#1859 Julia Tuttle, Mother of Miami Brochures 2010 JULIA TUTTLE
M OTHER OF MIAMI
"It may seem strange, but it is the dream of my life
to see this wilderness turned into a prosperous country
... as surely as the sun rises and sets all of this will come true."
Julia Sturtevant Tuttle — 1849 -1898
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f ,. July 28 9 2010
Program
Presentation of Colors:
Girl Scout Council of Tropical Florida • Troop 167
Invocation:
Reverend Doctor James Reho
Trinity Episcopal Cathedral
Master of Ceremonies:
Alyce Robertson, Executive Director
Miami Downtown Development Authority
Speakers:
Honorable Tomas Regalado, Mayor, City of Miami
Honorable Frank Carollo, Chairman, Bayfront Park Management Trust
Honorable Jose "Pepe" Diaz, Vice Chairman, Board of County Commissioners
Allyson Warren, Chair, Miami Commission on the Status of Women
Carmen Elias- Levenson, Immediate Past Chair, Miami -Dade County Commission for Women
Arva Moore Parks, Miami Historian and Author
Rob Firmin, Sculptor
Unveiling of the Statue
Performance by Betty Wright
"Mrs. Tuttle knows what she is doing. A few years hence it will be realized that she
builded better than the critics knew and the future residents of Miami will accord
her full credit for her plans of today, and bless the good fate that put the founding of
Miami in such competent hands."
First edition • Miami Metropolis
May 15, 1896
Julia Tuttle
"The Mother of Miami"
Julia DeForest Sturtevant Tuttle discovered Biscayne Bay in 1875 when she was only 26 years
old. She, and her two young children, came from Cleveland, Ohio to visit her parents, Ephraim
and Frances Sturtevant who lived in Biscayne, now Miami Shores. She returned in 1880 and 1882
with her ill husband, Frederick. After his death in 1886, she was left almost penniless. Resource-
ful and determined, she turned her family's home into an upscale boarding house and social gath-
ering place. Aided by an inheritance from her parents, by 1890, she was able to get her finances in
order and seek new opportunities. At age 42, she set her sights on Miami.
She purchased what she considered prime real estate - 644 acres on the north bank of the Mi-
ami River. Before she left Cleveland, she told her friends she planned to build a city there. Shortly
before her departure, she met railroad man James Ingraham who worked for Henry Plant who
had already built a rail line to Florida's west coast. Through Ingraham, she offered Plant half her
land if he would extend his railroad to Miami.
Tuttle and her now -adult children, Harry and Fannie, arrived in Miami on November 13, 1891.
Almost immediately, she convinced James Ingraham to lead a party across the Everglades from
Tampa to find a route for Plant's railroad. The party barely escaped death in the inhospitable ter -
rain and the proposed extension was dismissed.
Next, she turned to Henry Flagler whose Florida East Coast Railroad was inching down the
east coast. In vain, she barraged him with letters offering him half her land if he would bring his
railroad to Miami. Then in the winter of 1894 - 95, Florida was hit with a freeze that wiped out
most of the state's citrus crop. Tuttle saw her opportunity, enhanced by the fact that Ingraham
now worked for Flagler. Through Ingraham, she sent Flagler a bouquet of orange blossoms to
prove Miami was not affected by the freeze.
In early 1895, Flagler came to Miami to see the area for himself. Tuttle offered him half her
land if he would extend his railroad to Miami, build a hotel and lay out the town. (She also con -
vinced William and Mary Brickell, who owned extensive property on the south side of the Miami
River, to sign a separate contract with him.) Miami's climate, and Tuttle's insistence, did the trick.
With the contract signed, Tuttle began building Miami's first street (Avenue `D," now South
Miami Avenue) and its first hotel. Although still little more than a frontier town with simple
A wooden buildings, it was a beginning.
On April 13, 1896, the first train bearing Flagler and other dignitaries chugged into Miami.
• Three months later, the City of Miami was incorporated and six months after that, Flagler's
luxurious Royal Palm Hotel opened. Miami was on its way.
Sadly, Julia Tuttle did not live to see the city of her dreams materialize. On September 14,
1898, at age 49, she died just two years after the city she founded emerged from the wilderness.
