LIVING HISTORY
21
city “Port St. Lucie,” railway officials nixed the idea because
it could be confused with the settlement “St. Lucie” above
Fort Pierce. Consequently Sewall and his partners settled on
“Port Sewall.”
It is mind boggling to realize that Flagler was able to orchestrate
multiple projects in St. Augustine and Ormond, determine
the route of his railway, acquire its right of way and
build it as far as West Palm Beach while his massive Royal
Poinciana Hotel was being constructed in Palm Beach — all
within a year’s time.
During the construction of the Royal Poinciana, Flagler
purchased several hundred acres of land on the west side of
Lake Worth and laid out the town site for West Palm Beach.
It was incorporated on Nov. 10, 1894, less than a year after
the Royal Poinciana’s opening on Feb. 8. The railway was
completed to Palm Beach in March.
NAME CHANGE
Depots and improvements continued to be made along
the line, and on Sept. 13, 1895, the name of the railway was
changed to the Florida East Coast Railway. The Great Freeze,
which occurred in 1894, the first year of the extended railway’s
operation, threatened the profitability of the venture.
Flagler did all he could to ease the devastated economy. He
donated seeds for replanting and tried to encourage settlers
to ride it out. He restored confidence in the people of the
state, and when banks and corporations realized that Flagler
had faith in Florida, they supplied needed capital. By
April 15, 1896, Flagler had pushed his rails to Miami, which
became an incorporated municipality on July 28, 1896. As the
train rails were laid toward Miami, Delray, Deerfield, Fort >>
THURLOW COLLECTION
When heirs of the Hanson Grant wanted to name their proposed town Port
St. Lucie in 1911, the Florida East Coast Railway said it would not allow it
because of possible confusion with the village of St. Lucie above Fort Pierce.
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A freight train makes a stop at the Hobe Sound Depot.
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