| Land Use |
| Year | Month | Day | Event | Related
Resource |
| 1819 | February | 22 | Spain ceded Florida to the United States. Although the two countries signed a treaty in this year, it was not ratified in the U.S. until two years later. | |
| 1821 | | | Temple Pent, a Bahamian immigrant, arrived in the area that would later come to be known as Coconut Grove. He failed in his attempt to officially homestead in the area, but his family settled there anyway and became its first permanent residents. He was nonetheless significant in early Dade County history, serving as Justice of the Peace and the keeper of the Cape Florida lighthouse. | |
| 1823 | July | 03 | Monroe County was created. It not only included all of what would later be Dade County, but all of the land in Florida south of Lake Okeechobee as well. The county seat was in Key West. | display |
| 1825 | December | 17 | The Cape Florida Lighthouse was completed. The site was the southern tip of Key Biscayne. | display |
| 1835 | December | | The Second Seminole War began. One of the incidents that contributed most heavily to its start was the killing of 108 United States soldiers near Bushnell, Florida. The war lasted until 1842 and was the most significant of all the Seminole Wars. Some of the fighting occurred in southeastern Florida, some in the areas that would later be part of the City of Miami. During the war, Fort Dallas was established on the Miami River. | display |
| 1836 | July | 23 | The Seminole Indians attacked the Cape Florida Lighthouse in the midst of the Second Seminole War. They set fire to the structure, but did not manage to completely destroy it. | |
| 1838 | | | Fort Dallas was established. Situated at the mouth of the Miami River, it served as a base for the United States Navy before Florida became a state. It was from this base that the U.S. launched attacks against Florida's Indian population in the Second Seminole War. | display |
| 1842 | | | The military abandoned Fort Dallas following the Second Seminole War. | |
| | William English acquired the Fort Dallas land formerly held by the military. | | | 1844 | March | 09 | Dade's county seat was moved from Indian Key to Miami. It would only be in Miami until 1889, when it was moved to Juno. | |
| 1845 | March | 03 | Florida was admitted to the Union. It was admitted as a slave state, and at the time, almost one half of its 54,447 people were African American. | display |
| 1852 | | | Temple Pent assumed the position of keeper of the Cape Florida Lighthouse. He held the position for one year, but he returned to it after the Civil War. | |
| 1855 | | | The United States reoccupied Fort Dallas. They did so for use in the brief fighting of the Third Seminole War (1855-1858). William English had already abandoned the property in the early 1850s as he headed west for California. This continued fighting discouraged settlement in the Miami area. | |
| 1858 | June | 10 | The United States Army abandoned Fort Dallas. While they had already been forced to reestablish their presence there once before, the end of major fighting against the Seminole tribes marked the end of the fort's usefullness. | |
| 1866 | January | | Temple Pent returned to his position of keeper of the Cape Florida Lighthouse. The first keeper following the Civil War, he held the position for two years, until his death in 1868. | |
| 1867 | | | John Frow became Temple Pent's assistant keeper at the Cape Florida Lighthouse. Upon Pent's death a year later, Frow assumed his vacated position. Frow would also later be the first person to buy property in Cocoanut Grove. | |
| 1868 | | | Edmund D. Besly became the first person to apply for a homestead in the area that is today called Coconut Grove. It was comprised of 160 acres and stretched between today's Twenty-seventh Avenue and the Moorings. After his death, his widow Anna and the newly immigrated Dr. Horace Philo Porter disputed the validity of the claim. Ulimately though, Anna Besley won out and was awarded the homestead in 1875. | |
| 1870 | | | Henry Lum and his 15-year-old son Charles Lum make their initial visit to South Beach. Henry became very interested in raising coconuts. | |
| 1871 | | | The Brickell family arrived from Cleveland. William Brickell immediately purchased a vast stretch of land extending from the Miami River south to today's Coconut Grove. | display |
