“Back in Tallahassee, Senator E. C. Crill of Palatka introduced S.B. 11, granting the Florida East Coast Railway rights and privileges to build the Key West Extension and granting the company a two-hundred-foot right-of-way down the Keys. The bill became law on May 3, 1905.”
Standiford, Les. Last Train to Paradise (p. 87). Crown. Kindle Edition.
Last Train to Paradise is the story of Henry Flagler, an American industrialist best known as a founder of Standard Oil. He also played a part in popularizing Florida as a tourist attraction since he had a pivotal role in extending railroad lines to Florida cities. By building luxury hotels in Jacksonville, Palm Beach, and Miami, he made vacationing in Florida attractive to his wealthy contemporaries such as Rockefeller. Although Standiford discusses Flagler’s wives and children, the main story is about his drive to build a Florida railroad. At first, the rail connected northern stations to Jacksonville and eventually to Palm Beach and Miami. But his vision was to connect the railroad lines “over the sea” so that the Florida Keys would be accessible by rail. He accomplished his goal by partnering with engineers and bridge builders, who shared his enthusiasm for risk-taking and accomplishment.
The press called the Key West project “Flagler’s Folly.” Standiford includes many gruesome descriptions of the working conditions and the lives lost during the bridge’s building to and through the keys. The labor pool for the actual work included unemployed northerners and people from the islands. Many workers were unaccustomed to the humidity, heat, storms, and insects common in Florida. The workcamps that he set up for his workers were less than adequate, and Flagler dealt with workers who wanted to escape rather than work for low wages and risk getting sick and dying. Flagler contended with unfair labor practice claims, including a governmental investigation for slave-labor. His hiring practices would not pass muster today. Flagler would have been unable to forge ahead with his plan under the EPA with the dredging of lands and redesigning nature’s paths to accommodate bridges and roadbeds. In 1912, the overseas railroad to Key West was finished after about seven years of labor, including at least three hurricanes. Much of the railway was damaged or demolished in the hurricane of 1935. Parts of the old path can be viewed from today’s modern roadway leading through the keys.
The value of Flagler’s dreams and accomplishments is for the reader to decide.
