Henry Flagler, 1830–1913, got a relatively slow start in life. He was born in New York state, and left school at age fourteen in order to become a merchant in Ohio. There he met John D. Rockefeller. After difficulties in the salt business, Flagler moved to Cleveland, where he, Rockefeller and others began the firm of Rockefeller, Andrews & Flagler, which in 1870 became Standard Oil Company. By the year 1872, the company was producing 10,000 barrels of oil per day and was the leader of the American oil refining industry. The company moved its headquarters to New York City in 1877, and Flagler moved with it.

Florida As a Destination

Flagler's first wife became quite ill in the late 1870s, so on the advice of his doctor, the Flaglers spent the winter in Jacksonville, Florida. His wife died in 1881, and Flagler remarried two years later. He had been intrigued with the Sunshine State, so after their wedding, the couple traveled to St. Augustine. Flagler saw that Florida had the potential to attract out-of-state visitors, but that its hotel facilities and transportation systems were not sufficient. He decided it was necessary to remedy the situation.

Although Flagler retained his membership on the board of directors of the Standard Oil Company, he gave up active involvement in the organization so that he could pursue his interest in developing Florida. He came back to St. Augustine in 1885 and began work on the 540-room Hotel Ponce de Leon. Seeing that a reliable transportation system would be needed to support his hotel projects, Flagler purchased the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax Railroad. This was the first line in what would later become the Flagler Railroad.

The Hotel Ponce de Leon, which opened its doors in 1888, was deemed an instant success. In the next few years, Flagler built a railroad bridge across the St. Johns River and purchased the Hotel Ormond, near the town of Daytona. The railroad was brought to West Palm Beach in 1894 to bring visitors to the new 1150-room Royal Poinciana Hotel, said to be the largest wooden structure in the world at the time. Flagler's Palm Beach Inn (which was renamed The Breakers in 1901) opened in Palm Beach in 1896.

By 1896, Flagler's railroad, now called the Florida East Coast Railway, had reached the unincorporated settlement known as "Miami." Flagler arranged for dredging of a channel, built city streets, and organized the water and power systems. When it came time to incorporate the city in 1896, there was a move to honor the developer by calling it "Flagler." He declined the honor, however, but did open the exclusive Royal Palm Hotel in Miami in 1897.

By 1912, Flagler had brought the railroad to Key West, Florida's largest city. Key West had a deep water port, and was seen as a vital economic link for trade with Cuba and the new Panama Canal

Philanthropy

Whitehall, the Flagler Palm Beach estate is now the Henry Morrison Flagler Museum. He also contributed to the institution now known as Flagler College, and made many anonymous gifts to schools, hospitals and churches in the state of Florida.