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Miami History
Miami really began when Charles and Isabella Peacock came from England to open a hotel in 1884. Several years later, in 1891, a widow from Cleveland, Julia Tuttle moved to south Florida and convinced the Standard Oil co-founder, Henry Flagler, to help her develop the area. Flagler built a railroad to Miami and the tourists began to arrive.
Tuttle saw more potential in Miami and helped to turn Miami into an international port. Before long Miami had become one of the hottest cruise spots in the world.
The city weathered hurricanes and the Depression during the earlier part of this century. Then, during World War II, the military moved into the city to build major training centers and brought thousands new people into the region. By the 1950's Miami's population had doubled.
Then Castro took over Cuba in 1959. This changed everything as a staggering number of Cuban exiles began to pour into the city. These immigrants helped to turn Miami into an international city and a major Latin American metropolis.
Through out the 80's and 90's Miami has continued to grow, to the point where it is now one of the central cities of the American Continents. The city contributes to the culture of the entire Latin American world now and is a far cry from the small tourist town that was when the Peacock's first arrived.
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