Ralph M. Munroe encouraged his northern friends to visit Coconut Grove for the winter. In later years, many would make it their permanent homes and lay the foundations for its first institutions.
"I wrote the Peacocks at Fort Dallas to find a bit of waterfront, build a house and I would come to advise and help as best I could in the establishment of a hotel and help as best I could ... When the house was finished I must admit that there was…