Miami Pioneer Merchant Arrives in 1896

On February 6, 1896, pioneer merchant Isidor Cohen arrived to the future City of Miami. Cohen opened the first store on Brickell Point, which he later moved to Flagler Street.

Cover: Isidor Cohen with a background of Flagler Street in the early 1900s.

On February 6, 1896, Isidor Cohen disembarked in Miami, three months ahead of the arrival of the first train. Although the Sewell brothers opened their clothing shop shortly after Isidor’s store opening, Cohen is credited with being the first merchant to open a retail establishment just prior to the incorporation of the City of Miami. He established his clothing shop on the south side of the Miami River in a small building on Brickell Point. He was also credited with being Miami’s first permanent Jewish settler.

According to his autobiography, Isidor Cohen initially approached Julia Tuttle about leasing a place to open his store on the north side of the river, but when he was told that he needed to wait for the land to be cleared and streets laid out, after which lots would be put on sale. He told her that he could not wait, and she suggested that he take a job clearing land. His response to Tuttle invoked his Jewish heritage:

“I tried to impress this naïve lady that the last labor of this character my race had performed was in the land of Egypt, and that it would be a violation of my religious convictions to resume that condition of servitude.”

It was after that interaction with Tuttle that Cohen struck a deal to have a small structure on Brickell Point to open what would become the first store in Miami. Given that most of the activity and people were hard at work on the north side of the river, Isidor had to ensure his clients had transportation to reach Brickell Point on the south side. There was no bridge across the river and the only way to cross was to take the Brickell ferry. After learning how much Mary Brickell was charging passengers to shuttle from one bank of the river to the other by ferry, Cohen secured a small rowboat to transport his customers.

Figure 1: Ad in the first City Directory published in 1904.

Once his store on Brickell Point was open for a month, Isidor Cohen realized that he needed to be on the north side of the river in order to have a viable business. By the end of March 1896, Cohen moved to a store at 303 Twelfth Street, which is roughly just west of East First Avenue on Flagler Street based on today’s address scheme.

Figure 2: Early photo of Isidor Cohen’s store. Date unknown.

In addition to being the first merchant, Cohen was very civic minded and involved in a lot of early Miami organizations. From 1902 to 1906 he was president of the Miami Merchant’s Association, and he served as treasurer and trustee of the Miami Board of Trade in 1906-07. He was also president of the Dade County Fair Association in 1908.

Cohen provided a detailed account of his time in early Miami, from the time of his arrival through the first couple of decades, in his autobiography entitled ‘Historical Sketches and Sidelights of Miami, Florida,’ which was published in 1925. His account of his memories after arriving in South Florida in February of 1896 provides details of what life was like during the formative years of Miami.

Figure 3: Cohen family in 1919. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

Resources:

• Book: “Historical Sketches and Sidelights of Miami, Florida” by Isidor Cohen.

• Book: “Jews of Greater Miami” by Marcia Jo Zerivitz, Jewish Museum of Florida.

• Book: “L’Chaim! The History of the Jewish Community of Greater Miami” by Seth Bramson.