Before her death, she predicted the city's future as a great international metropolis. "This may
seem far - fetched to you," she said, "but as surely as the sun rises and sets all of this
will come true."
Arva Moore Parks
Historian
Bas - Relief Image Descriptions Workmen with Wheelbarrows:
On March 3, 1896 Flagler's men cleared the ancient Tequesta Indian mound at the mouth of
the Miami River to make way for the construction the Royal Palm Hotel. Workmen hauled
Julia Tuttle and her orange blossoms have become a symbol of her persistence and her vision for the future away the Indian bones and artifacts and re- buried them nearby.
greatness of the City of Miami. The bas relief on Julia Tuttle's skirt tells the story of the city's founding.
Wooden Buildings:
Nature: While awaiting the arrival of the railroad, Julia Tuttle built Miami's first business street on
The American Alligator: Although Alligators have been taken off the endangered species list, their Avenue "D," now South Miami Avenue. On July 28, 1896, the City of Miami was born in a
numbers are small compared to the past. They once congregated on the banks of the Miami meeting room over the pool hall on the east side of the street near the present Metromover
River and occasionally attacked unwary swimmers. station. Three hundred and forty -four men signed the incorporation papers. More than one
Comptze Plant The Seminoles taught the early settlers how to extract a type third were black.
of arrowroot starch from the native comptie plant (Zamia floridiana). Starch
making was Miami's first industry. Group of Black Men:
Flagler foreman John Sewell called his hand - picked group of black workers his "Black Artillery."
Queen Conch Large numbers of Queen Conch (Eustrombus gigas) once inhabited k They not only cleared the land and constructed the streets; they made it possible for the new town
the grassy bottom of Biscayne Bay. The Tequesta Indians ate the snail -like Conch
and made tools, weapons, and jewelry from the shell. Bahamian settlers, to officially meet the state requirements of 300 voters to call Miami a city.
who were often called "Conchs," made a variety of salads, stews, soups First Train:
and fritters from its flesh. On April 13, 1896, the first train bearing Henry Flagler and other dignitaries chugged into
y
Indians in Dugout: - - Miami. From that day forward Miami grew, as early mayor John Sewell said, "as if by magic."
The group of native people Soon, everyone called Miami, "The Magic City"
known as Seminoles greeted Julia
Tuttle when she arrived in Miami. They traced, �.� ` Trinity Episcopal Church:
their ancestry to the Creeks who came to South Florida in the early 19th • Julia Tuttle met Bishop William Crane Gray in 1893, converted to the Episcopal Church
Century from the Southeastern United States. Following the Seminole Wars, - and held Episcopal services in her home. In May 1896, she gave the land on the corner of
they retreated to the Everglades but frequently paddled their dugout canoes what is now N.E. Second Avenue and Second Street for what became Trinity Episcopal Church.
down the Miami River to trade with the newcomers. Members immediately erected a small frame building so they could claim the first church building
Fort Dallas: in Miami. Cheese cloth covered the windows to keep the mosquitoes out causing parishioners to
Julia Tuttle purchased 640 acres on the north bank of the Miami River call it the "Church of the Holy Cheesecloth."
from the Biscayne Bay Company who had owned the land since the Royal Palm Hotel:
1870s. It included two rock buildings that early resident William
English built as his home and quarters for his slaves When the Henry Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel opened on January 17, 1897. Palatial and elegant, it was 700
Seminole Wars forced English from his land, the U.S. Government feet long, 300 feet wide and had a six -story center section with five -story wings. Painted bright
completed the unfinished buildings and renamed the area Fort Dallas. yellow, the 400 room wooden hotel sported a red Mansard roof and an 18 -foot wide, 578 - foot
long verandah that wrapped the hotel from its northern to southern porticos. It also had a
At the time of Tuttle's arrival, most people continued to call the site
Fort Dallas. bathing casino with a 40 x 150 - foot swimming pool. At the time, Miami was still a raw, frontier
town with less than 1000 residents.
