It started with some rather poor quality photos online by a
hiker. From what I could see, he had actually found genuine ruins of the
old Flagler Railroad. I knew that if anything was still there, I wanted
to see it, and as a homeschool mother, I wanted my boy to soak up the
history even if that meant a 5 hour hike in 97F heat with 95% humidity
and biting yellow flies.
But where was it? I found 1 more mention of it online, a mere paragraph,
but no location. No one wanted to give away the secret of the location.
You have to understand, Florida
has very little that we can call historic because people simply didn't
live here before air conditioning. For example, the oldest home in
Orlando was built in 1882 by a citrus grower. What's the oldest house in
your town?
It was 14 years later that the Flagler Railroad actually started
bringing tourist to Miami, caused hotels to be built, pushed Florida
into the 20th century, and gave it an economy. Land is precious here so
we don't have ruins or abandoned buildings, we have hotels and
subdivisions. I've lived in this area for over 20 years and had never
heard of this hidden gem, tucked in the woods, and I was going to find
it.
In 1896 Flagler's railroad reached Biscayne Bay, creating a railroad
that connected Jacksonville to Miami (originally named, "Mayaimi" by Henry Morrison Flagler).
By 1905, Flagler decided to extend the railroad to Key West and
completed the project in 1912 and was considered to be The Eighth Wonder
of the World. It was also known as, "Flager's Folly," and the,
"overseas railroad." Even in the hard times (1931), there was one
departure and arrival from Key West daily. A Key Wester could go round
trip to Miami for $4.75! By mid 1935, an estimated fifty million
passengers had already taken the 156 mile journey through the Florida
Keys.
On September 2, 1935, with a hurricane close by, a locomotive and
several baggage cars were assembled to rescue those living on the Keys.
Waves were already washing over the tracks as the train approached
Islamorada. As soon as the train stopped, families began boarding. A
stop in Homestead, however, proved fatal. Within minutes a tidal surge
of more than 17 feet swept over the train, sweeping it out to sea. In
the days to follow, more than five hundred bodies were found.
After twenty-three years of service, Henry Flagler's railroad died at
sea, along with her passengers, during the great hurricane of 1935.
1. The 1935 Labor Day Hurricane, recently
re-analyzed by NOAA, shows that the maximum sustained winds were more
likely around 185 mph (295 km/h) at landfall. This was a Category what? Do you know? The answer is 5. It was a Cat 5.
It was thought that the Key West Extension was Henry Flagler's desire to
be immortalized. Flagler County was established in 1917.
After hunting all day through the Little Big Econ State Park,
talking to other hikers, people in canoes along the river, I found it!
The odd thing is, no one I talked to knew it was there. Many hadn't seen
any sign of it. It took me all day of trying to find the best way, and
the
Jones Trailhead on Snow Hill Road (Lat:28.667 Lon:-81.125)
or the Equestrian Trail further down the road, seem to be the shortest
and more or less, the most straightforward hikes. Bring a bike map or
cellphone map, there are MANY trails throughout the area and none are
marked. Wear your hiking shoes, sunscreen, bring water, and your bug
spray (tick country). It's not a quick little skip into the woods and
there's no bathrooms, no drinking fountains, and no trashcans.
Along the way, while hunting trails, I did capture some nice scenery and
one picture just won a photo contest. If you like mountain biking, you
have to try those trails--but you'll never catch me speeding along in
loose sand, exposed roots, and along a cliff edge, thanks.
You can buy all of these images on
Zazzle!
.JPG)
+WM.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
.jpg)
No comments:
Post a Comment