Lemon City is an unincorporated area that predates Miami. It was a farming community that sprang up…read morein the 1850's, 26 years before the founding of Miami. The community took their name from the unusually sweet lemon trees that grew in the area. By the time Miami was incorporated, Lemon City already had a population of 300. Lemon City had the areas oldest school, the Lemon City School, and the first library, the Lemon City Library. Lemon City was segregated with Black families living in three neighborhoods, Nazarine, Boles Town, and Knightsville. The exact boundaries of Lemon City have been lost to time since it was never incorporated. During the 1980's many Haitian immigrants made what was once Lemon City their home. The area has now been designated as Little Haiti which upset some of the descendants of the pioneers of Lemon City who thought the name change was insulting to their history. To be more inclusive of all of the history of the area, 10 historical signs marking the history of Lemon City were erected by the Mayor's office. Markers were placed at the Lemon City Train Station, Lemon City Pharmacy, Lemon City Library, and here at the Lemon City Post Office. Marker F-945 installed in 2017 details the history of the Lemon City Post Office. The Lemon City post office opened on October 1, 1889. It was located in a corner of Moffat's bayside store and E.L. White served as the first postmaster. Mail came into Lemon City from the port or by train before being sent south. In 1891 the post office broke with the Moffat family and moved from location to location. It finally got a permanent location in 1905 in its own building. During the years the post office was open, it moved nine times and had twelve postmasters. The post office became part of the Miami postal system in 1925. In 1974, it ceased operation. I am watching with anticipation to see what is going to happen in Little Haiti. You can already see the spark with new businesses opening like the Citadel Food Hall in the Little River area. I had heard of Lemon City in passing when bones were discovered in an unmarked cemetery during construction of an affordable housing unit. I always meant to learn more about this historic area but never had the time. I finally got to explore this area and was really delighted to find all of the historical markers. It was like a scavenger hunt discovering them and learning another piece of Lemon City's history. Although the post office is no longer here, there is a huge MAGIC sign set up heralding what will hopefully be good things to come for this area. I am excited to see the next chapter of history unfold here.

This was such a cool find in the historic Bayshore area while walking around Biscayne Blvd!…read more I luv that there is so much history throughout Miami if you're willing to look for it! Finding these historical placards and being able to reference what was in them and seeing out into the bay was like being teleported for a moment and imagining ships docked offshore, lemon tree-line cobblestoned streets, and the sounds of carriages and passing trains. On a gorgeous evening, definitely worth the stroll down the street and through history!

Lemon City is an unincorporated area that predates Miami. It was a farming community that sprang up…read morein the 1850's, 26 years before the founding of Miami. The community took their name from the unusually sweet lemon trees that grew in the area. By the time Miami was incorporated Lemon City already had a population of 300. Lemon City had the areas oldest school, the Lemon City School, and the first library, the Lemon City Library. Lemon City was segregated with Black families living in three neighborhoods, Nazarine, Boles Town, and Knightsville. The exact boundaries of Lemon City have been lost to time since it was never incorporated. During the 1980's many Haitian immigrants made what was once Lemon City their home. The area has now been designated as Little Haiti which upset some of the descendants of the pioneers of Lemon City who thought the name change was insulting to their history. To be more inclusive of all of the history of the area, 10 historical signs marking the history of Lemon City were erected by the Mayor's office. Markers were placed at the Lemon City Train Station, Lemon City Pharmacy, Lemon City Library, and here at the Lemon City Port. In 1892, Lewis Pierce set up a large steamboat wharf just south of today's Legion Park, at Lemon Avenue, now known as NE 61st Street. The first dock for vessels in Miami was in Lemon City on Biscayne Bay. A business district developed around the port. By 1891 there were four to six ships arriving in Lemon City every day delivering mail, animals, people, produce, and goods. Larger vessels had to stay in deeper water while smaller boats ferried people and items to the dock. The largest boat to arrive in Lemon City was the Emily B, a three-masted, thirty-ton schooner that traveled between Jacksonville and Key West. In 1891 Julia Tuttle arrived aboard the ship. She became known as the "Mother of Miami," because of her contributions to city. By 1895 the Lemon City port was booming. Hotels and businesses had sprung up around the port. Lemon City became the trading center of Biscayne Bay which attracted the railroads who wanted to transport the goods from the port deeper into the city of Miami. The opening of the Lemon City station on the Florida East Coast Railway in 1896 marked the end of the port as it fell out of favor for transporting goods. Businesses started to shift to Miami. By 1910, the port was no longer used commercially, only for leisure. Today you can stand and gaze into Biscayne Bay where the port used to be. It is fun to go on a scavenger hunt for the signs in the now extinct town. There are actually two historical signs side by side here. Each sign provides another insight into Miami's first settlement.

