North Eastern Coastal Florida - Jacksonville & St. Augustine

[scifan57]

WOW - I had no idea! So, a young 'Canuck' could aspire to a lighthouse keeper's job? Curious what the requirements may be - the job description at the St. Augustine lighthouse was arduous, e.g. when oil lamps were used, the keeper had to tote heavy containers of oil up the 200+ steps to the top (pic below of a 5 gallon 30 pound can - assume took one in each hand) - Dave
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That’s probably what the assistant spent a good part of the day doing. Seniority does have its benefits.

 

[giradman]

Henry M. Flagler, Florida East Coast Railroad, and East Coast Florida & Keys Development

Unless questions arise, I'll end this travelogue for now (we likely will return to the area) w/ a post about Henry M. Flagler - he has been discussed in several of my other Florida travelogues. Flagler had two main careers - first, he was a co-founder of Standard Oil along w/ John D. Rockefeller, hence the source of his tremendous fortune - second, he is considered the 'Father of East Coastal Florida Development' (a term that I've expanded from the discussion quoted below - check the LINK for much more on both of his 'careers').

Flagler wintered in Jacksonville, FL and then St. Augustine and by the mid-1880s had fallen 'in love' w/ the latter historic city - he poured a lot of money into developing hotels there, including the Ponce de Leon (now Flagler College) and the Alcazar (now home of the Lightner Museum). Realizing the transport limitations, he founded the Florida East Coast Railway and extended the tracks to Palm Beach and Miami (known as the 'Father' of these modern cities) - finally, he decided to run the railroad all the way to Key West (128+ miles along the Florida Keys). He died shortly after injuries from a fall in his Palm Beach house (now a wonderful museum that we've visited several times - highly recommended) - Flagler is buried in St. Augustine in the family mausoleum at the Memorial Presbyterian Church, alongside his first wife, daughter, and granddaughter. Pics below of some of topics in this discussion. Dave

Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founder of what became the Florida East Coast Railway. He is known as the father of Miami and Palm Beach, Florida. In June 1870, Flagler and Rockefeller formed Standard Oil of Ohio, which rapidly became the most profitable refiner in Ohio. By 1892, Standard Oil had a monopoly over all oil refineries in the United States. In an overall calculation of America's oil refineries' assets and capital, Standard Oil surpassed all. Standard Oil's combined assets equalled approximately $42,882,650.00 (U.S) in Indiana, Kentucky, New Jersey, New York and Ohio. Standard Oil also had the highest capitalization, totaling $26,000,000 (U.S). The history of American oil refining begins with Henry Morrison Flagler, and his business associate and friend, John D. Rockefeller, as they built the biggest, most prosperous and monopolizing oil empire of their time: Standard Oil. (Source)

On the advice of his physician, Flagler traveled to Jacksonville for the winter with his first wife, Mary, who was quite ill. Two years after she died in 1881, he married again. Ida Alice (née Shourds) Flagler had been a caregiver for Mary. After their wedding, the couple traveled to Saint Augustine. Flagler found the city charming, but the hotel facilities and transportation systems inadequate. He returned to St. Augustine in 1885 and began construction of the 540-room Ponce de Leon Hotel. Realizing the need for a sound transportation system to support his hotel ventures, Flagler purchased short line railroads in what would later become known as the Florida East Coast Railway. By 1905, Flagler decided that his Florida East Coast Railway should be extended from Biscayne Bay to Key West, a point 128 miles past the end of the Florida peninsula. At the time, Key West was Florida's most populous city, with a population of 20,000, and it was also the United States' deep water port closest to the canal that the U.S. government proposed to build in Panama. (Source)

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