The Florida Keys have less than two years to prepare for the centennial of Henry Flagler’s Oversea Railway that connected all of the Florida Keys to Florida’s mainland. Events Keys-wide will celebrate Flagler’s engineering marvel that made its first official trip the length of the Keys on Jan. 22, 1912.
Numerous books chronicle the transportation feat. But, certain monuments in the Keys also acknowledge its contribution to Keys history. In Key West, Flagler Station Historeum Museum at the hsitoric seaport enables visitors to enter an actual Florida East Coast Railway car containing photographs and memorabilia including tickets, rail schedules, and service items like cups and napkins. Adjacent to the railcar is a small movie room playing, “The Day the Train Arrived,” which honored Flagler who arrived on the first train to Key West. It was one of the biggest celebrations in Florida’s history.
Another site worth a visit is the National Hurricane Monument at mile marker 82 in Islamorada. It contains the remains of members of Islamorada’s founding families and federal employees of the Works Projects Administration who were working on the railroad and perished in a category five Labor Day Hurricane in 1935. Historical marquees describe the fateful day.
For more information, visit www.flaglerstation.net or call 305-294-5161. Other historical sites include www.keyshistory.org/flagler.html and http://www.fecrs.com/reading.html.
For Florida Keys visitor information, see www.fla-keys.com.
Comments
The railroad created a lot of good fishing bridges too!
Let's hear comments from chambers of commerce and other organizations of what events are in the works!
You mean the railway that ended in disaster? You should be having a memorial to all the people who lost their lives.
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