This made me sad. Apart from a sign to state its history, there was nothing else to see. This…read moremade me sad, really? all that history, all these pour should and bodies that were originally buried here, and that's the best you can do? Very sad. Nothing to see apart from an area, taken over, possibly avoiding the truth the history just be forgotten in the name of what? progress? life? life carrying on? According to records there were 525 people buried in the land, many of whom were Black and Bahamian labourers that helped develop Miami in the early 1900's. Discovered in 2008, the Lemon City Cemetery is believed to be one of the oldest burial sites of people of color in Miami and was designated a historical site in November 2009. In April 2009, Carlisle Development Group and Biscayne Housing Group were in the beginning stages of developing a series of low-income housing buildings, when human remains were found while digging the land. At the time, the city had no records of the cemetery's existence. An examination of the remains and the land concluded that the construction site was indeed a cemetery, believed to date back to the early 1900s. (This is so freaken sad - how can this be so????) Further examination of the human remains concluded 525 souls were interred in the cemetery, the majority of whom were of Black American and Bahamian descent. Many of them were laborers who helped with the construction and development of Miami. see this for more information - https://www.miamitimesonline.com/faith_family/to-be-laid-to-rest-historical-markers/article_93f90568-bc1d-11e8-a548-fbaebc0ed876.html

Lemon City is an unincorporated area that predates Miami. It was a farming community that sprang up…read morein the 1850's, 26 years before the founding of Miami. The community took their name from the unusually sweet lemon trees that grew in the area. By the time Miami was incorporated, Lemon City already had a population of 300. Lemon City had the areas oldest school, the Lemon City School, and the first library, the Lemon City Library. Lemon City was segregated with Black families living in three neighborhoods, Nazarine, Boles Town, and Knightsville. The exact boundaries of Lemon City have been lost to time since it was never incorporated. During the 1980's many Haitian immigrants made what was once Lemon City their home. The area has now been designated as Little Haiti which upset some of the descendants of the pioneers of Lemon City who thought the name change was insulting to their history. To be more inclusive of all of the history of the area, 10 historical signs marking the history of Lemon City were erected by the Mayor's office. Markers were placed at the Lemon City Train Station, Lemon City Pharmacy, Lemon City Library, the Lemon City Port, and here at the Lemon City Cemetery. In April 2009 while doing construction on the Village Carver Apartments, an affordable housing development off Northwest 71st Street near Fourth Avenue, workers who were digging discovered bones. According to the city, they were not aware that the 2.4 million dollars worth of land held a cemetery. It turned out that a total of 525 lemon City residents were buried there, most of whom were black Americans of Bahamian descent. Burials in the Lemon City Cemetery are documented from 1911 until 1935 when African-Americans were buried here during segregation. Eventually the city lost track of the location of the cemetery. Concerned citizens united to prevent building from taking place on the cemetery. Led by local historian Enid Pinkney, they formed the Lemon City Cemetery Community Corporation. In November 2009, the City of Miami designated the cemetery a historical site. The developers offered to move the remains buried here but ultimately gave in to the demand to leave them. Instead a memorial was constructed in 2011 and the cemetery was left as a garden. The memorial is on private property and contains 500 names but where everyone is exactly buried is lost to time. In 2018 a historical marker was placed her to explain the history of the cemetery. It is one of the sadder chapters of Lemon City but thanks to the City of Miami and community leaders this cemetery was rescued from being a housing development. It now provides 2 acres of green space to an area that is otherwise paved over.

