#071a History of MB by Pete Chase 1958
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Miami Beach History, by, O. W. "Poto" Chaco.
Back in tho 1880' s throe fruit farmers from Ne\., J eraey decided there was 0. fortune
in grouing coconuts here on Hhat io now Uiar.d. Beach.
......
The land here con-
dated of just a. sand strip along the ooeanfront, :ror 0. distanoe back from the ocean
of about 400 feet.
Thoro \'iUe one small area' of blaok soil where 41st. & Pine Tree
Drive is nO"T 10oated.
Thosc f'armers bo I t several mi loa of land hore and bro I t two
sailing schooners of coconuts f'rom Jmnica.
They planted thousands of these nuts
as seed 0.11 along this oceanfront, .... eJ"4d then went away 'for about ten years, ....
believing that when they OG!Ue baok these sood oooomda "lOuld' be gro;-m trees, each
bearing dozens of coconuts each' year, .... and there was their fortune made.
However they forgot that there wore \iild rabbit~' here. .....
and rabbits love to eat the tmlder shoots of a newly JD:lll sprouted cocon\.tt. ......
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~fuen the three famere returned, .... they found only a few gl'O\i1ng ooconut trees.
Tuo of the farmers gave up.
.... The third was an elderly
mun named Co llino.
He had discovered the amall patoh of black soil, and liking
the olimate 30 much, he bolt out his t,,1O partners and started growing mangos e.nd
o.vacodoo.
t'.'hon }/dami Cot:m1el10ed gro\iing 0.1000 about 1912 or 1;, kB Oolli11s
dijcided to out up some' of' the ooeanf'ront strip into small lots, ..... but he f'ound
that \-Ii th t.'I&e only man a of getting over hera being by baht;. .... people would not
buy. .... So he decided to build a \-lOoden bridge from J.1iami to the beach, ....
but he ran out of money.
. -.. ..
Oarli. ,G. Fieher,
...
the man "Tho renlly ma.de Pia-ami Beach \1hat it
is today ha.d como to Minmi. as a winter visitor.
He had becamo several times a
millionaire thru' the manufaoture of' tho old gas head-lights f'or the tlUtomobilo, plus
the Indianapolis Speedway, llhioh he and his partnor built.
.....' Oollins and his
son-in-law, Pancoast \-lout to Fisher to borroy' 050,000.00 to oomplote their wooden
bridge. ... As a bonuo they gave Fisher 0. strip of' land f'rQD. the ocean to the bay, ...
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and f'rom what is nO\1 15th. Street to ti:Bt. 19th. , street.
....
Exoept for the 400 rt..
otrip along the ocean, .... this land was a jungle swamp. ..... Fieher decided to fill
it in, ...... and that wa.e the begining of his spending many millions of dollars, meldng
Miami Beach ,.,hat it is today.
r
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#2. /' Who was Oarl G. Fisher, .... How did
he...:hOJce his f'ortune. .... How did he ho.ppen to
come here. ..... What he did in turning Miami
Beach from a jungle swamp to who.t it became.
#3. - Some of Carl Fisher's publicity that
bro't Miami Beach to the attention of the U.S.
'0" Rosie the elephant.... 12 of the great
race drivers in a boat raoe with exact boats.
.... Polo. .... 4 Golf Courses in a town of
only 5,000 ..0 Also 4 Fblo Fields. etc.
#4. The time Rosie the Elephant turned on
her imported Indian trainer.
II? The "Great Name" people Fisher bro It
to Miami Beach when it was an unheard of town.
Firestone, Seiberling, Edsel Ford, Kettering,
Chapin, Harding, Hoover, Al.Smith, Dempsey,
Tilden, etc. etc.