. As they moved into the subtropics, the pioneers had to adjust their lifestyle to the environment. The pioneer women had to learn new methods of house cleaning and food preparation. Wrecked ships often provided supplies. Women treated the sick and two Dade County women were actually licensed physicians. Several single and widowed women, such as Mary Douthit Conrad and Ellen Potter, took advantage of the Homestead Act and established homesteads in Dade County. As· her western sister, the Florida pioneer woman had to endure many hardships, such as an abundance of insects and wildlife along with the threat of Indians and natural d±sasters. Female pioneers who left records of their experiences claimed the feeling of loneliness, (i.e., the lack of female companionship and the comforts of an urban life) as the most difficult hardships to overcome. The pioneers also provided entertainment for them- selves. Both the men and the women played music, visited neighbors, and picnicked. Holidays brought the pioneer families together. The Dade County pioneers developed a lifestyle consistent with the environment.

A;·•.. CHAPTER III

WOMEN PIONEERS OF LAKE WORTH

The two earliest Dade County settlements occurred around Biscayne Bay and Lake Worth. Lake Worth pioneers settled on land between Hypoluxo Island and Jupiter (though Jupiter is not on Lake Worth, the settlers had contact with the Lake settlers). Jupiter is the oldest inhabited area in.what today is Palm Beach County. In 1838, during the second Seminole War, the government constructed a fort at Jupiter and in 1860, a lighthouse (the fort was gone by 1860). One of the most noted lighthouse keepers was James A. Armour. Armour served at Jupiter from 1866 to 1908. on December 6, 1867 he married Almeda Catherine Carlile. Some months later he brought her to the Jupiter lighthouse. Life was lonely for Armour during the early years. Jupiter historian Bessie Wilson DuBois wrote that Armour was the only white woman within a 100 mile radius (though this appears unlikely).102 The closest doctor and post office were in Titusville, 160 miles north. Mail arrived only by an occasional visitor. Almeda Armour gave birth to seven children. Daughter Katherine Dickerson was the first white child born in today's Palm Beach County. She later became

50 51 the wife of her father's successor. The Armours lost one infant, Mary. People traveling south stopped at the Armours' and the Jupiter lighthouse which became known for its hospitality. The Armours' two daughters, Kate and Lida, entertained many with singing and organ music. By 1892, Jupiter was developing into a business community. At this time the Dade County seat was lccated at Juno, eight miles south. Travelers found it convenient to rest in Jupiter before continuing their journey to Lake Worth or Biscayne Bay. Hotels and eating establishments were built. For example, Mrs. Carlin, wife of Captain Charles Carlin, operated a hotel, made popular by her cQoking. Carlin also held the position of postmistress. Women resided, not only in the town of Jupiter, but along the Loxahatchee River outside of town. Flagler's railroad reached Lake Worth in 1894. The railroad bypassed Jupiter, and the town, no longer a stopping point, decreased in population and business.

Settlement 011 Lake Worth began in the early 1870s. The life of Margaretta Pierce whose family was one of the first to permanently settle on the Lake, demonstrates the hardships of the early pioneer woman. She settled in a true wilderness, left behind all comforts of her northern home, and had few female companions. Margaretta L. Moore was born in Prarie du Chien, Wisconsin, November 14, 1840. She married Hannibal D. Pierce of Illinois. For a time 52 Margaretta taught school. In 1872, after the birth of their first child, Charles, the couple and Mrs. Pierces' brother, William Moore, decided to move to Florida. The family sailed south, down the Mississippi to Florida's west coast and proceeded by train to the east coast. Mrs. Pierce kept a daily log of the trip. Remnants of her diary helped Charles Pierce write his manuscript, "Wings of the Wind." On the boat Margaretta Pierce cooked, washed clothes, and took care of her six-year-old son. After a short stay on the Indian River, the Pierce family settled on Hypoluxo Island in 1873. :At the time, five people lived on the lake: Jessie Malden and his wife, Charles Moore, William Moore, and William Butler. The Maldens lived beyond walking distance and Mrs. Pierce experienced loneliness for female companionship. This loneliness decreased the following year with the arrival of Butler's wife and daughter. "Mrs. Pierce was delighted to have a woman neighbor that she could visit.n103 In November 1874 Butler gave birth to a son. He was the first white child born on the lake. The next month a son was born to the Pierces. The infant died eight months later--the first death among the pioneers.

Mrs. Pierce named Hypoluxo Island. An old squaw told her that the Indians called the lake Hypoluxo. Hypoluxo meant "water all around, no get out." As the lake already 53 had an English name, the settlers decided to call their small island Hypoluxo.104 As stated earlier, Margaretta Pierce gave birth to daughter Lillian at the Delray House of Refuge. The following evening the mother became extremely ill. It was several months before she recovered. Lillie examined her mother's experience: My mother was never strong after this, and the hardships of pioneering were never ever easy for her; she never complained much, but always wishing for three favorite things of her northern days which were not procurable here; they were beefsteak, cow's milk, and buggy rides.lOS In spite of her illness, Margaretta Pierce lived to the age of seventy-two. She settled in a subtropiqal wilderness and assisted her husband Hannibal in building a homestead. With no close neighbors until Butler arrived, Pierce enjoyed little female companionship. She endured the hardships of fire, hurricanes, and the death of a child, while leaving behind friends, family, and the comforts of a northern home. Margaretta Pierce was a true Lake Worth pioneer. Lillian Pierce also represented Florida's female pioneers and left many accounts of her experiences. She sailed her own skiff, hunted in the hammocks with her dog, and played the violin with her brother.106 Lillian Pierce spent her entire life in Boynton Beach, dying minutes from where she was born. She lived to be ninety-one.

; . .· 54 Slowly the lake settlement developed. In 1875,

Charlie Moore mar~ied a widow, Mrs. Wilder, and brought her to the homestead. They were the first couple to be married in Palm Beach.107 The next year thirteen people left Illinois bound for Florida. While the women waited in Jacksonville, the men sailed to Lake Worth seeking home- sites. The group consisted of two families, the Dimicks and the Geers. Three of the Dimicks ha.d married three of the Geers, so all were related. Ella Dimick, a graduate of Rollins College, recalled her first impression of the area, It was a wild country in which we settled, nothing but a dense woods on each side of the lake, but we loved it. We had all confidence in its future development never doubting its future greatness.108 Ella's brother, E. N. "Cap" Dimick, was married to Ella Geer. Ella Geer Dimick remembered her husband crawling through the dense jungle seeking a homesite. The couple later opened the Coconut Grove House on the land he chose. The hotel quickly became a popular resort for visiting northerners. Ella later served as the first president of the lake's Women's Club. She died in 1938 at the age of eighty-six. The people of Lake Worth soon developed a sense of community by joining together. Throughout the week all were busy on their homesteads. But, on sundays they worshipped, ate, and enjoyed music together having organ­ ized a sunday school on a circuit plan. 55 The first mail route to the lake was established with the help of a pioneer and his daughter. In 1878 v.o. Spencer and his daughter Martha (Mattie) sailed around the lake obtaining signatures for a post office. Mattie carried the petition in a wooden box. Close to sunset a storm set in and capsized the small cat rigged boat. After three attempts to right it, Mattie and her father swam ashore. Stories about what happened to the petition. conflict. Many sources present Mattie as a heroine, claiming that she saved the petition. T. Wadsworth Travers wrote in his History of Beautiful Palm Beach that the box sank .to the bottom of the lake and Mattie retrieved it.l09 It .is improbable that the wooden box sank instead of floating. Mattie wrote that she let the box go and it drifted ashore to be retrieved in the morning.llO Again, this is unlikely because of the lake's size. The most likely story is that Mattie swam.to shore holding the box. Whichever story is true, the first post office was estab­ lished on the lake becaus~ of Mattie Spencer's and her father's efforts. By the 1890s many people had settled around Lake Worth and many more visited from the north during the winter months. Two such visitors were Emma and John Gilpin. In her many letters to sister-in-law Susan Pope Hazard, Emma described the beauty of the lake area. She was amazed the pioneers were able to live outdoors all the time.lll By

J •. 56 1891 mail began arriving three days a week. In 1892 the government extended telegraph lines to the lake. Two women, Florence Spencer of Riviera Beach and Ella G. Dimick of Palm Beach, were hired to operate the telegraph. One year later Flagler's railroad reached Lake Worth. Ella Dimick described the railroad as the biggest thing to happen to Palm Beach.112 Property prices skyrocketed and people of little means found themselves rich. The railroad brought the lake people services and manufactured products unimagined a decade ago. It'also encouraged settlement and tourism. The women of the Lake Worth settlements were instru- mental in establishing both schools and churches. The . first pioneer women educated their children at home. As settlement increased, pioneers used a circuit system in which homes along a circular route were used as school houses. Education in the isolated subtropics presented many problems. Books were scarce and settlers lacked money to buy needed materials. Also, towns which sold materials were not close and could be reached only with difficulty. Most families could not afford to send their children outside the county. In 1870, thirteen children were of school age in Dade County. Three attended school outside the county, but only one was known to be literate.113 By the 1880s the pioneers saw a need for a public school system. In 1885, the first Dade County Board of Education 57 met in Miami. The board decided to divide the county into four school districts: district number one was the Lake Worth area, district number two the Miami area, district number three Coconut Grove, and district number for Elliot's Key and all other keys and islands.114 To establish a public school, each district had to have ten students. The school board agreed to furnish materials, but the school site had to be provided and the building constructed by the settlers. The board also established teachers' salaries at the first meeting. Women took the initiative in establishing a school within each district. Soon after the board's first

·-~~.eting, the Lake Worth women organized the Ladies Aid Society to raise money for a school site. With Mrs. Robert B. Moore as its first president, the women met once a week in a member's home throughout the summer and fall. They formed a sewing circle, sewing and embroidering articles to sell. The club meeting also functioned as a social event to be looked forward to each week. After completing several articles, the women held a fair. They raised a total of $226.80.115 The Ladies Aid Society then purchased a site on Lake Worth convenient to all living on the lake. The site was located one mile north of Brelsford's Point in Palm Beach (on the spot where Flagler's Whitehall is today). County officials donated $200 to purchase building materials. The men of the community built the school and 58 the Ladies Aid Society purchased chairs. The schoolhouse was eventually moved to Phipps Ocean Park in southern Palm Beach where it stands today. The County's first schoolhouse opened its door March 1886. seven students from the ages of six to seventeen were brought to school by boat. Materials were limited. There was no blackboard and books had to be gathered from various homes. Sixteen-year-old Hattie Gale served as Lake Worth's first teacher. She wrote of her experiences stating that she had the students worked'and played together.116 She emphasized reading, writing, and mathe­ matics. The first public instruction in West Palm Beach began in 1894. As no schoolhouse was available, the students and their teacher, Daisy Lyman, met in a church building. v. o. Spencer's (see page 55) daughter, Florence, became a state educator. Graduating from the Pennsylvania State Normal School, she traveled South Florida's east coast helping communities organize effective school systems. Although in the 1870s there were no churches in Dade County, women thought it important to keep the Sabbath and worked towards the establishment of religious institutions. The Lake Worth pioneers established the first church organization in Dade County, the American Home Missionary Society, in 1884. This group met on alternate sundays at the Geer and Dimick homes. Two years later the group met 59 at the newly completed schoolhouse. They later constructed the Royal Poinciana Chapel which Henry Flagler purchased in 1896 to use as a nondenominational church for his hotel guests and others.117 In 1894, Flagler and the railroad company bought a large piece of land on the west side of Lake Worth. Thus, the city· of West Palm Beach came into being. The American Home Missionary Society, along with new residents of West Palm Beach, began to hold services and sunday school at the home of Mrs. Oliver Rymer (later Mrs. George H. Maltby). On March 25, 1894, after services, the society discussed the organization of a congregational church. Flagler had deeded the group a lot on the north- west corner of Olive and Datura Streets. The women previously organized to raise money for a building. Calling themselves the Ladies Christian Union of Lake Worth, they raised funds by holding suppers and festivals. Emma Gilpin recorded that in one evening's festival the society earned $20o.118 In 1896 the women printed the Lake Worth Historian which sold for twenty-five cents a copy to pay the building debt. The Union Congregational Church became the first church building in West Palm Beach. Palm Beach's Bethesda-by-the-Sea, erected in 1889, was the first Protestant church building in Southeast Florida.119 The lake's pioneer women played active roles in the establishment of this Episcopal Church. Mrs. Charles Moore, wife of one of the lake's first settlers, 60 sold a two-acre lot for the purpose of building a church, then donated to the building fund.120 In 1888 there were four communicants of the church, three were women. several women, including Dorinda Brelsford and Etta E. Hendrickson, were chartered members. Mrs. Porter donated money for hymnals and prayer books. Mrs. Robert R. McCormick of Denver presented a new organ to the Bethesda church. Mary Cluett Mulford, the vicar's wife, gave the church its name and organized a woman's guild in January 1889.121 During its first years the guild's work centered around the church, holding fairs to raise funds. In the early 1900s the organization became active in charitable community works. Leaders of the guild encouraged participation. The women met once a week and listened to poetry, literature, or music while doing handiwork. The Bethesda-by-the-Sea