The Orange Blossoms:
Following the terrible 1894 - 1895 freeze that destroyed most of the ! Spanish- American War:
citrus crop, Julia Tuttle gave James Ingraham some orange blossoms On February 15, 1898, the U.S.S. Maine was blown up in the Havana harbor. Two
to take to Henry Flagler to prove Miami was unaffected by the months later, the United States declared war on Spain. Henry Flagler saw the war as an
freeze. Today, Julia Tuttle and her orange blossoms have become opportunity to promote his new city. He convinced the government to station more than
a symbol of both her persistence and her vision for the future 7,000 troops in Miami that at the time had less than 2,000 residents. The
greatness of the City of Miami. troops arrived in June and spent a miserable two months in Miami in
ill- equipped campsites. Miamians were equally distressed by the
Tuttle and Flagler Shaking Hands: unruly troops and everyone was relieved when the war ended
Julia Tuttle and Henry Flagler signed a contract on October 24, in August and the troops left
1895 and amended it in February 1896 whereby she deeded
him half her land upon completion of his railroad to Miami.
He also agreed to build a hotel, lay out the streets, construct
power, telegraph and telephone lines and build an electrical plant.
1
Project Timeline
Daub & Firmin Studios, LLC
Eugene Daub and Rob Firmin met in late 2004, and have established Daub & Firmin Studios,
LLC (D &F), a two - sculptor partnership which has a successful track record of researching,
July 28,1996: Miami Centennial. The Miami Commission on the Status of Women (Miami designing and sculpting significant public monuments. Most of the team's works are realist -
COSW) promotes the idea of a statue of Julia Tuttle and raises an initial amount of $30,000. figurative and bas - relief sculptures devoted to the aesthetic illumination of important histories
and uplifting allegories— created in monumental scale and usually cast in bronze. (Other materials
Late 1990's: Miami experiences serious financial problems and several City programs include stone, glass, terrazzo, and synthetic stone.) D &F also designs its own pedestals and
experience cutbacks, including the Miami COSW. Miami COSW inactive for a few years.
landscapes. The group has won many national competitions, including: a sculpture of Thomas
Early 2000's: Miami COSW re- established. , ,
Jefferson founding the University of Virginia; Abraham Lincoln -as -a -Boy at his birthplace for
the Commonwealth of Kentucky; four monumental dual- figure niche allegories to civilization
2005: Miami -Dade County Commission for Women (Miami -Dade CFW) voted to partner in the Utah -State Capitol rotunda; a comprehensive sculpture and landscape design featuring
with the Miami COSW to kick start the Julia Tuttle statue project. The Julia Tuttle Statue twenty -one bronze and stone monuments honoring the unique history of African Americans in
Oversight Committee is created. Oklahoma set on two -acres of the Oklahoma state - capitol grounds; a monumental Julia Tuttle,
founder of Miami Florida; and A National Salute to the US Military in San Diego.±
August 2005: Oversight Committee gets the assistance and support of Jorge Perez, who
donates $10,000 to start the fundraising, assigns an employee to work on the project with the Eugene Daub is the group's master sculptor, with over 30 years of success in public -art
Committee, and allows the Related Group's Art & Design Department to conduct the "Call to sculpture. He received training at the Pennsylvania Academy for the Fine Arts and the University
Artist" competition for the design of the statue. of Pittsburgh. His extraordinary accomplishments have been recognized through numerous
prestigious awards in full- figure, monumental and bas - relief sculpture. These include the Arthur
Summer and Fall 2006: Call to Artists competition conducted. Ross Award for sculpture from the Institute for Classical Architecture and Classical America
and the American Numismatic Association Gold Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Bas Relief
January 2007: Winning design is selected. Sculpture. His work is in the permanent collections of the Smithsonian Institution, The British
March 2007: Oversight Committee makes a presentation to the Miami -Dade County
Museum, Ellis Island Museum, as well as other public installations in the U.S. His pre -Daub &
Commission. Several County Commissioners make donations and fundraising begins in earnest. Firmin monuments include a five- figure Tribute to Lewis and Clark in Kansas City, the USS San
Diego CL Memorial and a 17 -foot Lewis and Clark expedition relief in the Montana Senate
2007 2008: Fundraising continues until the Oversight Committee has raised enough money for chamber. Eugene is one of a handful of nationally and internationally recognized artists who
the City of Miami to enter into a contract with the sculptors. combine the classical tradition with a humanistic rendition of heroism. Eugene is on the board of
the Sculpture Society of America. He lives in San Pedro, California.
