Henry Flagler was a man of many talents and numerous job ventures. According to Mark Derr, the author of Some Kind of Paradise, “several times in his life, he diligently labored to master a field of business, and after having done so, made a seemingly sudden switch to a new enterprise” (Derr 18). Flagler and his vision for Florida expanded our state into a thriving place no one could have imagined. He went from a man who was inconvenienced by the state’s lack of places to stay and reliable transportation to other cities, into the thriving vacation spot it is known for today. “Flagler laid his track 522 miles down the Atlantic coast of the peninsula from Jacksonville to Key West, joining that island city to the main land for the first time”…show more content… Augustine & Halifax River Railway, but also bought enough to control and make himself president and appoint his own general manager to the railway. Soon after, he made enough money to also buy half of the new Jacksonville, Tampa, and Key West Railway Company. In order to promote the use of this new transportation, the Florida Legislature passed a law granting more acres per mile for all railroads constructed south of Daytona. This prompted Flagler to then make a new company called The Jacksonville, St. Augustine, and Indian River Railway Company. Under this new railway company, Flagler constructed 117 miles of railway from New Smyrna to Lake Worth (Wilkinson 1). Flagler continued to extend the railroad south to Ormond Beach and then even further to Palm Beach in 1893. “In taking his railway down the east coast into south Florida, Flagler brought to reality a dream of Florida’s promoters, who had long considered the region prime for agricultural and resort development” (Derr 37), which is exactly what Flagler planned to do with this new prime real…show more content… Krome to survey the best route to Key West” By the summer of 1904, Krome found the best route; a “Homestead to Key West route across Cross Key, Bahia Honda to Key West was officially mandated.” (Wilkinson 2) Flagler wanted to proceed swiftly with the plans for the tracks extending to Key West because of his ever-advancing age. Also there was the demand from the Florida government to completely finish the railway to Key West at the latest by May of 1912. By the spring of 1905 construction was started and was headed by Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railway Company, Joseph Meredith as the chief engineer, and Krome as the assistant and field supervisor. “The Overseas Railroad…led to a revival in the sagging fortunes of Key West and the expansion of the naval base during World War I further bolstered its economy” (Derr 33). With the expansion to Key West, Flagler also hoped to take advantage of the additional trading opportunities with Cuba, Latin America, and the increased trade in the west that the Panama Canal would bring to the Keys and to Florida (Florida 1). Additionally, before the overseas railway was completed, very little residents were found to live on the other Keys. Ever since the railway was completed, the populations on these other Keys besides Key West grew and also brought provisions to the small population that these rustic families have never seen before, such as water, electric, and transportation to and from