Women's Guild is still active today. Mulford also initi~ ated many cultural and social activities such as musical and literary affairs. She, and women like Mulford, set the course other Palm Beach women have followed. In 1889, the Reverend Mulford considered building a rectory for Bethesda-by-the Sea and contacted Mrs. L. H. Boardman of New Haven, Connecticut who had expressed an interest in Florida schools and churches. She, along with two other women, donated towards the construction of a rectory.122 In 1890 Mrs. William Stone Smith exchanged the church lot for a larger one. This lot was to hold the new 61 rectory completed that year. Because of the railroad and increased population, a second Bethesda-by-the Sea was built in 1895. Much of the building fund was raised by the women in various sales and fairs held throug~out the years. Emma Gilpin, in a March 1893 letter to her sister-in-law, Susan Hazard, stated that the ladies raised $750 in one week from a fair.123 The Bethesda Mission organized itself in 1899 by sending a canonical form of application to the bishop. The form was read and signed by eleven people, seven of them women. The third Bethesda-by-the-Sea, and the one in use today, was constructed in the 1920s.124 The first Episcopal Church in West Palm Beach, Holy Trinity, was organized in 1895. The congregation conducted services in the schoolhouse (the first public building in West Palm Beach) until a building was erected. Henry

Flagler and Kate Marvin donated lan~ at the corner of Evernia and Poinsettia (today u.s. 1) Streets. Money for the building was raised by the Ladies Guild, which was in many ways responsible for the establishment of this church. The church opened in April 1899. Pews were donated by Mrs. Emily Pendleton. In June of 1899, Judge Andrew J. Lewis and Ruby Edna Pierce (editor and manager of the Lake Worth

~ which later became the Palm Beach Daily News, organ­ ized the Holy Trinity Sunday School.125 In 1894 the women of Mangonia held a lawn social for the benefit of building a Christian Union Church. A 62 Methodist arid Catholic Church soon followed. By 1902 Palm Beach claimed two churches and West Palm Beach five.126 The Lake Worth settlements, from Jupiter on the north to Hypoluxo on the south, developed early into centers of population. Since the communities developed early, the Lake Worth women were true Dade County pioneers. Women such as Almeda Armour and Margaretta Pierce lived in a subtropical wilderness without modern conveniences or female companionship.127 The ·women pioneers of Lake Worth assisted in transforming these wilderness settlements into

communities~ The first mail route to Palm Beach was established with the help of pioneer Martha Spencer. Ella Dimick assisted her husband in operating the.popular resort, the Coconut Grove Hotel. The Lake Worth women were also instrumental in establishing educational and religious institutions. They organized into groups to raise funds for both school and church buildings. Women served as public instructors and held important positions in church organizations. Pioneering ended in the lake region when the East Coast Railroad arrived in 1894.

~---· r: .. CHAPTER IV

WOMEN PIONEERS"OF BISCAYNE BAY

Both the Lake Worth and the Biscayne Bay settlements were located on natural waterways which contributed to their rapid growth. Unlike Lake Worth, a small number of settlers lived around Biscayne Bay prior to and during the Civil War. However, large scale settlements did not occur until the latter nineteenth century. The first white settlers around the Bay possessed land grants. Richard Fitzpatrick bought many of the grants and established a large plantation. William English, Fitzpatrick's nephew, acquired the property next. The land was then subdivided and sold to various people. One of the first women name in the Miami region was Mrs. Ferguson. She, her husband, and their partner, Adams, built and operated a comptie starch mill at the head of tbe Miami River in 1848. The following year all contracted gold fever and left for California.128 Lavinia Booth of Georgia married Isaiah Hall in 1840. At the close of the Third Seminole War (1858) the couple settled in Miami. Lavinia Hall never feared the Indians and established a .close relationship with them. "The Indians she found

63 64 uniformly friendly, honest and peaceable, and she evidently admired and liked them.nl29 Hall had six children. One son, William, was the first white child born in Miami. When the Civil war broke out, Mr. Hall supported the Union and became and inland pilot on the coastguard ship Sycamore. The Sycamore was to patrol the shores of South Florida. Lavinia Hall remained in Miami with the children. Many people on Biscayne Bay supported the Confederate cause. These southern sympathizers sought the services of all around. some approached Hall and decided that she should be sent to a Confederate camp in the northern section of the state to make clothes for the soldiers. Lavinia Hall and the children immediately set sail ·in the family's boat. The Sycamore picked them up and the family settled on the New River. After the war the Halls returned to Miami. Later, the family moved to Florida's west coast where Mr. Hall died. Lavinia Hall eventually settled in Key West with her children and lived to the age of 101. Rose Wagner's parents moved to Biscayne Bay to supply food for the Fort Dallas soldiers. She recalled that in 1858 there were only thirteen settlers living in Miami and few of these were women. One woman, Mrs. Barron, helped her husband maintain the Cape Florida lighthouse. Another, the wife of Dr. Fletcher~ assisted him in operating a store on the Miami River.l30 ·,,_·. 65 Life on Biscayne Bay during the Civil War was difficult. With Key West in federal possession and the Bay blockaded, the settlers found themselves isolated. Not even the mail boat could enter Biscayne Bay. Pioneers lived off the land. They ate fish, turtle, potatoes, pumpkins, beans, and sweet potatoes. When nothing else was available, comptie starch scalded in water provided a meal. Some of the most daring ran the blockade. Goods entering through the blockade brought exorbitant prices. Pickled pork sold for $50 a barrel and cotton homespun cost a dollar a·yard.131 During the Civil War settlers continued to migrate to the Bay. These included William and Sarah Gleason and Mr. and Mrs. w. H. Hunt. The sole possession of land by a married woman in the late 1800s was an uncommon practice. Frontier areas proved an exception to this, including Florida. Sarah Gleason's name appeared on "The List of Lands in Dade County Liable to Taxation for A.D. 1880." She owed taxes on 160 acres for the years 1880, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, and 1889.132 Gleason purchased the land from Abel Woods in 1867 for $100. Wood's son originally .,_ homesteade~ .,the Lemon 'City land. Biscayne Bay's settlements developed slowly. Daniel G. Brinton reported in his Guide-Book of Florida and the South that only a dozen settlers lived on the Bay in 1869. He warned travelers that in spite of the beautiful climate, 66 accommodations were "poor and insufficient.n133 F. French Townshend, a British captain, visited Miami in 1874 and wrote that his greatest objection was the isolation. A small mail-cutter which sailed twice a month to Key West provided the only communication with the outside world.134 Biscayne Bay pioneer Ralph Munroe described the Bay in 1877: No more isolated region was to be found in the country, and scarcely any less productive. The few hardy settlers depended mainly on the products of the sea, together with plentiful game, for food.135 In spite of the isolation, many Miami women would have lived nowhere else. Mrse Gilbert of New York City had traveled all over the world searching for a suitable place to settle. She found it on the Miami River. Another woman, a widow named Pomeroy, refused to move even after she acquired a large amount of money. Through the years, people continued to settle Miami. However, only when Flagler extended his railroad to the Bay did the population balloon. The Brickells were one of the earliest and most interesting families to settle on Biscayne Bay. The Brickells dominated trade in Miami for a quarter of a century and impressed their mark on area history. Harry Kersey wrote that people remembered them as a "strangely reclusive and eccentric family.n136 Although actively engaged in business, the Brickells rarely socialized. They

~;...... 67 preferred to remain within the bounds of their homestead on Brickell Point. They did interact with Bay people before churches were constructed when religious services were held at their house. Kersey, in his study of South Florida traders, wrote that the history of the Brickells before their arrival to the area is hazy. The many stories detail romantic and adventurous characteristics that seem to border on myth, and keep the true history hidden.137 William Barnwell Brickell and Ephraim T. Sturtevant, successful businessmen, explored Southeast Florida "seeking a freer way of life than they had known in the North."138 Although unverified, one story claimed William Brickell managed a lucrative international wholesale grocery in Cleveland. In 1871 the family, complete with a governess, arrived on Biscayne Bay. The Brickells settled on the south side of the Miami River where they built a two story wooden house and trading post on a bluff overlooking river and Bay. They then opened a general store and saloon. The store served both Indians and settlers of the.area. Pioneers depended on the Brickells to supply them with flour, salt, sugar, kerosene, clothing, and other basic items. In the beginning, the eccentric nature of the Brickells' forced settlers to accept whatever the family wished to sell. After 1880, when a second trading post opened and Brickell's attempt to operate his Cleveland business from Florida failed, the family, now depending for

•·. . .. 68 its income on the Miami store and their .land holdings, became more considerate of their patrons' needs. One of the most interesting members of the Brickell family was William's second wife, Mary. According to rumor, Mary Bulmer was born in Yorkshire, England to Lord and Lady Bulmer. She moved to Australia where she met William. The people of Biscayne Bay recalled Brickell's stories of world travel though some doubted that he traveled so extensively. Mary became step-mother to Brickell's daughter, Alice. Ralph Munroe described Mary as "a capable and energetic Englishwoman."139 Pioneers remembered her always walking around in long skirts (even after the style changed) and barefoot. Mary Brickell had great respect for the Seminoles and never feared them. An anonymous biographer wrote an unverified story of her first encounter with the Indians. Rumors circulated of an Indian uprising. The government promptly sent troops to the south side of the Miami River, the same location as the Brickell homestead. Indians from all over Florida met here just south of the Brickell home. Mrs. Brickell with Maude Brickell, a tiny infant in her arms, went out and met the Indian Chief Big Tom Tiger and.talked with him and explained to him Mr. Brickell was away and she was alone with the children. After a lengthy conversation the Chief promised Mrs. Brickell to go away, and never return in a war against the whites - they never fought again.140 Brickell maintained a good relationship with the Florida Indians until her death. 69 Mary Brickell, along with Sarah Gleason, owned Dade County property. On February 25, 1874, Harriet English (Richard Fitzpatrick's sister) sold 640 acres of the Frankee Lewis Donation to Mary Brickell. Brickell paid $3,500 for the New River property and a section of land in Miami. Mary Brickell's name appeared on "The List of Lands in Dade County Liable to Taxation for A.D. 1880." The record indicated that she owed taxes for 2,552 acres. Besides owning a portion of the Frankee Lewis Donation, she held also the grants of Jonathan Lewis, Mrs. Egan, and Polly Lewis.141 Dade County recorded Mary delinquent on property taxes for the years 1880, 1884, ~886, 1887, 1888, and 1889.142 Mary Brickell, ~nterested_in profiting from the land, years later registered herself as a real estate broker. All of this occurred when still a married woman. She is often referred to as the second mother of Miami (Julia Tuttle was the first). "It is certain that two women [Mary Brickell and Julia Tuttle] held in their hands, the valuable land that would make up the new city.n143 As stated earlier, the Brickell family was very clannish. They preferred to keep to themselves. Mary Brickell neither assumed a social role in the community nor joined a club. Mary Brickell gave birth to seven children, three of them girls, Maud, Edith Belle, and Emma. Maud was the first white girl born in Miami. Edith Belle died of spinal 70 meningitis at the age of ten. None of the Brickell girls married. Mary's step-daughter, Alice, became the most noted Brickell child in the Miami area. Alice Brickell was born in Sidney, Australia about 1858-59. Pioneers remembered her as a very moody and high-handed young lady. Author Helen Muir speculated that her attitude was the result of her background. As an educated young woman, Alice probably found South Florida. life frustrating and unrewarding.144 She did discover some recourse in becoming active in the community. The Brickells placed Alice in charge of the everyday operation of the store and the store's post office. She was Miami's first postmistress, serving from 1880 to 1889. As store operator "· •• she created her own legend for total high-handedness in dealing with patrons, selling what goods she was in the mood to se 11•11 145 As postmistress she demonstrated a similar lack of consideration. "There are stories that she showed a notable lack of concern for getting mail distributed, often leaving letters and parcels on the table where the mail carrier had dumped them days before.nl46 For one term in 1887, Alice taught school in Lemon City. She traveled by boat every morning to Northwest Sixty-fifth Street where school was held in a cabin. For a time, Alice. taught Sunday school to the Bay's children under the orange trees on Brickell Point. Alice Brickell assumed many roles in the Bay community and became very well known as a