May 22, 2008: City of Miami Commission authorizes the City Manager to execute contract
with the sculptors. Rob Firmin is a sculptor who also contributes historical, management and high -tech
expertise to monumental projects. His degrees are a double -major in history and art history
July 2008 2010: Artists Eugene Daub and Rob Firmin design and sculpt statue. Oversight in undergraduate school, an MBA from Columbia University and an MA and Ph.D. from The
Committee works with sculptors to ensure historical accuracy of the scenes depicted on the University of Chicago, which contribute to D &F's research into its sculpture subjects, its ability
skirt. to organize itself financially and its disciplined project management. Rob began his realist
figurative sculpture studies after an established career in high technology as an inventor/
Late 2009 early 2010: Committee works to finalize the location of the statue. entrepreneur. His quantitative expertise is applied throughout D &F projects. He has studied
March 2010: Bayfront Park Trust votes to accept the statue and approves installation of statue sculpture under Thomas Marsh, Carol Tarzier, Stephen Perkins, Tebby George,
in the Park. Eugene Daub, and others. One of D &F's missions is to inspire people of all
ages to raise their life goals above the mundane. Rob values greatly the role
July 28, 2010: Statue unveiled. historical education plays in the progress of civilization and infuses the
D &F creative process with this value. He lives in Kensington, California.
Special Thanks:
City of Miami • Miami -Dade County • Bayfront Park Management Trust
Miami Downtown Development Authority • Miami Parking Authority
Hyatt Regency Downtown Miami • Macy's Catering
Friends of the Commission for Woman
Julia Tuttle Statue Oversight Committee:
Carmen Elias- Levenson • Laurie Escobar • Linda Hertz • Laura Morilla
Arva Moore Parks • Diana Shinaberry • Allyson Warren
• Julia Tuttle Statue Donors:
City of Miami Commission on the Status of Women
Miami -Dade County Commission for Women
Community Image Advisory Board • Mayor Carlos Alvarez
Commissioner Bruno Barreiro • Commissioner Jose "Pepe" Diaz
Commissioner Audrey Edmonson • Commissioner Carlos Gimenez
Commissioner Sally Heyman • Commissioner Barbara Jordan
Commissioner Dennis Moss • Commissioner Katy Sorenson
Commissioner Rebecca Sosa • Commissioner Dorrin Rolle
Miami Sports & Exhibition Authority • Art in Public Places
Commissioner Marc Sarnoff • Baptist Health South Florida
The Related Group • Adrienne Arsht • Arthur Hertz Foundation
The Terra Group • Greenberg Traurig • United Way
Northern Trust Bank • Gil Pastoriza • Jonah Hendrickson
Linda Collins Hertz • Elizabeth Juerling
Nancy Schleifer • Women's Exhibit • Miami Beach Women's Conference
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6. Tuttle and Flag ler Shaking flands: Julia Tuttle and Henry
Flag ler signed a contract on October 24, 1895 and amended it
in February 1896 whereby she deeded him half her land upon
c()mpletion of his railroad to Miami. He also agreed to build a
hotel, lay out the streets, construct power, telegraph and
telephone lines, and build an electrical plant.
7. Trinity Episcopal Church: Julia Tuttle met Bishop William
Crane Gray in 1893, converted to the Episcopal Church and
held Episcopal services in her home. In May 1896, she gave
the land on the corner of what is now N. E. Second Avenue
and Second Street for what became Trinity F_Tiscopal Church.
Members erected a small frame building so they could claim
the first church building in Miami. Cheese cloth covered the
wind( )Ws to keep the mosquitoes out causing parishioners to
call it the "Church of the Holy Cheesecloth."
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1 0 . Group of African American Men: Flagler foreman John
Sewell called his hand-picked group of black workers his
"Black Artillery." They not only cleared the land and
constructed the streets; they made it possible for the new
town to officially meet the state requirements of 300 voters
to call Miami a city.