Lemon City is an unincorporated area that predates Miami. It was a farming community that sprang up…read morein the 1850's, 26 years before the founding of Miami. The community took their name from the unusually sweet lemon trees that grew in the area. By the time Miami was incorporated, Lemon City already had a population of 300. Lemon City had the areas oldest school, the Lemon City School, and the first library, the Lemon City Library. Lemon City was segregated with Black families living in three neighborhoods, Nazarine, Boles Town, and Knightsville. The exact boundaries of Lemon City have been lost to time since it was never incorporated. During the 1980's many Haitian immigrants made what was once Lemon City their home. The area has now been designated as Little Haiti which upset some of the descendants of the pioneers of Lemon City who thought the name change was insulting to their history. To be more inclusive of all of the history of the area, 10 historical signs marking the history of Lemon City were erected by the Mayor's office. Markers were placed at the Lemon City Train Station, Lemon City Pharmacy, Lemon City Library, the Lemon City Port, the Lemon City Cemetery, and here in the historic neighborhood of Lemon City Knightsville. I have learned a lot of Florida history by stopping to read the blue historic markers which can be found all over the state. I discovered this marker while traveling through Lemon City. It recounts the history of Knightsville which is bounded by the area east of I-95, between 71st and 54th Streets. Five acre Knightsville was the cultural center of the community. It had two churches and the local chapter of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, the first floor which was the school and the second floor was a meeting space and place for social events. Marker F-1071 was installed in 2019 by Alexander Adams and the Florida Department of State. The Little Haiti of today bears little resemblance to the Lemon City of the past. For one thing there are no more lemon trees but I love finding these historic markers that bring the past to life. It is fun going on a scavenger hunt for the signs. Each one provides another glimpse into Lemon City that despite no longer existing, still continues to influence Miami today.

The city of Hialeah was named by a Seminole Indian named Willie Willie, When developer James Bright…read moreasked him to describe the property, he called it Hi-ale-ah, translating to pretty prairie or high prairie. Bright was from Missouri where he made his money in cattle. He came to Miami in 1909 and bought 640 acres of submerged land northwest of the city. He dug the Miami canal and pumped out the land. He joined with famed aviator and developer Glenn Curtiss and incorporated Hialeah in 1921. The Deer Creek neighborhood that this house is in was once an airfield for Glenn Curtiss. The H.R. Howell House is located at 2 Circle Drive in the Deer Park section of Hialeah. J.J. Mullins was the contractor and ground broke in 1922. The ornate Mediterranean Revival style house was built during Florida's land boom years at a cost of $22,000, a fortune at the time when a typical house was 8 or 9 thousand dollars. The home was built for H.R. Howell, the developer of Country Club Estates for Glenn Curtiss and James Bright company, Curtiss-Bright. The home is a private residence so you can only see it from the outside. It is nice to see it still standing and providing a home to a family today.

if you like to see and hear about a bit of history in Miami, visit this house. it is called H. R…read more Howell home and is located in the Deer Park section of Hialeah. It was built in 1922 by contractor J.J. Mullins at a cost of $22,000. It is located opposite the deer park, which is now been renamed as the Ken Mattingly park after an astronaut from Hialeah! (see my other review for that) H.R. Howell was the developer of Country Club Estates (Miami Springs) for the Curtiss-Bright Company. Black & white photos from State of Florida archives.

This building is located in Hollywood's historic business district which was designed by Hollywood…read morefounder Joseph Young in 1921. Many of it's original design features remain. The Wellons & McGowan building is part of the city of Hollywood's Historical Landmark Plaque Tour sponsored by the Hollywood Historical Society and the Community Redevelopment Agency. This building is stop number 14 of 17 stops. During the 1930s Wellons & McGowan held a license for slot machines which they operated at this address. When the slot machines closed the building housed Breedings liquor store. Today it is a Full Life vitamin store. Hollywood Blvd. is home to several historical buildings and it is fun to look at all of the buildings and try to guess which are historic as you look for the plaques. Parking is difficult to find in the area but if you look closely you can find a lot just off of the boulevard.

Stop #4 on our self-guided Hollywood history mini tour --…read more This location and marker shows the location where two gentlemen named Wellons and McGowan had a license for slot machines at this address. The gambling boom in Florida began in 1935 when the state legalized slot machines. There were over 12,000 of them and most were located in South Florida. Machines were everywhere. They were an important source of revenue for their cities... including for Hollywood. They were outlawed in 1937; however, the then Broward Sheriff allowed slots and casinos to thrive into the 1930s and 40s. I tried to find some background information on either of these men, but was unsuccessful. After their enterprise here, the building housed a liquor store. Today, it is occupied by a convenience store which was listed for sale in April, 2019.