~'· 71 storekeeper, instructor, postmistress, and sunday school teacher. As time progressed, Mary Brickell assumed more and more the role of family business manager. When Flagler proposed to extend his railroad to Miami, Julia Tuttle and Mary Brickell offered sections of their property in return for the opportunity to develop Biscayne Bay. Mary managed the arrangement for the Brickell family and eventually signed the deed of land donated to the Florida East Coast Railroad Company. After the railroad reached Miami in 1896, the north side of the river became the townsite and the Brickells on the south side suffered. As their business declined rapidly, the Brickells lost their . ·- . .. ~-·· .,. dominant role in the commercial life of the Bay. The aging William would only complain, refusing to even visit the north side of the river. Mary Brickell asserted the family's rights by demanding development on the south side of the Miami River. A letter from Brickell's attorney, w. s. Graham, to East Coast Railroad official J. R. Parrott stated the problem, "Work is being pushed on the North side of the River on all lines, the south side is not receiving the proper attention and the Brickells are getting very sore.n147 Graham suggested building a bridge and beginning development immediately south of the Miami River. At one meeting between Graham and Mary Brickell, she refused to sign the land deed proclaiming "that numerous promises 72 ••• had not been complied with."148 The deed remained unsigned until December of 1898. When the Flagler interests constructed the bridge over the Miami River, it connected sides of the river far west of Brickell Point. During construction, the company deposited a spoil bank in front of the Brickell house, obstructing the beautiful view of Biscayne Bay. William Brickell was outraged. Mary Brickell solved the problem by selling the fill to road builders. Later she hired agents to sell fam~ly land along the right-of-way of the Miami to Coconut Grove road donated by the Brickells. The family eventually profited from ~heir Miami prop~rty. Brickell Point was considered by many to be the finest location on the Bay and later brought the family economic security. Mary Brickell was also instrumental in the settlement of Fort Lauderdale, As owner of the Frankee Lewis Donation she protested against the building of a county road through the grant. Mary suggested constructing the road along the section line. Brickell arranged with Flagler to lay out the townsite of Fort Lauderdale on land she leased to Frank Stranahan. She donated 100 acres on the New River to the East Coast Railroad. Although Flagler questioned the building of a town, he did believe the land suitable for farming.149 Frank Stranahan is known today as the "Father of Fort Lauderdale." Mary Bricltell later sold Stranahan 73 the ten acres on which he built his well known trading post. Mary Brickell died on January 13, 1922 at the age of eighty-four. In her will she requested burial on the Brickell homestead. At the time of her death, Mrs. Brickell held over $700,000 in mortgages in the Miami area. Those who remembered her said she never foreclosed on a mortgage. She left a $5,000,000 estate to the six surviving Brickell children. All children were to equally Qivide the estate except for step-daughter Alice.150 Alice Brickell, who died two years later, received only $5,000. No source indicated reasons for the unequal distribution of the estate. Clearly, both Mary and Alice Brickell were strong-willed and determined women and probably at times disagreed. Also, since Alice was William's child by his first wife, she and Mary may have competed for William's attention. After Mary's death, however, the children all agreed t9 share equally the estate with Alice. In her will Mary also provided a home for all of the unmarried Brickell children. Mary Brickell played an economic rather than a social role in the Bay community. She purchased prime property before large scale settlement occurred. Later, when Mrs. Brickell disposed of these lands, dealings led to much wealth for the Brickell family. As her husband's health declined, Mary assumed control of the family's business. 74 She asserted the family's right to equal development of their side of the Miami River. After William died in 1908, Mary continued to advance the development of the south river bank. One of the most enterprising individuals to settle in Dade County, and the person most responsible for Miami's rapid growth, was Julia DeForest Tuttle. On January 22, 1848, Mr. and Mrs. Ephraim T. Sturdevant of Cleveland, Ohio had a daughter and named her Julia DeForest. Mrs. Sturdevant had lived in Florida at one time and taught at an Indian school in Tallahassee. Sturdevant was a success- ful Cleveland businessman. During her youth, Julia attended finishing school studying music, languages, and botany. On her eighteenth birthday the Cleveland woman married Frederick Leonard Tuttle. Tuttle's father, Calvin Rutter Tuttle, • • .had assisted the launching of the knitting machine and the double dasher churn and was of the first [sic] to use iron-bar chain in modern suspension bridges. His income was pleasantly ample and the young couple had no financial worries.l50 One year after marriage the Tuttles had a daughter, Frances Emmalie (Fannie), and two years later Julia gave birth to a second child, Henry Ethelbert. The two children would greatly assist their mother in her Florida ventures. In 1870 Julia's father sailed for Biscayne Bay with his friend William Brickell. The two brought supplies and building 75 materials intending to settle. Brickell purchased 640 acres on the south side of the Miami River and Sturdevant purchased 160 acres on the north side. E. T. Sturdevant later served as county judge and state senator. Julia's interest in Florida was not only through her father but also through her husband. Frederick Tuttle contracted tuberculosis and in 1873 the family visited Biscayne Bay seeking comfort for him. During the visit Julia explored the Bay with J. E. Ewan, the "Duke of Dade." When Tuttle's iron business summoned them back to Cleveland, because of her husband's illness, Julia became active in its management, assuming control as Tuttle's health continued to deteriorate. Julia rapidly acquired a business education and assertive manner. The knowledge she gained at this time later benefited the Miami region.

Frederick Tuttle died in 1886, and for~he next few years

Julia only visited Dade Co~ty in the winter months. Her interest in Florida grew when she inherited Dade County property after her father's death. Soon afterwards, partially because of the delicate health of her son, she decided to move to the Miami River. At the same time, she began to seek additional land to purchase. Her intentions were not just settlement but also investment. During the Seminole War the United States Government built Fort Dallas on the north side of the Miami River: Named after Commander Alexander James Dallas, the fort 76 rested on a section of the olq Egan grant opposite Brickell Point. Later the abandoned fort fell into the hands of the English family. By 1874 the Biscayne Bay Company, under the management of Jonathan.c •. Lovelace and J. E. Ewan, acquired the property. In 1891 Julia Tuttle purchased the 640 acres from the company. Bent on acquiring all 744 acres of the Egan grant, she went through a complicated process of buying pieces from various owners.152 As with Sarah Gleason, Mary Brickell, and Mary Ann Davis, Julia Tuttle's name appeared on the delinquent property tax lists for 1880, 1884, 1886, 1887, 1888, and 1889.153 Through inheritance and purchase Julia Tuttle became one of the largest property owners in Dade County. After selling her property in Cleveland, Julia Tuttle, with twenty-three year old Fannie and twenty-one year old

Henry, moved to Bi~cayne Bay. The family brought what belongings they could, including two Jersey cows, the first cattle to arrive in Dade County. They reached Fort Dallas on Friday, November 13, 1891. Tuttle, in response to the· old superstition, refused to land until the next morning. To reach the fort the party hacked at the thick foliage which choked the old government trail. They immediately began to repair and renovate the fort, making the officers' quarters and barracks into living space and an office, and adding a kitchen. They converted the outbuildings into a workshop, windmill, stable, boathouse, and wharf. Biscayne 77 Bay pioneers recalled the fine residence Fort Dallas became. James Ingraham of the Florida East coast Railroad visited Julia Tuttle in 1892 and commented on her improve- ments: Mrs. Tuttle had quite a stock farm and dairy, with an abundance of chickens. Also a fine kitchen garden. • • • She has shown a great deal of energy and enterprise in this frontier country where it is almost a matter· of creation to accomplish so much in so short a time.154 The Everglades Chapter of the D.A.R. and the Miami Women's Club raised, moved, and reconstructed what was probably the cow barn which today stands in Lummus Park. Julia Tuttle knew that to profit from her land ho~~ings a city would have to be built on the mouth of the· Miami River •. Julia shared her beliefs with those around her. In writing to a friend she stated:

It may seem strange to you but it is the dream o~ my life to see this wilderness turned into a prosperous country and where this tangled mass of vine! brush, trees and rocks now are to see homes with modern improvements surrounded by beautiful grassy lawns, flowers, shrubs and shade trees.155 Tuttle's efforts for the remainder of her life were aimed towards creating a city out of the wilderness. Mary Munroe wrote that pioneer land owners benefited sooner because of Julia Tuttle's tireless efforts.156 Although Tuttle wanted to see the pioneers benefit from a city, her primary goal for the establishment o~ Miami was to see her own invest- ments prosper. As a shrewd businesswoman she invested all 78 she could, then sold at the proper time and at the highest price. In spite of the beautiful environment, a major problem in establishing a city on the Bay remained--access. Southeast Florida could only be reached by a long and uncomfortable boat trip. Julia Tuttle realized the problem and sought the assistance of railroad builder Henry Morrison Flagler. Since the 1880s Flagler had been developing Southeast Florida through the construction of a coastal railroad. At various points along the east coast Flagler enticed northerners with large, luxurious resort hotels. Tuttle believed the Bay area needed the railroad and a Flagler hotel. Even before she settled in Miami, Julia Tuttle planned for an extension of the railroad to the Bay. While in Cleveland she met James Ingraham, then an employee of Florida west coast railroad builder Henry Plant.157 She invited the Ingrahams to dinner and related her desire for a railroad to the Miami River. Julia stated that she would donate enough land for a township.158 In 1892 Plant sent an expedition, led by Ingraham, through the Everglades to investigate the possibility of building a railroad to Fort Dallas. Tuttle was notified and the party of twenty men left Fort Myers traveling east. Close to the east coast the men became lost. After several weeks had passed with no word, Mrs. Tuttle erected a tall pole with a flag 79 flying. She hoped the expedition might see the pole and locate her property. With still no word, Julia Tuttle asked her friend, Seminole Chief Matlo, to search for the lost men. After one week, Matlo returned with the half­ starved Ingraham party. Later his fellow Seminoles punished him for assisting the white settlers. The punishment consisted of three months in solitary exile in the Everglades and the loss of an ear lobe. Legend states that the Indian was in love with Mrs. Tuttle and asked her to marry him.159 Descendants of the Tuttle family claim no proof exis~s of the proposal, however, Matlo and Tuttle did maintain a life-long friendship. When the railroad employees gained their strength, Julia.guided them around the Bay taking them as far south as Indian Key and Key West. Ingraham's report of the swamp land between Fort Myers and the Miami River convinced Henry Plant to abandon any plan of extending his railroad to the east coast. After moving to the Miami River, Tuttle worked with the Brickells in interesting people to come to Dade County. She wrote numerous letters to Henry Flagler inquiring about the extension of the railroad and offered him sections of her Miami property. In a letter dated April 27, 1893, Flagler explained that he was ill and thus had no interest in building to the Bay. Flagler also believed the business venture unsafe without first viewing the Miami area and judging its possibility for rapid growth.160 80 Tuttle then sought the advise of pioneer Ralph Munroe, who suggested she visit Flagler in St. Augustine, and gave her photographs of the Bay area to show him. Tuttle returned with Flagler's promise to see Miami for himself. Weather proved the decisive factor. December 24 and 28 of 1894 a disastrous freeze hit Florida. Jacksonville recorded a temperature of fourteen degrees, Titusville eighteen, and Jupiter twenty-four.161 Dora Doster Utz of Jupiter described the scene the following morning; Everyone woke to a sad sight. Fruit orchards, pineapple patches, vegetable gardens, the work of many years, were frozen dead. Fish were lying frozen on the surface of the water. Some homesteaders took everything they owned and left in dismay.162 . A third freeze occurred on February 6. Remarkably, none of the freezes touched Miami. Tuttle, seeing her chance, immediately sent word to Flagler that Miami remained green. Flagler sent James Ingraham, who now worked for him, to determine the frost damage. He instructed Ingraham to visit Tuttle at Biscayne Bay where his agent was amazed to find no freeze damage. What occurred next has developed into a legend. Together, Ingraham and Tuttle, picked a bouquet of orange blossoms which Ingraham took to Flagler. Some sources state that a box of fruit was packed as well.163 This was all the inducement Flagler needed. He decided to visit Tuttle himself. In spite of the almost romantic legend, it 81 was not the flowers that enticed Flagler. Rather Flagler's interest was spurred by the extensive land offer and the opportunity to profit. Tuttle remained a close friend of Ingraham until her death. In a letter dated February 20, 1897, Julia Tuttle shared with her friend her successful system of cultivating pineapples.164 In various correspondence Ingraham assured Tuttle that he would always keep her advised of any matters pertaining to Miami. He also assisted in the operation of her Fort Dallas Land Company.165 Julia established the company and hired agents to dispose of her property.