11. Snowy Egret: (Egretta thula) achieve an average height
of 22 to 26 inches, with a wingspan just over 3 ft. This one
is a male during mating season. Snowy Egret feathers were
so prized that the birds were hunted to near extinction. The
Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 still protects all migratory
1
birds and their parts, eggs, nests, and feathers.
12. Comptie Plant: The Seminoles taught the early settlers
how to extract a type of arrowroot starch from the native
comptie plant (Zamia floridiana). Starch making was
Miami's first industry.:
13. First Train: On April 13, 1896, the first train bearin!,
Henry Flagler and other dignitaries chugged into Miami i
From that day forward Miami grew, as early mayor John .:
Sewell said, "as if by magic." Soon, everyone called
"The Magic City."
14. Spanish-Cuban-American War: On February 15, 1898,
0 the U.S.S. Maine blew up in Havana harbor. Two months
later, the United States declared war on Spain. Henry Flagler
saw the war as an opportunity to promote his new city. He
convinced the government to station more than 7,000 troops
in Miami that at the time had less than 2,000 residents. The
troops arrived in June and spent a miserable two months in
Miami in ill-equipped campsites. Miamians were equally
distressed by the unruly troops and everyone was relieved
when the war ended in August and the troops left.
15. Royal Palm Hotel: Henry Flagler's Royal Palm Hotel
opened on January 17, 1897. Palatial and elegant, it was 700
feet long, 300 feet wide and had a 6-story center section with
5-story wings. Painted bright yellow, the 400-room wooden
hotel sported a red Mansard roof and an 18-foot wide, 578-
foot long verandah that wrapped the hotel from its northern
to southern porticos. It also had a bathing casino with a 40 x -
150-foot swimming pool. At the time, Miami was still a raw,
i frontier town with fewer than 1,000 residents.
(M'U+1. , #{ .,. ...« mom::.. -. n, .e.. i- ,, „a. ..., +, m n wwwKrvraxxsd .• .. _ -, _... .,._.. ..... —.-
'a DeForest Sturtevant Tuttle discovered Biscayne Bay in 1875
en she was only 26 years old. She, and her two young children came from
Cleveland, Ohio to visit her parents, Ephraim and Frances Sturtevant who lived in
Biscayne, now Miami Shores. She returned in 1880 and 1882 with her ill husband, Frederick.
After his death in 1886, she was left almost penniless. Resourceful and determined, she turned
her family's home into an upscale boarding house and social gathering place. Aided by an inher-
itance from her parents, by 1890, she was able to get her finances in order and seek new oppor-
tun ities. At age 42, she - her sights on Miami.
She purchased what . p. nsidered prime real estate-644 acres on the north bank of the
Miami RI ' - " e s , Cleveland, she told her friends she planned to build a city there.
• .,
b ; • .., she met r. oad man James Ingraham who worked for Henry
. hag. -- a rail 11.. , . Florida's west coast. Through Ingraham, she
t . ,,. -,_- , ,, tend his railroad to Miami.
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R; b 3 1891. -..
,, ., + :. a�
ti James Ingraham
. Tampa to find a route
" `" the inhospitable terrain
, ""` t 4 # ., Florida East Coast Railroad was inching down the
- him half her land if he would bring
t a ntY � en hanced b da was hit with a freeze that wiped
`. pp ortni the fact that
,, s , ��; by
1 , she sent Flagler a bouquet of orange
iit . ,�' ' '� :'' w ' e. (Hence Tuttle's gesture in the •
Vi a . :
" < < ; (' ''''.:4 see the area 11 . himself. Tuttle offered him half
his r. e e , • - ami, build a hotel and lay out the town. (She
OF t , and Mary Brickell, who owned extensive property on the south
O f . • f the . �` to sign a separate contract with him.) Miami's climate, and
' uttle's ins' e trick.
With the . `,? o ed T uttle b ;,Miami's first stree .... -i \-%_1.1 `' a ` * " ' }
1 y
so �. i, 0,...:-:--_ ' �. . t • * '> w a t` ) _ 7 c -k 4 ,mom : ; ; . , _ _ . ' .. ° r g -ni t' ed.
...,- _
y
' P " a tris m1tcrlall,e. On +,.