| 1873 | January | 06 | A post office was established in the area that is today called Coconut Grove. It was the first time that the larger area where the Pent's, Besley's, and Dr. Porter had settled was referred to by name. Some of the settlements had individual names, but the creation of this post office established the area's name as Cocoanut Grove (as it was spelled then). Dr. Porter was its first postmaster. | |
| 1874 | February | 08 | The Cocoanut Grove post office closed when Dr. Porter left Miami to follow his wife to Boston. | |
| 1875 | May | 20 | Anna Besley won control of her deceased husband Edmund's homestead in Cocoanut Grove. | |
| 1877 | | | John Frow bought all of Anna Besly's land in Cocoanut Grove. Later, he would become the area's first land subdivider when he sold part of the 160 acres he obtained from Besly. | |
| 1882 | | | Hamilton Disston, a wealthy Philadelphian, purchased four million acres of swamplands in the Everglades. His engineers worked with the goal of draining the Everglades to serve man. Few at this time understood the crucial significance of this sprawing ecosystem. It would not be long before salt began to seep into Miami's drinking water due to sinking water levels in the Everglades. | display |
| | J. William Ewan officially became the second homesteader in Cocoanut Grove. He had been in the area since 1874, arriving from Charleston, South Carolina. | | | 1883 | January | 06 | Henry Lum purchases two lots of land from the United States government along the ocean north of 11th Street. He paid between $0.75 and $1.25 an acre. | |
| 1884 | | | John Frow became Cocoanut Grove's first land subdivider. He sold parts of his land to his brother Joseph Frow, James A. Waddell, three of his sisters, and several others. He kept forty-three acres for himself. | |
| 1886 | | | Charles Lum builds the first home on Miami Beach. It stood on the site of the present Tides Hotel. | |
| 1889 | February | 19 | The Dade County seat moved from Miami to Juno. It would moved back to Miami ten years later. | |
| 1890 | | | The settlement of Lemon City began to take shape. It was two miles north of the Miami River on the shore of Biscayne Bay. The area - set roughly where today's Biscayne Boulevard and Sixty-first streets intersect - was then called Billy Mettair's Bight. The area had homes, hotels, saloons, and several other businesses. | display |
| 1891 | | | Julia Tuttle and her children arrived in Miami. They did so after purchasing 640 acres on the north bank of the Miami River. It was the old Fort Dallas land. Like the family of William Brickell, hers was from Cleveland. It was there that the two had met. | display |
February | | John Collins, along with two other investors, purchases land in southeastern Florida. Shortly thereafter, Collins invests $5,000 in a soon-to-fail coconut venture on Miami Beach. | display | | 1892 | | | A road linking Lemon City with Lantana in Palm Beach County was completed. Lemon City thus became the first section of Miami to be linked to the cities and towns to the north. | |
| 1893 | April | 16 | John Pent, Temple Pent's son, applied for a homestead in Cocoanut Grove. He was unable to prove his claim just northeast of today's Grand Avenue, however, his son Edward succeeded in doing so roughly a decade later. Even though this failed attempt at a homestead followed others that had been successful, the Pents were still the area's first permanent residents. | |
| 1894 | | | Henry and Charles Lum's coconut venture fails. They leave Miami Beach, and John Collins gains control of their plantation. | |
February | 11 | Henry Flagler's Royal Poinciana Hotel opened in Palm Beach. | display | April | 07 | The Lemon City Library opened. | display | | 1895 | | | Julia Tuttle offered Henry Flagler land if he would agree to extend his railroad to Miami. He accepted her proposal and a contract was signed that allowed for his Florida East Coast Railroad to reach Miami the following year. | |
| 1896 | | | Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle created a district for Miami's black residents. It was between N.W. Sixth and Twelfth streets, and later became known as Overtown. By 1915, most of the city's 5,000 blacks lived in the general vicinity of this community. | |
February | | James E. Lummus arrived in Miami and opened a general merchandise store. He maintained the store until 1908. | display | | 1897 | | | Captain William H. Fulford acquired a 160-acre land patent from President Grover Cleveland through utilization of the Homestead Act. The land surrounded a railroad depot just north of Miami that had been established by the Florida East Coast Railroad a year earlier. Though only a mile from Ojus, the two communities remained separated due to the poor roads and difficult travel conditions. Later, however, all of these lands would be incorporated into North Miami Beach. | |