Soon aft~r Ingraham returned to St. Augustine he made his third trip to Biscayne Bay, this time with Flagler and railroad employee J. R. Parrott. Upon arrival, Julia guided the men around. Before midnight, on that say day, an agreement was reached between Flagler, Tuttle, and Mary Brickell on the Tuttle porch. In return for one-half of the Tuttle and Brickell real estate holdings, Flagler promised to extend his railroad to Fort Dallas, build a hotel, construct a freight and passenger depot, and lay out the new city.166 He also agreed to oversee such municipal improvements as roads, waterworks, and electricity. The Brickells donated alternate lots in a 400 acre site on the south side of the river. In a letter dated April 22, 1895, Henry Flagler detailed Tuttle's expected donation to his company. The list included: 82 1. One hundred acres with bay and river frontage reserving ten or twelve acres for her home. 2. One-half of the remaining Fort Dallas property, in alternate lots, to lay out the townsite. (Flagler was not pleased with alternate lots, preferring to establish the townsite himself.) 3. A water privilege for the hotel, railroad, steamboats, and town. Mrs. Tuttle .would also have to allow a pipe to be laid across her property. 4. Flagler reserved the right to lay tracks across Tuttle's home lot to connect the tracks on the west side of her home with his bay frontage, if it became necessary. 5. Privilege of sewer and electrical connections. 6. A one hundred foot right-of-way for the railroad through her land between Lake Worth and the Gulf of Mexico. Land was also to be reserved for a railroad station on the Bay.167 Henry Flagler commented on Tuttle's land offer in the same letter: . It was, I think, during my first visit to Fort Dallas, that in alluding to your original offer, I told you that I thought it was unfair to you. I refer to your proposal to give me substantially half of the Fort Dallas Reservation. At the time I made that remark, I had no idea that you owned so much land in Dade Co., consequently, I did not realize that you would be so largely benefited by the construction of a railroad. • • • I do not now feel any hesitancy in accepting all that you have offered me in the way· of land and even asking for more.l68 83 In his letter, Flagler indicated that Tuttle held vast amounts of real estate and would profit greatly from the railroad. Assured of Flagler's assistance, Tuttle's next move was to dispose of her property. Immediately she and Mary Brickell raised the prices of their land. Many people criticized the women for the increase. They believed the prices, so far from normal, were absurd.169 Actually both women demonstrated foresight on how the area would soon develop and land prices soar. Tuttle, a temperance supporter, desired to create a city free of "malt, vinous, or intoxicating liquor."170 The deed for each piece of property sold included a liquor clause. The clause read ·._. ··.. that any buying, selling, or manufacturing of alcoholic beverages on land sold would result in the land reverting back to Tuttle. Saloons could only be established beyond the city limits. Many Miami buyers harshly criticized the liquor clause and other restrictions placed in the deeds.

An editorial in the Miami Metropolis defended her: Some criticism is heard in regard to the condi­ tions in the deeds to town lots. It should be remembered that Mrs. Tuttle owned the property •• • • . Mrs. Tuttle knows what she is doing. A few years hence it will be realized that she builded [sic] better than the critics knew and the future residents of Miami will accord her full credit for her plans.171 Julia Tuttle became involved in many aspects of Miami's growth. The Flagler concern consulted her on the 84 proposed Royal Palm Hotel site and the new town's bounda­ ries,.172 Tuttle assisted in Miami's zoning, restricting the location of factories and black residences through her land sales.173 Foreseeing a market, she enlarged her dairy. After the completion of the railroad, the Tuttle dairy was the primary supplier for Flagler's hotel, the city, and passing steamers. The "Mother of Miami" can be classified as one of Miami's first building contractors. She, with son Henry, erected the.Miami Hotel on Miami Avenue. The first laundry and bakery were also opened by Tuttle. She encouraged business by erecting stor~s, then renting .them out.174 Tuttle also built the first office of Doctor James Jackson. Jackson, a leading Miami physician at the turn of the century, was known for his fight against yellow fever during the Spanish-American War. Many business people paid Julia to build their stores for them. She encouraged specialists, such as mechanics, to move their businesses to Miami. To make Miami an attractive business location, Tuttle persuaded the city council to keep taxes low. As a large landowner, this of course also kept her taxes down. Julia Tuttle insisted that no unimproved property (uncleared and with limited access) be sold. Biscayne Drive was graded at her request. In a letter to James Ingraham, Tuttle suggested that convicts be used to break rock and repair the streets of Miami.175 85 With the expansion of her economic ventures, Tuttle soon found herself in debt. Hoping to improve the Fort Dallas buildings, she contemplated.mortgaging her home­ stead. Instead, she explained her financial status to Flagler and asked for assistance. Flagler refused, explaining that the poor condition of his finances made it impossible to increase his obligations. He advised Tuttle "not to go in debt another dollar, no matter what the inducement may be."176 Although she possessed extremely valuable property, Tuttle never profited from her invest­ ments. She donated the best of her property to Flagler, including the site of the Royal Palm Hotel. Her alternate lots outside the 100 acre donation were zoned residential and since she asked extremely high prices, few lots sold• Only after her death did the vacant, weed-grown lots come into demand.177 Her children, Fannie and Henry, received the profits. The railroad reached the Bay in April of 1896. On Christmas Eve that year a fire broke out in Miami. In the early morning hours, Tuttle worked with the townspeople to put out the flames. She operated a pump, then helped to pass buckets of water. The fire destroyed twenty-eight buildings. Two years later, on September 14, 1898, Julia Tuttle died at the age of fifty. Doctors diagnosed the cause of death as "inflammation of the brain." In her will Julia 86 left all of her land holdings to her children.178 The people of Miami honored Tuttle by giving her the title "Mother of Miami." In 1952, the D.A.R. placed an histor­ ical marker in front ·of the Tuttle homestead (Southeast First Avenue and Third Street) to honor a "t-?oman of vision." The Julia Tuttle Causeway between Miami and Miami Beach also pays homage to Miami's mother. Of all Bay pioneers, Julia Tuttle contributed most to the rapid development of the Miami area. Described as a woman of vision, Julia believed the Bay favorable for large scale settlement and recreation. She spent her Florida years developing Miami and encouraging settlement. Tuttle persuaded Flagler to extend his railroad, thus creating an easy access to the Bay. She donated part of her own land to entice the railroad magnet. After securing needed transportation, Tuttle worked with Flagler to build a city on the mouth of the Miami River. Her extensive land holdings gave her a great deal of political power in the development of this city. She became involved in taxing, zoning, and the construction of city streets. Through the liquor clause in her deeds, she attempted to keep alcohol out of the city. Until her death, Julia Tuttle supervised the growth of Miami. As a knowledgeable businesswoman, Julia Tuttle also possessed substantial economic power. She bought large tracts of land at low prices, becoming one of Dade County's 87 largest land owners. With the railroad came a Flagler hotel, a new town, more businesses, and of course a greater demand for land. As soon as Tuttle secured the deal with Flagler she raised her land prices. Her Miami operations included real estate and also various businesses for the area such as a laundry, a bakery, and a hotel. As one of Miami's first contractors, Tuttle encouraged business with the construction of small shops which she then leased and sold. Before she died she served as a director on the board of the Bank of Biscayne. Because of her various investments, Julia Tuttle left a profitable estate for her children. As pioneers arrived on the Miami River, others sought homesteads further south along Biscayne Bay. The settle­ ment just south of Miami became known as Coconut Grove

(Cocoanut Grove until 1919). One of th~ first women named in the Grove's history was Ana Beasley. She settled Coconut Grove, with her family, in 1835. Mary Munroe remembered Beasley as always cooking indoors instead of using the common outdoors fire. Ana Beasley later sold the family's 160 acres to the Frows for $100. Temple and Matilda Pent were two other early pioneers of Coconut Grove. Pent held the position of lighthouse keeper at Cape Florida. Matilda Pent, affectionately known as Aunt Tilly, often aided boats passing the Cape by providing a guide· with her large outdoors cooking fire. Matilda Street was 88 named in honor of Mrs. Pent. The Pent family became prominent Coconut Grove residents. The Peacocks were the most noted pioneer family in the area. They became active in several aspects of the community and owned the first hotel in the Grove. John Thomas ("Jolly Jack") Peacock settled in Coconut Grove in 1870. Here he met and married Martha J. Schneipes. Schneipes, a true pioneer, moved to the Bay from north Florida during the Civil War. Jack Peacock persuaded his brother, Charles, to move to Florida. It will be Charles' wife, Isabella Peacock, who will earn the title "Mother of Coconut Grove." Isabella Sanders was born in Huntington, England in 1842. She married Charles Peacock and had three sons. Later she gave birth to a daughter who married George Merrick, founder of.coral Gables. In 1875 the family moved from London, England to Biscayne Bay. At first living at Fort Dallas, in 1882 the family settled in Coconut Grove where Isabella Peacock became involved in the affairs of the Bay community. Pioneers referred to her as "Aunt Bella." She was mother, minister, teacher, nurse, and friend to all, including the Indian. Ralph Munroe wrote that Peacock always responded to a call for help.179 She taught female newcomers how to preserve tropical fruit, cook, and was~ clothes in the new environment. When northern visitors came down with new fashions not available 89 to the pioneers, Isabella Peacoc~k borrowed the clothing and made patterns. The Bay women then used the patterns to produce new styles of their own, usually out of calico. The Mother of Coconut Grove spent much of her Bay life improving the community. Peacock's greatest achievement was instilling religion in the Grove, especially through her organization with Mrs. Ewan of the first Sunday school for the Biscayne Bay children. In 1882, Charles and Isabella Peacock purchased thirty-one acres from Jofu"'l Fro~: and built "Bay View House. " When the Peacocks decided to open their doors to paying visitors, Bay View became known as the Peacock Inn. The inn:·was the first hotel on Biscayne Bay~ and for many years the only hotel between Lake Worth and Key West. Isabella's hospitality was known throughout Dade County. Jane Wood of the Miami News wrote, "She built a home in a lovely wilderness, the world began to stream in and enjoy her generous hospitality, and that hospitality evolved into innkeeping.n180 For $1.50 a day, $10 a week, or $35 a month a patron could enjoy a comfortable room and good food. As proprietress, Isabella's duties included organiz­ ing community picnics, political meetings, church services, weddings, and Christmas parties. Flora McFarlane founded the Housekeepers Club a~ the Peacock Inn. The hotel was also the birth place of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. Dinner was a special occasion at the Peacock Inn and women 90 enjoyed dressing for it. Many famous people visited the inn--Kirk Munroe (author of boy's book), James L. Nugent (a visitor from France), Jean de Hedouville (a Count of Belgium), the Reverend Charles Stowe, Grover Cleveland, and Henry M. Flagler, who first referred to Isabella Peacock as the "Mother of Coconut Grove."181 Isabella Peacock contributed immensely to the growth of the Coconut Grove community. Her role at the Peacock Inn included much more than hostess and allowed her to constantly interact with the community. The Peacock Inn operated as a hotel until 1902. She developed a community spirit by initiating many of the activities that brought people together. After her death, Ruby Myers wrote a letter to Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Peacock describing Isabella's efforts in the community: Of Mrs. Peacock I have so many pleasant memories that whenever I think of the Bay country she appears so important a part of its history and development that one cannot but associate her with much of what has notably been best in its early history •••• She has done much for humanity and many there be who will call her blessed.l82 Isabella Peacock played a major role in the history of the Coconut Grove community. Another noted Coconut Grove pioneer was Mary Barr

