Q. The 368 male voters of this new city decided to call it Miami. What was the name favored by the railroad men?

The town of Fort Dallas saw a steady increase in its population in the early 1890’s. In 1896 when a group of men, including railroad men, met to incorporate the growing town into a city, they were faced with deciding on a name. One monumental historic event almost impacted the decision significantly. *Come see tools used to build the railroad at the Historical Museum of S. Florida’s Tropical Dreams exhibit!

A. Flagler

(First Florida East Coast Highway train to arrive in Miami [ca. 1896]. Credit: Historical Museum of Southern Florida. Richard B. Hoit collection.