| | In the 1890s, settlers established farms along the east side of the Oleta River. In this year, the area was named Ojus by Albert Fitch, a farmer who wanted to grow pineapples in the rich soil. The word Ojus is a Seminole word for "plenty" or "lots of", and at that time, farmers in Ojus grew peas, beans, sugar cane, and tomatoes. | | January | | Wilson Alexander Larkins settled in the area of today's South Miami. He came with his family and livestock, building for them a home and a barn. | | January | 16 | The Hotel Royal Palm opened for business fifteen days behind schedule. Henry Flagler built the hotel at a cost of $750,000 to draw passengers onto his new railroad line extending to Miami. The hotel stood until 1931. | display | | 1898 | | | Wilson Larkins opened a dry goods store, and outpost, and established a post office near his home and farm. It was not long after this that people began to settle in the area in greater numbers. | |
June | 24 | The first of 7,000 U.S. troops began to arrive in Miami. Some came to build fortifications on William Brickell's bluff, and some were on their way to fight against the Spanish in Cuba. A wide large area of the northern sector of today’s downtown became their home. Camp Miami, as it came to be known, was near the city's black area. The soldiers provoked several violent incidents there. | display | August | 12 | The last units of Camp Miami dispersed. With the war in Cuba ending so quickly, the soldiers' stay in Miami had only lasted for six weeks and ended before they were ever needed in Cuba. | | October | | William Burdine and his family moved to Miami. "Burdine and Son" had been operating in Bartow, a central-west Florida town, but when William's son John found quick success selling wares to soldiers stationed in Miami, the father made the choice to move the store to the growing city. The store's first home was on South Miami Avenue close to Flagler Street. | | | 1899 | July | 06 | The post office request made by William Larkins was made official, and the area became known as Larkins. He had tried to name the area Manila, but the residents of the area that is today South Miami preferred the name of Larkins. | |
| 1900 | | | The Florida Audobon Society was founded. Early members and patrons included President Theodore Roosevelt, Henry Flagler, future Florida Governor William S. Jennings, and inventor Thomas A. Edison. | |
| 1903 | | | The Army Corps of Engineers began dredging the first opening to the Atlantic Ocean, cutting through mangrove swamps at Government Cut. The project allowed for safer, more direct access to the port of Miami. | |
| 1904 | | | Napoleon Bonaparte Broward was elected Governor of Florida. His campaign promise was to drain much of south Florida, creating an "Empire of the Everglades." | |
| 1905 | March | 14 | Government Cut was completed, linking the Biscayne Bay and Atlantic Ocean. | |
| 1906 | January | 20 | The Halcyon Hall Hotel opened in Miami on the later site of the Dupont building. | display |
| 1907 | | | John Collins discovered fresh water on the island of Miami Beach, leading him to plant avocados as well as other fruits and vegetables. | |
| | John Collins bought out one of his partners and became the sole owner of all land on today's Miami Beach between 14th and 67th Streets and from the bay to the ocean. | | | 1909 | April | 30 | Palm Beach County was created. It had been part of Dade County. | |
October | 01 | The Everglades Land Sales Company opened its office in Miami. Much of the land it sold was purchased sight unseen. | | | 1911 | | | John Collins began construction on the Collins Canal. He wanted a more efficient way to bring his avocados directly to the city. | display |
| | The Florida East Coast Canal (later called, the Intracoastal Waterway) was completed from Jacksonville in North Florida to Biscayne Bay in Miami. | display | November | | A color line was drawn along certain streets throughout Miami. The city's white residents wished to restrict the expansion of areas inhabited by blacks. A year earlier, the 1910 census reported that 42% of the city's residents were black, and at the time, racial conflicts were becoming more common. | | | 1912 | | | Carl Fisher arrived in Miami Beach late in the year. He wanted to develop a new city in and of itself, separate from Miami. | display |