Munroe. Born in Glasglow, Sco~land1 in 1852 her family moved to Texas, where when she was still a child, yellow fever claimed her father and three brothers. Mary, her 91 mother Amelia Barr, and three sisters, left to support themselves, moved to New York in 1869 where Amelia began to write. All totaled, she produced sixty novels, including Remember the Alamo. Although for many years Mary lived in her mother's shadow, she grew into a very spirited and forceful woman. on September 15, 1883, Mary Barr married Kirk Munroe (no relation to Ralph Munroe), author of boy's books. Kirk had previously traveled through Florida writing of his experiences. He now wished to settle in South Dade County, so the couple bought property on the Bay, south of Ralph Munroe, and built "Scrububs." Munroe's interests. in the community were many. She was an original member of Dade County's. first community organization, the Housekeepers Club. Never hesitating to speak her mind, during an argument at one meeting the members asked her to resign. The club later reinstated ( her. Munroe created the Pine Needle Club, a junior Housekeepers Club, which emphasized reading. Each week she read to the young women as they did handiwork. · Mrs. Andrew Carnegie, a visitor to the Grove, attended a meeting of the Pine Needle Club. Impressed with what she saw, the tycoon's wife donated enough books to open a library, an idea of the members. Commodore Ralph Munroe supplied the land and for a time it operated as an exchange library. The beginnings resulted in the Coconut Grove Library.

.I· 92

Mary Barr Munroe served as the firs~ president and later honorary life president of the Dade County Federation of Women's Clubs. Munroe also served as Dean of the Florida Federation of Women's Clubs. She expressed an interest in the welfare of the Seminoles and was knowledge­ able of their culture. She possessed a unique interest in the preservation of Florida's wildlife. Mary was particu­ larly concerned about the protection of tropical birds. Young boys of Coconut Grove joined her Bird Defenders Club.183 Plume wearers received a sharp word from Munroe. During one meeting of the Housekeepers Club, Mary forcibly removed an egret plume from a visitor. Later she became a member of the National Conservation and Waterways Associa­ tion. Her con.servation efforts led to the establishment of the Audubon Society and bird sanctuaries in Dade County.184 Mary also insisted that the spelling of Cocoanut Grove be changed to Coconut Grove. In her later years, Mary joined the League of American Pen Women and began to gather portions of early Florida history throughout the state. Dying in 1922 before completing the project, Munroe left her records with the Women's Club. Mary Barr Munroe contributed greatly to the Coconut Grove community. Her outspoken views called attention to the need for conservation efforts in South Florida, especially in the preservation of birds. Munroe also led in the establishment of organizations for young people and 93 her interest in history led her to describing pioneer life and leaving a collection of Florida history to the woman's organization.185 Flora MacFarlane was a close friend of Mary Munore. MacFarlane played several roles in the Coconut Grove community. A resident of Rocky Hill, New Jersey, MacFarlane first visited the Bay in 1886 and then returned in 1889. She came to Florida to attend Commodore Ralph Munroe's aging mother. The Munroes and MacFarlanes had be~n acquainted in England. Flora MacFarlane was the Bay's first teacher. She first taught, on her own volition, children who met informally in a room at tbe Peacock Inn.

Dade County, in 1889, employed_ MacFarlan~ and she taught in the County school system for three years. Flora MacFarlane was one of the first single women to petition for a homestead grant in Dade County. Her 160 acres was located at the corner of today's LeJune Road and u.s. 1 in Coconut Grove, close to the schoolhouse where she taught. On March 16, 1891 MacFarlane filed for the property, agreeing to cultivate and live on it for five years. President Grover Cleveland signed the certificate in 1893. Flora MacFarlane contributed most to the Bay area by founding the Housekeepers Club. Flora MacFarlane and Isabella Peacock discussed forming a women's club at the Peacock Inn. Later, on February 19, 1891, seven women met 94 at the Grove's schoolhouse to organize the club. Historian Arva Moore Parks (quoting Harper's Bazaar) wrote that a club was formed, "so that the women of the co~unity could 'join hearts and hand in helping each other to enjoy and improve the two hours each week rescued from their house­ hold chores.•nl86 At the first meeting the members selected officers:

Miss MacFarlane, president; Mrs. Mu~roe, secretary; and Mrs. Frow, treasurer.187 The women decided to meet every Thursday from three to five and also listed the objectives of the club: First - To bring together the mothers and housekeepers of our little settlement and by spending two hours a week in companionship and to learn to know each other better, and thereby help each other, and Second - to add to the new Sunday School building fund • • .188 The members planned to raise money for the building fund by sewing small household and clothing articles which they would then sell. The material would be bought with club mane¥. The women decided that while they sewed, one member each week should read aloud household articles from various publications.189 They also discussed obtaining funds by collecting recipes for a cookbook. At the first meeting they also decided to have a weekly motto. The first week's motto, "Lend a Hand," demonstrated the pioneer character described earlier. They agreed to maintain weekly records of the meeting, listing the number of

_..f•. 95 members present, the motto, the reader, and donations made by club members.190 Many men in the community predicted failure for the club. They believed gossip would replace the sewing and reading. All were proved wrong. The club members remained together extending their projects to include the preserva- tion of the environment and the sponsoring of cultural and social events. The Housekeepers Club received national recognition when Harper's Bazaar printed an article about the organization in 1892.191 The Housekeepers Club organized many community events to raise money. In 1893, the women earned $86.70 for the Sunday School Building Fund by holding a bazaar which - . . ~ - ...... , ,. became an annual event.192 Later the Housekeepers Club held a fair to support the building of a chapel. on a Fourth of July the club women organized a large celebra- tion. An entertainment committee of Isabella Peacock, Dr. Eleanor Simmons, and Charles Stowe were selected to arrange the events. For an entrance fee of fourteen cents, the members provided an art gallery, fortune telling, fish pond, music, and cake raffle. Contests were to be held (many of them were omitted because of rain) such as a greased pole, running, and bicycle racing. Refreshments and dinner were also provided. The women charged small fees for all and after bills were paid, earned approxi­ mately $400 for the community.193 96 The first club in South Florida helped improved the community by raising funds for a Sunday school building and chapel. The Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce described the Housekeepers Club as an Institution that raised most of the money for 'village improvement and uplift,' held cultural events, sponsored most of the social events, championed numerous ecological causes and provided the greatest leadership.l94 Under the direction of Flora MacFarlane the club played an important role in the development of the Coconut Grove community. The Miami River and Coconut Grove were two centers of population in Sout~ Dade C9unty, but other. settlements existed along the coast. John and Mary Addison homesteaded land the Seminole Indians called the Hunting Grounds and today is known as cutler. Both Mr. and Mrs. Addison worked to produce a homestead envied by all around. Another settlement that developed was Lemon City, today's North Miami. The center of Lemon City laid along the bay near present Northeast Sixty-first Street, but the community supplied pioneers far to the north and south. Prior to the arrival of the railroad in 1896, Lemon City was the most populated town in Dade County. Miami, five miles south, was hardly more than a few scattered home- steads. In 1892 Lemon City had 200 residents, many of the conchs (a long settled Floridian who probably migrated from the Bahamas).195 Lemon City offered South Dade County 97 pioneers the closest thing to city life. Various stores, a small hotel, a blacksmith shop, a lumber yard, and a sawmill provided the people with manufactured materials. Growers cultivated fruits and vegetables on a large scale, shipping pineapples, avocado pears, eggplants, and tomatoes

to New York by way of Key West. As in Coconut Grove, the women of Lemon City worked together to improve the community. In 1892, Mrs. w. c. Stanton was elected president of the newly founded Improve­ ment Association. The club's first project was to pave Lemon Avenue (today Northeast Sixty-First Street) for three blocks west of the bay.196 Club members also assisted needy people. Money raised through a supper helped to send a murdered man's wife and children back to her home in Texas.197 Women of Lemon City worked to establish a school, church, and library. A noted Lemon City pioneer and one of Dade County's first teachers was Adaline Frances Merritt. Ada Merritt was born and raised on a plantation in Garrard County, Kentucky. She attended Daughters College, later becoming a teacher and principal there. "Miss Ada" moved to Dade County in 1890 at the age of twenty-four to homestead with her sisters and two brothers. All of the Merritts were to play active roles in Dade County. Merritt was one of thirteen women who founded Lemon City's first library, located in the home of one of their 98 members, Cornelia Keys. The first books were donated. Merritt organized the Buzzing Belles which held a supper and dance to raise funds for the library. Ada Merritt also, with the assistance of Cornelia Keys and Mrs. William Fulford (Captain Fulford operated the Biscayne Bay House of Refuge), organized the first Sunday school. Merritt often taught the lesson and in one instance, because no minister was available, conducted a funeral. She also directed the choir. As many other women presented in this paper, Ada Merritt owned land in· Dade County. In 1890 she purchased ten acres of bayfront land for $100. She then assumed the 160 acre homestead of Benjamin w. Morton. Her brother, Pete, built a house and the two together cleared the land and planted fruit trees and vegetables. On March 14, 1896, in her last homestead testimony, Merritt reported a house, "starch mill, two wells, three hundred tropical fruit trees, two and one-half acres of pineapples, and twenty­ four acres under fence.n198 She eventually divided the · land into lots and sold it. Ada Merritt was a leader in the community. In September of 1895 she presented to the county commission a petition signed by fifty-eight Lemon City women. The petition, in response to the Lewis murders (page 33), asked that no more liquor licenses be granted in the town. 99

Though she organized Lemon City's first libra~y and sunday school, Merritt was most remembered as an educator. Ada Merritt began teaching in the one room Lemon City school in 1890 for $50 a month.199 The schoolhouse was poorly furnished with boxes, boards, and sugar kegs. In 1897 Merritt accepted the principalship at the Miami school. She returned to Lemon City three years later becoming principal there. The Dade County Teachers' Association elected Merritt its president in 1901. Merritt retired from public education in 1912. Even in her retirement she continued to be active. She tutored and was a member of the Star, French, and Woman's Club. Ada Merritt taught not only some of the first students in South Dade County but was known for the progress these students achieved under her guidance. The county recognized Merritt's work in the educational field when it named its first junior high school Ada Merritt. She died of a heart attack in June of 1923. Other women contributed to the establishment of education around Biscayne Bay. Alice Brickell taught one term of school in Lemon City. In 1887, a newly organized board of education appointed Mrs. Caleb L. Trapp as teacher for Coconut Grove. For a five-month period the board agreed to pay Trapp $175.200 The school met at the home of Samuel Rhodes, Trapp's brother. She taught for two years when in 1889 the board hired Flora MacFarlane for $40 a 100 month.201 MacFarlane had previously taught children at the Peacock Inn. When she assumed the position, the school was moved to the Sunday school building on Peacock property. MacFarlane extended her teachings to adults as she used her lunch time to help a young mother to learn to read. For recreation, Flora took the children to Cape Florida for a day of picnic and games. She taught at the Coconut Grove public school for three years. This Biscayne Bay women not only initiated public education but were also instrumental in establishing religious institutions around the Bay. Isabella Peacock and Mrs. Ewan organized Miami's first Sunday School ~hich was held at Brickell's Point. People came from around the bay, some arriving Saturday night. Alice Brickell played the piano and the Brickell girls sang. Isabella Peacock prepared most of the lessons. Of Peacock's and Ewan's contribution pioneer Ralph Munroe wrote: She [Mrs. Ewan] was a very fine woman, of a good old Charleston family, and with Mrs. Peacock's help had started the first "conununity uplift" work on the Bay, beginning with a Sunday school. Distances were great between Bay families, and the only conveyances were sailboats, so that much more than the simple school exercises had to be planned by the two unselfish women. Dinner was provided, the ailing ones doctored and comforted, and many other duties assumed that were more or less unusual and exacting, and all performed with the most loving care and patience. Their work should be recorded in the annals of our present­ day women's clubs as the beginning of such labors on the Bay.202

