How was Florida transformed from a swamp into the tourist destination we know it as today?
Hi everyone, Ken here, welcome to "ThisHouse"!!
Today we are exploring the Gilded Age Mansion of Henry Flagler, the man who solely shaped
an entire state.
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When Henry Flagler was born in 1830, Mainland Florida was largely undeveloped and would
not even be on his radar for many more years.
He had an early start to life, going to work for his uncle in Ohio just after graduating
the 8th grade.
He earned just 5 dollars per month, the modern day equivalent of about 200 dollars per month,
just enough for some spending money while his uncle provided him with room and board.
But he was frugal, and saved up what little money he had, working extra shifts until he
turned 19 years old, at which point his uncle promoted him to a grain sales position, paying
him just enough to live on his own.
Around this time he fell in love with Mary Harkness, who came from a well to do family.
He spent what little money he had buying her gifts and courting her.
The Harkness family recognized Henry as a gentleman who made their daughter happy, so
they agreed to allow him her hand in marriage with a couple strings attached.
He was to borrow money from the family and go into business with his brother-in-law,
establishing a salt mine in Michigan.
But just as they began mining, the Civil War broke out and the demand for commercial salt
plummeted causing the company to fail.
He was now indebted to his in-laws in the sum of 50,000 dollars, or the modern day equivalent
of nearly one million dollars.
They brought him back to Ohio and put him to work as a commission merchant at the Harkness
Grain Company where he met a young John D. Rockefeller who was just getting his start
at the company in the same position.
The two hit it off, so when Rockefeller branched out on his own to start an oil refinery, he
approached Henry looking for capitol.
The Harkness Family was quick to negotiate on Flagler’s behalf, putting up the modern
day equivalent of 2 million dollars with the condition that Rockefeller make Henry a partner.
That business went on to become Standard Oil which at one point controlled 90% of the nation’s
oil.
We covered the rest of Standard Oil’s story in our video about John D Rockefeller’s
house which will be linked at the end of this video if you would like to learn more about
this chapter of Flagler’s life.
For now, however, we will fast forward to 1879.
Henry Flagler had not only been debt free for over a decade, he was now one of the wealthiest
men in the world.
He could buy anything he wanted, well, almost anything.
His wife and best friend, Mary fell Ill.
He went on sabbatical to be by her side, acting her primary care taker.
He brought in the finest doctors from all around the world, but none of them could help
Mary.
Finally, they advised that he should take her down south to Florida in the hopes that
the warm climate might give her more comfort in her final days.
At this time, mainland Florida, with the exception of a few small towns, was largely untamed
wilderness.
So they settled down in Jacksonville, where, for the first time in their lives, they were
able to experience warm sandy beaches in an atmosphere that appeared exotic to them.
Mary was able to hold on for two more years, passing away in 1881.
Henry then returned to work, and after 2 years, married his second wife Ida Shourds.
For their honeymoon, Henry wanted to show her the beauty he had found in Florida.
The couple headed off to St. Augustine where Villa Zorayda had just been completed.
Henry attempted to purchase it, but the owner, Franklin Smith, simply would not sell.
Seeing how much the estate meant to Franklin, and how he was able to so easily dismiss cash
offers way beyond the value of the estate got Henry thinking.
A few years later, in 1885, Henry came back to Florida with a plan, he was going to tame
the wilderness and open the land up to the world.
He started by purchasing the few short line railways around St. Augustine, expanding and
connecting them to make travel around the area easier.
He then paid the State of Florida for what was known as “Convict Leasing,” a reactionary
system to provide cheap labor following abolition where prisons would lease convicts to individuals
to perform manual labor.
By 1888, his first hotel, the Ponce de Leon was finished.
Instantly it became top tourist destination with a long wait list.
With the success of this one hotel, he reckoned that if he were to build more, they could
be just as successful.
He negotiated a deal with the state so that for every additional mile of railroad he created
going south, he would be given large tracts of land surrounding his rail.
He extended it all the way to West Palm beach, building several more hotels.
Then, in 1894, a harsh winter brought a deep freeze over West Palm Beach and Henry decided
he needed to continue further south to ensure his hotel’s guests that the weather would
always be warm.
He struck up a deal with major land holders such as Julia Tuttle to acquire enough land
to reach the southern most tip of mainland Florida.
At the time, there was nothing down there save the city of Key West off shore.
People thought he was delusional, the southern tip of Florida was mostly swamp land filled
with alligators and crocodiles.
Not even the bravest explorers dared to venture into a land of monsters.
How would he ever pull this off?
He gifted land and money to farmers to establish fruit farms along the rail line, then he attracted
schools, hospitals, and churches with generous financial gifts.
After 2 long years of hard work, the rail reached Biscayne Bay, bringing with it plumbing
and electrical infrastructure.