The Seaboard Air Line Railroad was an American railroad which existed from April 14, 1900, until…read moreJuly 1, 1967 when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. AIr Line does not refer to air travel but instead is a common term for the shortest distance between two points. The railroad operated 4,000 miles of track running from Richmond, Virginia down through Jacksonville and ending in West Palm Beach. Solomon Davies Warfield, chairman of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad at the time, extended the railroad further into South Florida to Miami in 1925 and to Homestead in 1927 where it ended. Solomon Davies Warfield was the uncle of Bessie Wallis Warfield Simpson, the woman whose love affair with King Edward forced him to abdicate the throne. Opened in 1926, the Hialeah Station like all of the Seaboard Air Line Stations, was designed by architect L. Philipps Clarke. This was one of 40 stations built around this time frame for the railroad. All of the stations were designed the ornate Mediterranean Revival style. The Hialeah station is identical to the one in Naples that has been turned into a beautiful free museum by Collier County. Sadly this station has not been restored. It has been bordered up and it looks like squatters broke in. The beautiful light fixtures are missing. This station serviced the Seaboard trains, the Orange Blossom Special until 1953, and the Silver Meteor beginning in 1939. Passenger service to the station ended in 1972. The station was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places on July 14, 1995. Today it is used by Tri Rail which added a blue shelter structure. Only two of the Seaboard Air Line Stations have been destroyed. The Boynton Beach station was torn down in 2006 and the Delray Station was destroyed by arson a few months ago. it would be nice if there was interest in fixing up this station. This whole area looks not safe. As soon as I parked I saw smashed glass on the ground all over the parking lot. Never a good sign. 5 stars for the history, 3 stars for its sad current condition.

If you are a history buff - come for a visit. Here is some info that I found out about it…read more. Hialeah Seaboard Air Line Railway Station was built in 1926. The station is essentially identical to the Naples Seaboard station on the southwest coast of Florida. It was served by, among other Seaboard trains, the Orange Blossom Special until 1953, and the Silver Meteor beginning in 1939. Passenger service to the station ended in the 1960s. On July 14, 1995, the station was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places. In 1989, the South Florida Regional Transportation Authority began Tri-Rail commuter rail service to the station, adding a bus shelter style structure immediately to the south, which is called the Hialeah Market station.

This is another of Coral Gables "villages". It is called the Florida Pioneer Village/Colonial…read moreVillage. These homes are regal and HUGE and located right near or over looking the Biltmore Golf Course...or PRIME real estate. This thematic village was designed by the architectural firm of John Pierson, and John and Coulton Skinner.  Constructed in 1925-1926 to evoke the image of a New England streetscape of stately homes, the village includes 4320, 4409, 4515, 4520, and 4620 Santa Maria Street. In November of 2007 these homes were included in the Santa Maria Street Historic District.

George Merrick is the founder of the City of Coral Gables. His family came to Miami from PA two…read moreyears after Henry Flagler brought the railroad to Florida. It was the dawn of the development of Florida. George Merrick attended Rollins College in Winter Park and in 1922 he meticulously planned Coral Gables. The houses were so well made that they survived hurricanes before there were building codes and his architecture was so charming that Coral gables is called the city beautiful. He also created the University of Miami. At first he wanted his buildings to be strictly Spanish and later Mediterranean style. Eventually he expanded his vision to include seven unique villages inspired by different international influences. The villages were built during the land boom years in the 1920's. It was a joint venture between Merrick, The American Building Company and former Ohio Governor Myers Cooper. The original plan was for more 1,000 residences in a series of villages based on architecture from around the world. The plan was never fully realized when the housing boom crashed from two hurricanes followed by the Great Depression. In the end only seven villages were built including this Pioneer Village. By 1928 George Merrick was forced out of the city he founded and ended up in the Keys. He returned to the city two years before he died to serve as postmaster. You can learn more about George Merrick by taking a tour of his family home in Coral Gables. The Pioneer/ Colonial Village was designed by the architectural firm of John Pierson, and John and Coulton Skinner. It is located south of the Biltmore Hotel and it borders the Riviera Country Club golf course. The five homes were built in 1925 and 1926 And took their inspiration from the elegant New England houses of the late 19th- and early 20th-century. The homes were designed in a Colonial Revival style with two-story porches, symmetrical facades, and picket fences. New England architects at that time took elements from the Georgian-style buildings in Europe and England. The homes in this village have gone through renovations through the years but when you see one it is still an impressive sight. Homes in this village include 4320, 4409, 4515, 4520, and 4620 Santa Maria Street. They are not in a row so you have to look for them. In November of 2007 these homes were added to the Santa Maria Street Historic District. The properties in the villages rarely hit the market and they are highly sought after. Today there are 80 homes left. Since there are only five of the Pioneer Village homes, they are especially limited. Zillow estimates them to be around 4 million dollars. You can also get a peek at the interiors of these privately held homes there.