, .
ii -,.._ \-.,:.,-, , - ■ --- : '''` the c , she fours d
_ - - it e de ....- -..;....., ----- - . :-.. - ,-- .i.. _------., i
, y : - - i -�. ,� to ,,
-b - — . -'",....„)-• <:-.."-- -
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*la ' * - 4 d ; V I r 1 I t r *r ' .i:Z"
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Lnt Tuttle discovered Biscayne Bay in 1875
L. She, and her two young children came from
its, Ephraim and Frances Sturtevant who lived in _*
eturned in 1880 and 1882 with her ill husband, Frederick.
almost penniless. Resourceful and determined, she turned
Darding house and social gathering place. Aided by an inher-
e was able to get her finances in order and seek new oppor-
on Miami.
;d prime real estate -644 acres on the north bank of the
and, she told her friends she planned to build a city there.
et r. oad man James Ingraham who worked for Henry
, A Florida's west coast. Through Ingraham, she
tend his railroad to Miami.
arry and
bef 13,1891. -.,
James Ingraham
Tampa to find a route
- ca. - , ..%. the inhospitable terrain ;.
7 0.. . . . ,
who e Florida East Coast Railroad was inching down the fw
n with letters offing him half her land if he would bring
inter of 1894-95, Florida was hit with a freeze that wiped
Tuttle saw , opportunity, enhanced by the fact that
1 .
Through.' ' ► , she sent Flagler a bouquet of orange
cted, lay ; . - e. (Hence Tuttle's gesture in the
°..... # t tt ..
` 1 it
mi to see the area ` it himself Tuttle offered him half
o *d To Miami build a hotel and lay out the town. (She
rickell, who owned extensive property on the south
parate contract with him.) Miami's climate, and
' g i - nue ,Miami's first stree I)," n.
Dtel. ' [ , 1 - . frontier town '
s a beginning.
>earing Flagler and other dignit. .. to
of Miami was incorporated and sip mo .1.; er . •
j l iHotel opened. Miami was on its ��at� _ , e,� a,�
; ,
e the city of her dreams materialize. 0 � £ .,r
lied just two years after the city she founder �_
e her death, she predicted the city's future as a ; i =
.s may se far- fetched to you," she said, "but , ‘ z '.. ' 4 „
e j e true . ft - \ k
' r gi p, m . " „, "' ' '`' 1 t -.
.
`r �`�► r
",_ �.�' .� .r - � �. �. � , '.nom' Ir t - • 4. "'�1. F � 4" � : `*
a
w -
- 4Yk'" , -
.+_- ,...y._ -.° .w . . " -- - . _ . ,* r ter.' �,„,,.... , . ,,
..
' 41 7.1r,
The sculpture depicts Julia Tuttle symbolically offering fresh
orange blossoms to the railroad baron Henry Flagler to prove
that the local orange crop did not freeze when the north
Florida crop did in 1894 -5. This convinced Flagler to meet
with her about extending his rail line to the site of Miami.
Julia Tuttle and her orange blossoms have become a symbol
of both her persistence and her vision for the future greatness
of the City of Miami. The bas relief on Tuttle 's skirt tells the
story of the city's founding.
Mrs. Tuttle knows what she is doing. A few years hence it
will be realized that she builded better than the critics
knew and the future residents of Miami will
llsaccord gher
full credit for her plans of today, and
fate that put the founding of Miami in such c15peten6
hands." first edition, Miami Metropolis, May
Many thought Mrs. Tuttle a dreamer —a chaser
after shadows —but the passing years have proven
beyond question that she was a women of grat
a woman who had visions of the future that others were
not permitted to see.
E.V. Blackman, Miami and Dade County Florida,19
The Artists
Eugene Daub and Rob Firmin of Daub & Firmin Studios
designed and sculpted the statue. Julia Tuttle is a good
example of what they enjoy most: representation of
significant historical figure's character, and the person's
work
essential contribution. Daub & Firmin base their w
on extensive research. The artists' work can be seen
across the United States, and includes commemorations
of many our nation's most formative leaders and heroes.
Where to Find Julia Tuttle:
South end of Bayfront Park
near the children's playground