Early in 1567, Father Juan Rogel, S.J., and Brother Francisco Villareal, S.J., returned to La Florida, the former moving to a military outpost near Charlotte Harbor in Calusa Indian country, while the latter settled among the Tequesta Indians near the…
The rich history of Greater Miami reaches back at least 10,000 years, or for nearly 350 generations, if we employ the old benchmark of thirty years as constituting a generation. Our awareness of the presence of these early people is…
It is hard to imagine that a simple mosquito bite could lead to an epidemic that would quarantine an entire city for several months. If you live in South Florida, it is nearly impossible to avoid being bitten by the…
As joyous as the holiday season of 1896 was for the South Florida community, there was foreboding on the part of its lone newspaper, the Miami Metropolis, over the damage a fire could bring to its wood frame buildings, and…
Christmas 1896 in the newly-incorporated city of Miami was euphoric for many of its estimated 1,000 residents, who exhibited feelings of pride in for the transformation of a wilderness into an instant municipality in less than one year. In fact, some were already calling it the “Magic City.”