| | Lafe Allen and an associate purchased Captain Fulford's original grant plus additional property with the idea of developing and selling lots. Eventually, they purchased 557 acres of land. | | January | 22 | The Florida East Coast Railway reached Key West, crossing 91 miles of road and 38 bridges. | display | May | | Before the start of construction linking Miami Beach by bridge to the mainland, the Lummus Brothers acquired 500 acres to the south of Collins, from 14th Street to Government Cut. The land was bought from Charles Lum and Edmund Wilson for $80,000. The two brothers established the Ocean Beach Reality Company with a vision of a modest city composed of single-family residences fronting the ocean. The brothers became pioneers of beach-front property sales. | | May | | The U.S. War Department gives developers permission to construct a bridge spanning Biscayne Bay. Realty firms prepared for what they believed would be a surge in population upon the bridge's completion. The bridge would be named the Collins Bridge. | | July | 01 | Thomas Pancoast arrived in Miami. He was secretary and treasurer of the Miami Beach Improvement Company. John Collins was the company's president. Together, both men pursued loans from the Lummus brothers, both of whom were involved in banking. | display | July | 09 | The Ocean Beach Realty Company filed the first plots of land on the beach. The Lummus brothers' plots preceded those filed by John Collins and Carl Fisher five and six months later respectively. | display | | 1913 | | | Joe Weiss, a Jewish waiter from New York, arrived in Miami and opened a lunch stand at Smith's Casino on in Miami Beach. In 1920, he and his wife, Jennie, opened their own restaurant called Joe's on the tip of Miami Beach that specialized in seafood and, eventually, Stone crab. | |
June | 12 | The Collins Bridge was completed. It connected Miami and Miami Beach and was awarded the title of "the longest wagon bridge in the world." | display | | 1914 | | | The W.J. Brown Hotel opened on Miami Beach. It was the first hotel to open on the island. | |
| | Collins Avenue, the first paved road on Miami Beach, opened. It was the first road on the island suitable for automobiles. | display | | 1915 | | | J.N. and J.E. Lummus sold some of their oceanfront property to Miami Beach for $40,000. To be named Lummus Park, the land was dedicated as both a public park and beach. | |
| | Carl Fisher cleared Lincoln Road. | display | March | 26 | John Collins, the Lummus brothers, and Carl Fisher consolidated their efforts and successfully incorporated the Town of Miami Beach. At the time, the Beach had three hundred residents, but a mere thirty-three registered voters. They elected J.N. Lummus as the first mayor of Miami Beach. | | April | 30 | Broward County was created. It had previously been part of Dade County. | | December | 04 | The Miami Traction Company began service with "Battery Cars". At the same time, other operators began to spread across the city. Winslow Bus Lines served Hialeah and Northwest Miami, the Miami Transit Company - operated by Freeman & Sons - served the section of the city north and east of Flagler, and the Dunn Bus Company served the area south of Flagler into Coconut Grove. | | | 1916 | | | The Lummus brothers offered free lots to anyone who promised to build homes on their land. | |
| | Fisher opened the Lincoln Hotel. It stood at the corner of Washington Avenue and Lincoln Road. | display | | | Miami residents voted on Ordinance 199, the "Color Line Ordinance." It did not pass, but through racism and intimidation, whites severely restricted the movements of blacks out of "colored town." | | | 1917 | | | Lafe Allen made plans for a "perfect city" calling for 80-foot wide residential streets and 100 and 125-foot wide business thoroughfares. Today, the area's street layout is as the pioneer pictured it then with wide avenues named Fulford Boulevard (now known as NE 172nd Street) and Flagler Boulevard (now known as NE 19th Avenue). Then referred to as Fulford-by-the-Sea, today the area is North Miami Beach. | |
| | The Napoleon Bonaparte Broward Drainage District was created. The project's goal was to drain and reclaim a half million acres in Broward and northern Dade Counties. | display | October | | The U.S. government purchased thirty-one acres of lowlands at Dinner Key in Coconut Grove. They immediately began filling in the marsh in order to create an instructional facility for the Navy. | display | | 1918 | | | The County Causeway was completed and the mainland and Miami Beach were connected at 5th Street. It was called the County Causeway until 1942 when the city renamed it the MacArthur Causeway. | display |