..-1·· 101 Julia Tuttle founded the first Episcopal Church in Miami. In 1897 three Miami women, Mrs. Mary March, Mrs. Augustor c. Leceogren, and Sarah J. Joy, applied for a charter to establish a Presbyterian Church.203 The first Coconut Grove community Sunday school was organized by Isabella Peacock. In 1887 Peacock solicited donations to a Sunday school fund from Peacock Inn guests. Her sons sailed out to boats anchored offshore to collect contributions. The money was used for materials to build a Sunday school room on Peacock property. The building, completed that same year, was often used by ministers visiting the Peacock Inn. Peacock encouraged attendance by planning community picnics~ As the community grew, a large building was needed. The Housekeepers Club, under the direction of Peacock, raised funds to build a chapel. Ralph Munroe donated the land and the men built the church in 1891. During construction, the club provided dinner for the men. The club worked three years to pay off the debt on the building. Funds from a fair held in February 1894 helped to extinguish the debt.204 The church, originally Union Chapel, later became the Plymouth Congregational Church. Mary Douthit Conrad recalled that box socials were a popular method of raising church money in Lemon City. Women decorated boxes with crepe paper or fresh flowers then filled the box with dinner for two. The men of the 102 community bid on the boxes at an auction. The highest bidder also received the woman as a dinner companion.205 People settled on Biscayne Bay (from Coconut Grove north to Lemon City) prior to the civil War, making it the oldest center of population in nineteenth century Dade County. The Bay region attracted more well-to-do settlers than the Lake Worth region. This may be because of its closeness to Key West or because of the Seminole Indian trade. With excess money around Biscayne Bay, pioneers tended to be more active both in businesses and in the community than what was found in the Lake Worth settle­ ments. The Biscayne Bay women proved no exception. Many Dade County women bought or homesteaded land. This was more prevalent in the Bay region. julia TUttle and Mary Brickell were two astute business women. Through their extensive land holdings, they wielded a great deal of economic and political power in the Miami area. Julia Tuttle was especially influential in the founding of the City of Miami. Biscayne Bay pioneer women made substantial contributions to the creation of community life in the Bay settlements. The Bay women were instrumental in establish­ ing both religious and educational institutions. Adaline Merritt served as a leading educator for twenty-two years. The women of Lemon City founded a library and a community improvement club. Mary Barr Munroe worked to preserve 103 Florida's wildlife, especially the subtropical birds. Munroe also left valuable writings of pioneer life around the Bay. The first club in Dade County--the Housekeepers Club--organized in the Bay area under the guidance of Flora MacFarlane. The club provided not only recreation for the women but raised funds to service the community. The pioneer women of the Biscayne Bay region exemplified the varied contributions of pioneer women in Southeast Florida.

. ·~ ... ·. CHAPTER V

WOMEN PIONEERS OF FORT LAUDERDALE

The two centers of population in early Dade county were on Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay. Settlements between these two centers developed with the construction of Flagler's railroad. Though settlement on Fort Lauderdale's New River predates the Civil War, large scale settlement came only at the turn of the century.20& Early settlers included the families of John J. Brown, Isaiah Hall, and Washington Jenkins. Jenkins was the first keeper of Life .saving Station Number Four. In 1891 a post office was established in the New River area with William c. Valentine as postmaster. One of Fort Lauderdale's most prominent early families was that of Edward T. King. In 1895 King and Philemon N. Bryan moved to Fcrt Lauderdale. Mrs. King and the children arrived the following year on the first train to come through the area. Only six whites lived on the New River at that time. The Kings cultivated pine­ apples for a livelihood. Their home became the center of growing social and religious activities. Mrs. King entertained all in the community at Sunday school and

104 105 weekly prayer meetings. The Kings also planned the Evergreen Cemetery. With the arrival of King, other families began to settle in Fort Lauderdale. In 1895, Agnes Fromberger moved to the area by stagecoach from Lantana. Her husband, Captain John Fromberger, served as keeper of the refuge house. Eva Bryan was an active Fort Lauderdale pioneer. Bryan moved to the area in 1900 with her parents. The family rented a house from the Brickells. Two years later Bryan met Frank Oliver and the couple was wed. The' marriage, performed by William Valentine, took place in a rowboat. Frank.and Eva Bryan Oliver were the first couple to be married in Fort Lauderdale. The mother of five was also the first Fort Lauderdale woman to drive a car. Eva Oliver became very active in the community. She served as first president of the Woman's Club and assisted in establishing the first church in the area. One Christmas, Oliver prepared dinner for the Fort Lauderdale bachelors with no families. Fifty-two people resided in Fort Lauderdale by the turn of the century.207 In 1904 Tom and Camille Bryan arrived. Camille Bryan recalled an area without electric­ ity and where a newspaper or magazine were unobtainable. Bryan became very active in the community. She joined a sewing and reading club, supported the Methodist Church, and assisted the needy. 106 As in other Dade county settlements, the people of Fort Lauderdale developed a community spirit. They erected a bands~and for meetings and entertainment. Holidays were also community events. The pioneer women of Fort Lauderdale made a substan­ tial community contribution through their support of the churches. Fort Lauderdale's first organized worship consisted of nondenominational services held in the schoolhouse. Women of the settlement raised money to support this community church and to purchase an organ.208 The first church building in Fort Lauderdale was the First Methodist Church, followed by the First Baptist Church. A women's group known as "The Baptist Workers" was organized to raise funds for the First Baptist Church building.209 Fort Lauderdale women were also instrtunental in founding the settlement's first Episcopal Church. In November of 1912, eight Episcopalian women organized the All Saints Guild. Guild members held weekly church services in their homes and organized the All Saints Sunday School. In the late 1910s, this women's group launched a fund raising campaign. Through the sale of handmade crafts, the guild raised funds to purchase a lot for the church building. Another group instrumental in the construction of a church was the women of the First Presbyterian Church. In 1916, the Ladies' Aid Society raised $1003 to place in a church building fund.210 107 The Fort Lauderdale women supported community worship and organized into groups to raise funds for their churches. The history of Fort Lauderdale indicates that two people contributed most to its development--Frank and Ivy Stranahan. Ivy Julia Cromartie was born February 24, 1881 near White Springs, Florida. Her father was a teacher and a mother, a homemaker. Because of the railroad boom, in 1898 the family gathered its belongings and traveled down the east coast with horse and wagon. The children walked most of the way in ankle to knee deep water. The Cromarties lived in Juno for a time, then Lantana.211 When Ivy was twelve the family moved to Lemon City to farm. In 1898 Ivy Cromartie graduated from Lemon City High School under the instruction of Ada Merritt and immediately pursued a teacher's certificate. Her desire to teach stemmed from the need for teachers in Dade County. Accepted by the school board, Ivy Cromartie was assigned as first teacher to the children in Fort Lauderdale. In 1899, at the age of eighteen, she left her family to assume the position. The school had been established at the request of E. T. King and the King family took Cromartie in when she arrived. The Fort Lauderdale schoolhouse contained one 20 x 30 foot room. The county supplied a dozen used desks and a teacher's desk and chair. The building included an iron stove with a water pump located in the yard. Women in the community seeded the schoolyard and planted oak trees. 108 Cromartie walked a mile every day from the King house to teach school. Some of the students arrived by boat.212 Ivy Cromartie's formal teaching career ended a year later when she met and married Frank Stranahan. Stranahan-, the first permanent white resident of Fort Lauderdale, arrived in January 1893. He managed a ferry on the stagecoach route between Lantana and Lemon City. He then bought ten acres of land from Mary Brickell and established overnight lodging. People traveling south stayed at "Stranahan's Camp" sleeping in paper tents. Ivy met Frank at the camp when she came to pick up mail. Other men courted the school teacher but on August 16, 1900 she married Frank Stranahan. Soon after the mar~iage, the couple moved into a house on the New River built by Mr. King which also served as "Stranahan's Trading Post." The

Pioneer House~ as it came to be called, still stands today.

T~e store supplied the settlers but the major source of business was the Indian trade. The Indians exchanged alligator skins, alligator eggs, baby alligators, and plumes for clothes, traps, guns, and other supplies. Ivy Stranahan, with the assistance of Mrs. s. M. Craig, managed a post office on the premises. With business expanding, Stranahan constructed a larger building. The store was located downstairs and the second floor served as a community center. Meetings and dances were held in the

,.,.r•. __ 109 hall. The Stranahans lived in a small cottage on the property. The Stranahans never had children. In April of 1980, Fort Lauderdale historian Dan Hobby interviewed a surviving niece of Ivy Stranahan, Alice Cromartie Simpson. In the interview Mrs. Simpson stated that Stranahan did not have children because of her mother's childbearing experiences. Mrs. Cromartie was pregnant twelve times with every other child stillborn. After the last stillborn she contracted childbed fever and never recovered. The experiences left an impression on Mrs. Stranahan and she decided not to be caught up in continuous childbearing.213 Ivy Stranahan supported various causes that improved the lives of people throughout all of Florida. For example, her work with the Indians earned her recognition from the Department of Interior. She, like Mary Barr Munroe, expressed an interest in the preservation of wildlife. Stranahan persuaded her husband not to buy plumes from the Indians. In an effort to stop poaching, she informed authorities of illegal activities. In one instance $35 of illegal plumes were seized.214 With May Jennings, Ivy Stranahan lobbied at the state capital, persuading legislators to ban the killings of egrets and to develop state parks. Donated Stranahan property provided funds for parks. Ivy was also an active member of the Audubon Society of Broward County. 110 Ivy Stranahan supported the passage of the suffrage amendment. She lobbied in Tallahassee and served as president of the Women's Suffrage Association of Florida. When Mr. and Mrs. William Jennings Bryan toured the country in support of women's suffrage, Mrs. Stranahan joined them.215 Ivy Stranahan was also active in the Fort Lauderdale community. The Civic Improvement Association, Garden Club, and Woman's Improvement Club (later the Fort Lauderdale Woman's Club) were founded with her assistance. In an effort to preserve the natural beauty of the area, Ivy

