Tropical Surge: A History of Ambition and Disaster on the Florida Shore

by Benjamin Reilly

Overview

An engaging historical narrative covering many significant events in the history of south Florida, Tropical Surge includes the major developments and setbacks in the early years of Miami and Key West, as well as an in-depth look at Henry Flagler's amazing Overseas Railway. This well-written history tells the story of the dramatic battle between human ambition and the reality of the West Indian hurricane. By 1935, at least, the hurricane had won. Includes gripping narratives of the 1919, 1926, and 1935 hurricanes in south Florida and the Keys.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781561648047
Publisher:	Pineapple Press, Inc.
Publication date:	06/10/2015
Edition description:	Reprint
Pages:	2
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.90(h) x 1.00(d)

About the Author

Benjamin Reilly received his B.A. at New College of the University of South Florida before venturing north to earn his M.A. and Ph.D. in European history at the University of Pittsburgh, but despite the change of scenery, he retains a keen interest in Florida history. Dr. Reilly's other works have appeared in several scholarly publications, including the Social Science History Journal and French History. He currently lives with his wife and son on the Persian Gulf, where he teaches history at Carnegie Mellon University's new overseas branch campus in the petroleum-rich state of Qatar.

Table of Contents

	Introduction: The Shipwrecked Train
1	A Land Apart	1
	The founding of Key West
	Turtling, sponging, and wrecking
	Years of prosperity
	First proposals for an "overseas" railway
2	Salvage, Starch, and Seminoles	35
	Early life on the Biscayne Bay frontier
	The bizarre saga of old Fort Dallas
	Seminole Indians and Seminole Indian traders
3	Sails and Rails	64
	The arrival of the "yachting set" in Biscayne Bay, c. 1880
	The life and times of Henry Flagler
	Completion of the first railway to Biscayne Bay
4	Dusty Old Town	91
	Cubans and Cuban cigars
	Key West's golden age, c. 1890
	Key West's growing economic problems
	Revival of interest in an "overseas" railway
5	A Perfect Wilderness	123
	The taming of the Biscayne Bay wilderness
	The founding of Miami, 1896
	Miami's violent early history
	Dawn of the Miami tourist age
6	Eighth Wonder	150
	The construction of Flagler's marvelous Overseas Railway, 1906-1912
7	American Frontier, American Riviera	184
	The saga of John Ashley, early Miami outlaw
	Everglades drainage and the founding of Moore Haven
	Carl Fisher's Miami Beach dream
	George Merrick's Mediterranean vision for Coral Gables
	The passing of John Ashley and the coming of the boom
8	Castles in the Air	210
	The Great Miami Boom and the bust that followed, 1925-1926
9	Recurving Disturbance	238
	The Great Miami Hurricane of September 1926
	The destruction of Moore Haven
	Casualties and consequences
10	Poverty in Paradise	274
	Key West's economic collapse, 1912-1934
	The Key West hurricane of 1919
	Hemingway in Key West
	Contemporary developments in Miami
	Down and out in the Florida Keys: tramps and "bonus marchers"
	The FERA and the foundations of modern Key West, 1934
11	No Return	299
	The Labor Day Hurricane of 1935
	The fate of the last train
	The death of the Overseas Railway
	Epilogue: September, Remember	335
	Index	339