| | The Tamiami Trail began to extend further west. In this year, forty-three miles were completed. | display | | 1919 | | | The lower southeast coast of Florida opens to automobile traffic for the first time when Dixie Highway was completed through Broward County. | |
| 1926 | January | 10 | The 241-foot barkentine Prins Valdemar overturned in Miami's harbor blocking the ship channel for several weeks. Construction stalled across the city, as much-needed lumber sat on ships that were unable to access the port. | |
| 1934 | | | The Everglades National Park was created. Congress authorized 2,164,480 acres to be acquired for the park through public and private donations. Some of the largest landowners in the Everglades sought a minimun price for their land. The price of $5.00 per acre was chosen. | display |
| 1936 | December | 20 | Parrot Jungle Island opened. Started by Franz Scherr and originally located on Red Road, one hundred visitors paid twenty-five cents admission to see twenty-five birds and the flora and fauna of his park on this first day. Today, Parrot Jungle is home to over one thousand birds and has moved to a site along the MacArthur Causeway between Miami and Miami Beach. The original grounds on Red Road remain, and the park has renamed as Pinecrest Gardens. | |
| 1942 | April | 20 | Construction began on the Richmond Naval Air Station. It was on the site of today's Metroozoo. | |
| 1945 | September | 15 | A major hurricane hit southern Dade County. Many structures were destroyed. Several buildings on the Richmond Naval Air Station were among those destroyed, including the base's blimp hangars in a large fires. | |
| 1947 | | | The Everglades National Park was dedicated. President Harry Truman was there for the dedication. | |
| | Marjory Stoneman Douglas released The Everglades: River of Grass. It was a landmark book in educating people on the significance of preserving and protecting the Everglades ecosystem. | display | | 1949 | | | The Casablanca Hotel opened. Roy France designed the hotel, which was named after the famous film staring Humphrey Bogart. The hotel can be described as Modernist in its design, but it also incorporated elements of the International Style and Hollywood-themed kitsch. The latter of these came to influence the way developers in Las Vegas, Nevada designed their resorts decades later. | display |
| 1953 | | | The Lido Spa opened on Belle Isle along the Venetian Causeway. | |
| 1968 | | | Biscayne Bay was listed as a national monument. Congress cited its "rare combination of terrestrial, marine, and amphibious life in a tropical setting of great natural beauty." | |
| 1976 | | | Florida's state legislature created the South Florida Water Management District. | display |
| 1979 | | | The Everglades were designated as a World Heritage Site by the United Nations. | display |
| | Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaragua's ousted dictator, fled to Miami. Along with other members of his fallen government, roughly 15,000 wealthy Nicaraguans moved into or purchased residences in Miami during the late 1970s. The primary areas of concentration for these moves and purchases were Key Biscayne, Brickell Avenue, and the western suburb of Sweetwater. | | | 1980 | | | Biscayne Bay National Park was established. As the status was changed from a national monument to a national park, Congress authorized the acquisition of new keys and reefs in the bay. | display |
July | 07 | The Metrozoo opened. This first section was twenty-five acres. | display | | 1987 | | | The Everglades were designated as a Wetland of International Importance. An intergovernmental treaty, the Convention on Wetlands, aimed to promote conservation and wise use of the area. | display |
| 1988 | February | 01 | The American Airlines Arena was built with dredging from the bay. | |
| 1989 | | | The Everglades National Park Protection and Expansion Act of 1989 was passed. The act authorized the Army Corps of Engineers to restore, as much as possible, the park's natural hydrological conditions, and the purchase of 107,000 additional acres of land to increase water flow on the park's eastern side. | |
| 1994 | | | The Everglades Forever Act was passed. Passed by Florida's state legislature, this act underwrote $685 million for construction, land acquisition, and water treatment. $320 million was to come from sugar farmers to clean up farm runoff, and the rest was to come from taxpayers. | display |
| 2000 | | | Miami Beach was named the #1 Urban Beach by the Surfrider Foundation. | |
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