Stranahan ~erved ten years on the city planning and zoning board. She a9tively supported the Homestead Exemption. Many charities and community institutions, such as schools, were supported with funds donated by Mrs. Stranahan. She established a trust fund to ·create a historical society in Fort Lauderdale and served as trustee of the society until her death. The Stranahans donated land for Fort Lauderdale Central School and when Stranahan High School opened in 1953, Ivy willed money to support the music department and establish individual student scholarships. She became actively involved in the Campfire Girls, and the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and the Fort Lauderdale Social Service Department. As a welfare volunteer, Stranahan provided information by interviewing needy families. 111 Stranahan's untiring civic involvements earned her the title "Mother of Fort Lauderdale." Though Ivy Stranahan contributed greatly to the Fort Lauderdale community, her greatest work was with Dade County's Seminole Indians. Stranahan came into contact with the Indians through her husband's trading post. Frank Stranahan traded vigorously with the Indians and the Indians learned to trust and respect the couple. The Stranahans profited from the Indian trade. When other trading posts transformed into general stores with increased settlement, Stranahan's Mercantile Company continued to trade with the Indians until 1912. The Indians traveled from the Everglades to the coast approxi­ mately every six weeks. Mrs. Stranahan recalled seeing as many as 100 canoes coming down the New River at one time.216 They brought goods to trade and would stay from four days to a week. Frank Stranahan built a shelter with a canvas roof for the group to camp under. Indians living in the Fort Lauderdale area also traded at Stranahan's. Frank Stranahan expressed an interest in the Indian's safety. He never sold liquor to them and required that they stack their guns in the back of the store until they were ready to return to the Everglades. Ivy Stranahan was the first white person in Dade County to teach the Seminoles. She believed it was important for the Indians to be literate as the white 112 population increased. Ivy reached the Indians through their children. She never attempted to change the lives of the elders. For the first year, the Indian Children, whose parents traded at the Stranahara.s, did not approach i•lrs. Stranahan. First they began to peek in her cottage windows. Soon they were roaming the Stranahan home. The Indian girls played with her hats and shoes. Stranahan waited for the oppor­ tune moment to begin to teach the children. She had three objectives: the first, and most important, to instruct them on the intentions of the government; the second, to educate them; and finally, to teach them to become good Christians.2l,7 She always told the children, "We don't want to make you like us. We just want to give you an education, so that you can make the best of what you are.n218 "Education can teach you what you want to know, show you everything.-219 Stranahan never used a school­ house. She sat on the lawn, a log, the running board of the car, or the doorsteps in front of her cottage. The Presbyterian Church supplied posters containing scriptural figures with their names printed underneath. She taught the children the alphabet from the letters and gave them religious instruction. The adult Indians frowned on the use of books. The children rarely spoke a word. The just listened to their teacher. Ivy Stranahan instructed t.he children to go back to their camps and tell their friends 113 and parents what they had learned. She stated that the children taught their people.220 At first, Stranahan's efforts were not well received by the adult Indians. The parents disliked schools and education. The medicine men protested against the teach­ ings. Ivy believed the Indians learned to trust her because of their trust in her husband. Frank Stranahan was always fair in his dealings with the Indians.221 The Seminoles called her "Mrs. Frank." Indian women learned how to sew on a machine from Stranahan. Eventually she gained enough trust to teach in their camps. She taught the Indians for fifty years, ending her teachings only when a school was established on their reservation.222 Except for the Presbyterian Church contributing posters, Ivy never received financial support for her efforts. She believed that her work with the Indian children was the greatest success in her life.223 In 1924, the Department of Interior, Bureau of Indian Affairs, requested the assistance of Ivy Stranahan in relocating the Indians. The bureau asked that she persuade the Seminoles to move from their various campus to a reservation west of Dania. Stranahan was contacted because of her work with the Indian children. She explained to the Indians that the land would be theirs and they could better preserve their culture on it. When the Seminoles settled on the reservation in 1926, she asked community churches

_.J·. 114 and organizations to assist them. Later, Stranahan founded Friends of the Seminoles. The group sought greater community involvement in the Seminole's welfare. Under a charter it received funds from the Community Chest and the United Fund. The money was used for shoes, clothing, housing, and scholarships. Members of the Friends of the Seminoles visited the camps often.224 Stranahan's highest priority was the Indian children's education. Daughters of the American Revolution worked with her to establish a portable school on the Tamiami Trail. She persuaded the children to attend the school.

In 1945 Stranaha~ sponsored three Seminole children who attended a fed~ral boarding school for Indians in North Carolina. Two of the students became the first Seminoles to receive high school diplomas.225 She also sought to have a Seminole accepted into a Fort Lauderdale public school. Ivy Stranahan's concern for the Indian took her out of the county. She lobbied in Tallahass~e and Washington, D.C. to get legislation passed in favor of the Seminoles. For example, when the Indians began to raise cattle, Stranahan persuaded the state to purchase 35,000 acres for grazing. Her work received national recognition in 1968 when the Department of Interior presented her with a certificate: 115 in recognition of a lifetime of unselfish and devoted service to the Seminole Indians of Florida. Her warm friendship with these people and her sympathetic understanding of their problems have been materially responsible for the excellent relationship that exists today between the Seminoles and their non-Indian neighbors.226 Ivy Stranahan's most outstanding contribution was her work with the Seminole Indian. The greatest shock in Ivy Stranahan's life was the death of her husband. Frank Stranahan, as other spec- ulators of the 1920s, experienced losses with the real estate bust. The 1926 hurricane also adversely affected his real estate holdings. Added to his, in February 1928 the Fort Lauderdale Bank and Trust Company folded. Stranahan was a major stockholder and a bank director. He had persuaded many friends to become depositors and to invest in the bank. They, too, were now ruined. Doctors warned Ivy Stranahan that these events had led to Frank Stranahan's suffering an unstable mental condition. The couple traveled to Kansas for three months. After a week back in Fort Lauderdale, Ivy left Frank alone at home. He went to the New River bridge, attached a heavy grating to his legs, and ~ove in. All efforts to save the Father of Fort Lauderdale failed. Alice Simpson stated that Ivy Stranahan felt respons­ ible for her husband's death. She regretted leaving him alone·in such a depressed state.227 For at least ten years after the event, Stranahan wore only black or gray. After 116 the death of Frank Stranahan, Ivy Stranahan moved to the second floor of the trading post and leased the lower floor which opened a restaurant. Stranahan enjoyed her last years at the Pioneer House. She took much pride in maintaining it and spent much time in the garden. Fort Lauderdale lost its most active pioneer when Ivy Cromartie Stranahan died August 30, 1971 at the age of ninety. Several women worked to establish and improve the community life of Fort Lauderdale, but none to the extent of Ivy Stranahan. She offered her assistance to several, including those in need of social welfare, the city's young people, and the Indians. As a childless wife she assumed the roles o_;_,~uffragist, conservationist, educator, philanthropist, and humanitarian. Settlements developed between Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay with the arrival of the East Coast Railroad. The largest of these settlements was Fort Lauderdale. The women of Fort Lauderdale worked to create a community spirit. Women's groups were instrumental in raising funds for Fort Lauderdale's churches. Ivy Cromartie Stranahan was the most prominent female pioneer in Fort Lauderdale. Her work with the Seminole Indian earned her national recognition. Stranahan also sought to preserve the natural Florida wildlife and supported the national suffrage movement. CONCLUSION

Women who settled in Dade County learned to adjust to the new environment. They adapted different foods, methods of preparation, and housekeeping. They endured the hardships of pioneer life: wild animals, insects, natural disasters, Indians, and loneliness. In spite of the isolation, the pioneer women continued to educate their children and worship on the Sabbath. As settlement · increased, women organized groups to raise money for public

~chools, churches, and libraries. Several female pioneers

became interested in preserving the Florida enviroru~ent and the welfare of the Seminole Indians. Dade County's pioneer women were instrumental in transforming the wilderness settlements into communities through the establishment of comfortable homes, public schools, churches, libraries, and community service organizations. Some settlers contributed extensively to the South Florida environment. Isabella Peacock and the Housekeepers Club strove for the establishment of religious institu­ tions. The Lake Worth Ladies Aid Society and Lemon City's Adaline Merritt contributed to Florida's educational institutions. The work of Ivy Stranahan with the Seminole Indian received national recognition. Mary Barr Munroe and 117 118 Ivy Stranahan made contributions to the preservation of Florida's environment. Julia Tuttle and Mary Brickell were astute ousinesswomen who assisted in creating the great metropolitan areas of Miami and Fort Lauderdale. Women pioneers contributed substantially to the Dade County communities. ENDNOTES

1william w. Fowler, Women on the American Frontier (Hartfor~: s. s. Scranton and Co., 1879), p. 3. 2In 1980 Marie Anderson published Julia's Daughers: Women in Dade's History. Though just one chapter examines the pioneer era and it is limited to the boundaries of present Dade County, it is the only recent history of South Florida women. Many sources used to produce this thesis were primary and included letters and family papers. The works of Thelma Peters, Harry Kersey, and Donald Curl provided valuable information about pioneer life. Also, Tequesta (the journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida) was used extensively. This thesis is the only accumulation of research that exami~es, in detail, the life of Southeast Florida's pioneer women. 3ooarie Anderson, Julia's Daughters: Women in Dade's History (Miami: History of Florida, Inc., 1980), p. 18. 4u.s. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, United States Census of Population: 1840-1890. SJames Wood Davidson, The Florida of To-Day: A Guide for Tourists and Settlers (New York: D. Appleton and Company, 1889), p. 55. 6Ibid., p. 47. ?spanish moss was thought to be an indicator of malaria. 8ooary Barr Munroe, "Pioneer Women of Dade County," Tequesta, III (1943), p. SO. 9ooary Douthit Conrad, "Homesteading in Florida During the 1890s," Tequesta, XXVII (1957), p. SO. lOHenry Marks, "The Earliest Land Grants in the Miami Area," 4 June 1958, Lorna Simpson Collection, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. llFrench measurement equal to about an acre.

119 120 12Marks, "Earliest Land Grants." 13Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 17. 14Florida, Spanish Land Grants in Florida (1941) vol. IV, p. 62. 15Ibid., p. 208. 16Marks, "Earliest Land Grants." 17spanish Land Grants, p. 63. 18Ibid., p. 207. 19E. A. Hanunond, ed., "Dr. Strobel Reports on South East Florida, 1836," Tequesta, XXI (1961), p. 68. 20spanish Land Grants, val. III, p. 1. 21Ibid., p. 2. 22Ibid., p. 9. 23vincent Gilpin and Ralph Munroe, The Conunodore's Story (Coral Gables: Historical Association of South Florida, 1930), p. 239. 24women who worked in the forts came with their husbands who were either stationed there or came to supply the forts. • 25Ralph J. Megna, ed., "A Documentary History of Life in· the Fort Lauderdale Region, 1765 to 1911," manuscript at the Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 1978. 26Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 26. 27Arva Moore Parks, "Miami in 1876," Tequesta, XXXV ( 1975), p. 131. 28Tequesta, III (1943). 2 9Munroe , "Pioneer Women, " p. 50 • 30parks, "Miami," p. 116. 31Lorna Simpson Collection, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale, Florida. 121 .32F. Page Wilson, "We Choose the Sub-Tropics," Tequesta~ XII (1952), p. 23. 33parks, "Miami," pp. 89-139. 34charles w. Pierce, "Wings of the Wind," manuscript at the Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 35Donald w. Curl, The Pioneer Cook in Southeast Florida (Boca Raton: Boca Raton Historical Scoeity, 1975), pp. 4-6. 36Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 36. 37wilson, "Sub-Tropics," p. 37. 38curl, Pioneer Cook, p. 6. 39pierce,. "Wings," p. 250. 40Ibid. 41Gilbert Voss, "The Orange Grove House of Refuge No. 3," Tequesta, XXVIII ( 1968), p. ·14. 42Historical Number, Palm Beach Daily. News, 1936 Palm Beach Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 43Munroe, "Pioneer Women," p. 53. 44Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 91. 45Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 35. 46Munroe, "Pioneer Women," l?· 53. 47pierce, "Wings," p. · 88. 48Helen Muir, Miami u.s.A. (New York: Henry Holt and Company, 1953), p. SO. 49i.e., Mary Douthit Conrad, "Homesteading in Florida During the 1890s;" Mary Barr Munroe, "Pioneer Women of Dade County;" and Charles w. Pierce, "Wings of the Wind." SOBureau of the Census, United States Census of Population: 1870. SlMrs. Henry J. Burkhardt, "Starch Making; a Pioneer Florida Industry," Tequesta, XII (1952), p. SO.

..J. 122 52watt P. Marchman, ed., "The Ingraham Everglades Exploring Expedition, 1892," Tequesta, VII (1947), p. 30. 53There are comptie plants in wooden boxes in front of Ralph Munroe's house, Coconut Grove. 54pierce, "Wing," p. 187. 55 Ibid. 56Mrs. John R. Gilpin, "To Miami 1890 Style," Tequesta, I (1941), p. 101. 57Emma Gilpin Letters, 4 March 1891, Gilpin Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 58pierce, "Wings," p. 315. 59Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 33. 60Muir, Miami, p. 20.