The first streets were laid out and people began flocking to the area to establish businesses
and build homes.
He opened more hotels and continued to improve the infrastructure.
Originally, the townspeople petitioned to name the newly formed city Flagler, after
its founder, but Henry suggested that it instead be named after the ancient Mayaimi tribe which
had previously inhabited an area a bit north of the city.
In 1896, the city was incorporated as Miami, and continued to grow.
Now that the Florida East Coast Railway had tamed the wilderness, Henry began searching
for the perfect spot to build his year round dream house.
He was ready to settle down and retire, but preferred to do so with his mistress Mary
Kenan, instead of with his wife, Ida.
After bribing a few elected officials, he got a law passed stating that insanity would
be suitable grounds for divorce.
He then paid a doctor to declare Ida insane and was subsequently granted a divorce.
10 days later he and Mary tied the knot and moved into their dream house which they named
White Hall.
He had commissioned renowned Gilded Age architects, Carrere and Hastings to design for him a beaux
arts style mansion in Palm Beach.
With 55 rooms spread across 3 stories, the mansion was designed to rival European palaces
attract the nation’s wealthiest residents away from New Port, Rhode Island which had
long been established as the premier vacation spot for the rich and famous.
From the street, you would pass through a towering wrought iron gate and continue straight
forward, passing below palm trees to arrive at the front door.
From here we can see the level of detail planned with large fluted columns supporting a coffered
verandah ceiling and ornate stone work extending from the building to include planters and
urns with intricate relief work.
Walking inside, you would arrive in the Main Hall, clad in marble with ornate gilding accenting
a double stair case opening to a courtyard which we will see in just a moment.
Iron balustrade wrapped around 4 columns of the ionic order clustered together below layers
of ornate millwork.
Stepping off to the side, we can truly appreciate the grand scale of this room and better see
the oval ceiling mural framed by layers of ornate plasterwork.
To the other side of the stair landing, doors opened to a courtyard finished out with perfectly
laid tile work around a fountain.
Trellises surrounded all the doors and windows in the hopes that vines would one day grow
to create an oasis.
Heading back inside, we will cut across the main hall to view the library with half height
wood paneling finishing out the double height walls where oversized, rounded windows allowed
natural light to flood the room.
From here we can skirt the side of the courtyard to view the music room with chevron floors
set below damask wallpaper.
The ceiling was gilded with gold leaf trimming ornate plasterwork boasting cherubs and cartouches
worked into the design.
Directly opposite the courtyard from the music room, the dining took on a darker color scheme
with rich wood coffering the ceiling and a dramatic fireplace offering a testament to
the expertise of the master woodworkers who finished out the room.
Heading back towards the front of the house, the French Salon, as it was called sat adjacent
to the dining room.
The Louis the 15th styling included gilded wall panels stretching from the floor to the
intricately coffered ceiling inlaid with murals.
Of course, no Gilded Age mansion would be complete without the grandest room of them
all, the Ball room where gilded wall panels glistened as the crystal chandeliers reflected
from light from the perfectly polished parquet floors.
Henry enjoyed living in the house with Mary until he was 83 years old, when a tragic accident
occurred.
He slipped down the flight of marble stairs and his body was unable to recover from the
injuries.
After fighting for his life over the next couple months, he passed away on the 20th
of May, 1913.
His funeral was held later that week and at 3 PM on the 23rd, every train along the Florida
East Coast Railway stopped on their tracks for ten minutes, offering a moment of silence
in remembrance of Henry Flagler.
As per his will, he was laid to rest at his only love, Mary’s side in his mausoleum.
Whitehall was left to his niece Louise, who some have theorized might have been his daughter
from an affair.
She sold the estate to developers who transformed the house into a hotel, replacing most of
the servants wing and henry’s office with a ten story addition.
The developers were ill equipped for the handling of proper maintenance and the surviving portion
of the house began to fall into disrepair.
That’s when the developers put forth plans to demolish the mansion and build a brand
new hotel in its place.
Henry’s granddaughter, Jean Mathews, heard this news and formed a plan to save Whitehall.
She created a non profit organization, named the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum, and purchased
the house from the developers in 1959.
Just four years later, she had the ten story addition demolished and began restoring the
house to it’s original appearance.
Today, most of the house has been restored to its former glory and is open to the public
for tours.
Without Henry’s contributions to infrastructure, the state we know as Florida Today might never
have existed.
George Perkins, a friend of Henry and successful financier once said, “But that any man could
have the genius to see of what this wilderness of waterless sand and underbrush was capable
and then have the nerve to build a railroad here, is more marvelous than similar development
anywhere else in the world.”
Which room was your favorite?
Let me know down below in the comments section.
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