61J. ~- Dorn, "Recollect·ions of Early Miami," Tequesta, IX (1949), p. 47. 62pierce,' "Wings," p. 184. 63or. Richard Potter came to practice medicine on Biscayne Bay in 1874. He moved to Lake Worth in 1881. 64Before coming to Lemon City, Sam Lewis owned and operated a saloon in West Palm Beach. His Lemon City saloon was believed to have been a branch of Blyth and Papworth's on Banyan Street in West Palm Beach. Thelma Peters, Lemon City (Miami: Banyan Books, Inc., 1976), p. 158. 65Ibid., p. 163. 66Muir, Miami, p. 43. 67peters, Lemon, p. 195. 68Ibid. 69Many sources neglected to name the women they were writing about. In other instances married women were only referred to by their married names. 70Lorna Simpson Collection. 123 71Munroe, "Pioneer Women," p. SO. 72Florence Miller, "My First Winter in Florida 1899- 1900," manuscript at the Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida. 73Dora Doster Utz, "Life on the Loxahatchee," Tequesta, XXXII (1972), p. 42. 74olive Chapman Lauther, The Lonesome Road (Miami: Center Printing Co., 1963), p. 22. 75August Burghard and Philip Weilding, Checkered sunshine: The story of Fort Lauderdale 1793-1955 (Gainesville: University of Florida Press, 1966), p. 25. 76Lauther, Lonesome, p. 23. 77pierce Family Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 78Lake Worth Historian: Palm Beach 1896, Palm Beach Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida, p. 7. 79wilson, "Sub-Tropics," p. 42. 80Lorna Simpson Collection. 81Burghard and Weilding, Checkered Sunshine, p. 3. 82Ioid., pp. 3-4. 83Henry Perrine, "A Letter by Dr. Henry Perrine," Tequesta, XXXIX (1979), p. 29. 84Mrs. Hester Perrine, "Massacre at Indian Key," Florida Historical Quarterly V (July 1926), p. 32. 85Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 24. 86Lorna Simpson Collection. 87utz, "Loxahatchee," p. 46. 88James Armour and Family Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 89Bessie Wilson DuBois, "The South Florida Lighthouse Keepers," Tequesta, XXXIII (1973), p. 42. 90Muir, Miami, p. 15. 124 91Emma Gilpin, "To Miami, 1890 Style," Tequesta, I (1941), p. 94. 92conrad, "Homesteading," p. 3. 93Munroe, "Pioneer Women," p. 50. 94Lauther, Lonesome, p. :22. 95Ibid. 96conrad, "Homesteading," p. 7. 97George w. Potter Papers, Palm Beach County Histor­ ical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 98stephen Kerber, "The United States Life-Saving Service and the Florida Houses of Refuge" (Masters thesis, Florida Atlantic University, 1971), p. 74. 99Thelma Peters, "The Log of the Biscayne House of Refuge," Tequesta, XXXVIII ( 1978), p. 41. lOOvoss, "Refuge," p. 13. 101Ibid.

102nuaois, 11 Lighthouse Keepers," p. 41. 103pierce, "Wings," p. 136. l04Ibid., p. 128. 105Lillian Pierce Voss Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 106voss, "Refuge," p. 11. 107wadsworth Travers, History of Beautiful Palm Beach (West Palm Beach: The Palm Beach Press, 1928), p. 5. 108Interview with Ella Dimick Potter, George w. Potter Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. 109Travers, Palm Beach, p. 5. llOLake Worth Historian, p. 8. lllEmma Gilpin Letters, 4 March 1891, Gilpin Papers, Palm Beach, Florida. 125

112Inte):view with Ella .J. Dimick, 10 Pecembe.r 1935, Ella Dimick Papers, Palm Beach County Historical Society, Palm Beach, Florida. l13w. T. cash, "The Lower East Coast 1870-1890," Tequesta, XVIII (1948), p. 57. 114Gertrude M. Kent, "The Coconut Grove School," Tequesta, XXXI (1971), p. 3. 115wilma Bell Spencer, Palm Beach: A Century of Heritage (Washington, D.C.: Mount Vernon Publishing Co., 1975), p. 20. 116Historical Number, Palm Beach Daily News. 117James R. Knott, "Churches in the Palm Beach Area," Palm Beach Post-Times, 5 May 1961. 118Emma Gilpin to Susan Hazard Gilpin, 16 March 1892, Gilpin Vertical File, Historical society of Palm Beach County, Palm Bea.ch, Florida. 119chronicles (West Palm Beach: Distinctive Printing, Inc., 1964). 12oibid._, p. 32. l21Ibid., p. 36. 122Ibid., p. 37. 123Emma Gilpin to Susan Hazard Gilpin, 17 March 1893, Gilpin Vertical File, Historical Society of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach, Florida. 124"Bethesda-By-the-Sea," Church Vertical File, Historical Society of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach, Florida. 125James R. Knott, "Churches in the Palm Beach Area," 5 May 1961, Church·Vertical File, H.tstorical Society of Palm Beach County, Palm Beach, Florida. 126Ibid. 127pierce and her family left valuable information on pioneer life around the lake. 128Henry J. Wagner, "Early Pioneers of South Florida," Tequesta, IX (1949), p. 63. 126 129Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 94. 130Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 20. 131rbid., p. 21. 132"The List of Lands in Dade County Liable to Taxation for A.D. 1880," Dade County Records, Box One, Historical Museum of southern Florida, Miami, Florida. 133Daniel G. Brinton, A Guide-Book of Florida and the south (reprint edition Gainesville: University Presses of Florida, 1978). 134cash, "East Coast," p. 63. 135Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 91. 136Harry A. Kersey, Jr., Pelts, Plumes, and Hides: White Traders among the Seminole (Gainesville: University

Presses of Florida 1• 1975), p. 29.

137Ibid., P~ 28. 138rbid., .P· 27. 139Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 70. 140Kersey, Pelts, p. 34. 141"The List of Lands in Dade County Liable to Taxation for A.D. 1880," Dade County Records, IV!iami, Florida. 142rbid. 143Muir, Miami, p. 54. 144rbid. 145Kersey, Pelts, p. 29. 146rbid. 147w. s. Graham Letter, 24 February 1896, Box 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 148w. s. Graham Letter, 18 December 1896, Box 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 127 149Box 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 150Jane Wood, "Mary Bulmer Brickell a Mother of Miami," Miami Daily News, 3 March 1958. 151Muir, Miami, p. 46. 152Nathan D. Shappee, "Fort Dallas and the Naval Depot on Key Biscayne, 1836-1926," Tequesta, XXI (1961), p. 35. 153Dade County Records, Box 1, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida.

154~rchman, ed., "Ingraham," p. 24.

155Muir, Miw~i, p. 49. 156Munroe, "Pioneer Women," p. 56. 157sources vary on the story. J. K. Dorn wrote in "Recollections of Early Miami," Tequesta, IX (1949), pp. 43-59, that Tuttle met Ingraham at a Cleveland banquet. 158Ruby Leach Carson, "Miami: 1896-1900," Tequesta, SVI (1956), p. 5. 159Dorn, "Recollections," p. 45. 160Tuttle Collection, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida. 161Muir, Miami, p. 56.

162utz, "Loxahatchee,~~ p. 39. 163Dorn, "Recollections," p. 46. 164Box 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 165Julia Tuttle Letters, 1 June 1897, Tuttle Collec­ tion, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 166Dorn, "Recollections," p. 46. 167aox 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 168Ibid. 128 169Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 252.

170Mu~r, ' M'~am~, . p. 68 • 171Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 26. 172carson, "Miami," p. 6.

173Ibid. I p. 8. 174Muir, Miami, p. 68. 175Box 21-A-1, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 176Julia Tuttle Letters, letter from Flagler, Tuttle Collection, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 177Gilpin and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 252. 178Tuttle Collection, The Henry Morrison Flagler Museum Archives, Palm Beach, Florida. 179Gi.l~l-.P. and Munroe, Commodore's, p. 130. 180Jane Wood, "Isabella Brought Hospitality Into the Grove Wilderness," Miami Daily News, 6 March 1958. 181Ibid. 182Ruby A. Myers letter to Mr. and Mrs. R. A. Peacock, 13 December 1917, Peacock Family Papers, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida. 183Lucy Worthington Blackman, The Women of Florida (Miami: The Southern Historical Publishing Association, 1940), val. II, p. 145. 184Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 32. 185"Pioneer Women of Dade county," Tequesta, III (1943). 186Arva Moore Parks, Forgotten Frontier (Miami: Banyan Books, 1977), p. 124. 187Housekeepers Club 1891-1936 Records, Box 14, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida.

188Ibid. I p. 2. 129 189Ibid. 190rbid, np. 191Kent, "The Coconut Grove," p. 14. 192rbid. 193peacock Family Papers, Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Miami, Florida. 194coconut Grove u.s.A. Centennial 1873-1973 (Coconut Grove: Coconut Grove Chamber of Commerce, 1974). 195Lee R. Rohe, "Lemon City: Conchs on the Mainland," Fiesta (April 1980), p. 34. 196conrad, "Homesteading," p. 17. 197The murdered man was a deputy sheriff killed by Sam Lewis. 198peters, Lemon, p. 88. 199Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 59. 200Kent, "Coconut Grove School," p. 7. 201rbid., p. a. 202Anderson, Julia's Daughters, p. 30. 203Dade County Records, Miami, Florida. 204Kent, "Coconut Grove School," p. 16. 205conrad, "Homesteading," p. 28. 206Bill McGoun, A Biographic History of Broward (Miami, 1972), p. 7. 207rbid. 208Rodney E. Dillion, Jr., "Serve the Lord with Gladness -The Early Churches of Fort Lauderdale," New River News, Vol. XX, No. 2 (Fall 1981), p. 4. 209rbid., p. s.

210 Ibid 0 I p 0 9 0 130 211Interview with Ivy Stranahan, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 25 October 1970. 212Boyd Olgle and Wally Korb, ed., Stranahan's People (Fort Lauderdale: Stranahan Graphics, 1975), p •.16. 213Interview with Alice Cromartie Simpson, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 3 April 1980. 214McGoun, Broward, p. 60. 215Ibid. 216Kersey, Pelts, Plumes, and Hides, p. 33. 217carol Weber, "Mrs. Ivy Stranahan: The Tiger Mellows," Miami Herald, 13 August 1967. 218yvette Cardozo, "Ivy Stranahan, 'Mother of Fort Lauderdale' Dies," Fort Lauderdale News, 31 August 1971. 219Interview with Ivy Stranahan. 220Ibid. 221Ibid. 222Ibid. 223weber, "Stranahan." 224McGoun, Broward, p. 50. 225Kersey, Pelts, Plumes, and Hides, p. 56. 226ogle and Korb, eds., People, p. 104. 227Interview with Alice Cromartie Simpson. BIBLIOGRAPHY

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131 132 Government Publications Dade County. Dade County Records. Historical Museum of Southern Florida, Box #1. Historical Records Survey Division of Professional and Service Projects Administration. Spanish Land Grants in Florida Vol. III and IV. State Library Board, Tallahassee, Florida, March 1941.

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~t· 136 "A Letter by Dr. Henry Perrine." Tequesta, XXXIX (1979): 29-33.

Marchman, Watt P., ed~ "The Ingraham Everglades Exploring Expedition, 1892." Tequesta, VII (1947): 3-43. Munroe, Mary Barr. "Pioneer Women of Dade County." Tequesta, III (1943): 49-56. Parks, Arva Moore. "Miami in 1876." Tequesta, XXXV (1975): 89-139.

Patton, Laura Conrad. 11 St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, 11 Built and Forgotten. . Tequesta, XXIV (1964): 21-40. Peters, Thelma.· "The Log of the Biscayne House of Refuge." Tequesta, XXXVIII (1978): 39-62. Rohe, LeeR. "Lemon City: Conchs on the Mainland." Fiesta (April 1980): 12-43. Shappee, Nathan D. "Fort Dallas and the Naval Depot on Key Biscayr,e, 1836-1926." Tequesta, XXI ( 1961): 13-40. Utz, Dora Doster. "Life on the Loxahatchee." Tequesta, XXXII (197+): 38-57. Voss, Gilbert. "The Orange Grove House of Refuge No. 3." Tequesta, XXVIII (1968): 3-18. Walker, Mrs. Hester Perrine. "Massacre at Indian Key, August 7, 1840 and the Death of Doctor Hester Perrine." Florida Historical Quarterly V (1926): 18- 38. Wagner, Henry J. "Early Pioneers of South Florida." Tequesta, XII (1952): 19-46. Weber, Carol. "Mrs. Ivy Stranahan: The Tiger Mellows." Miami Herald, August 13, 1967. Wilson, F. Page. "We Chose the Sub-Tropics." Tequesta, XII (1952): 19-46. Wood, Jane. "Isabella Brought Hospitality Into the Grove Wilderness." Miami Daily News, March 3, 1958. Wood, Jane. "Mary Bulmer Brickell." Miami Daily News, March 3, 1958.