Remembering Miami Pioneer Kathryn Highleyman

Wife to Miami pioneer developer and councilman, Locke T. Highleyman, Kathryne became an active member of Miami's art and culture community. She passed away on February 20, 1979.

Cover: Locke and Katherine Highleyman standing on Katherine Street, today’s SE 14th Street, in Point View in 1913. Courtesy of Daly Highleyman.

On February 20, 1979, pioneer Kathryn Highleyman died at the age of 97. She was the wife of Locke T. Highleyman, who developed the subdivision Point View in Brickell, as well as Hibiscus and Palm Islands. She was considered a cultural leader from the time of her arrival in Miami in 1903 and was the oldest living member of the Miami Pioneers Club at the time of her passing.

Kathryn, who studied in Paris, maintained an interest in the arts throughout her life. She was very active in a number of organizations including: the Opera Guild, Greater Miami Symphony Orchestra, Lowe Art Gallery, Fairchild Gardens, Florida Historical Society of South Florida and the Audubon Society of South Florida.

Figure 1: Sanborn Map of the Point View subdivision in 1918.

Until the Chaille Plan, which provided the street naming scheme in Miami based on a grid system, was enacted in 1920, SE 14^th Street in the Brickell neighborhood was once named Kathryn Street. Locke Highleyman named the street in his wife’s honor while developing the Point View subdivision. Kathryn was survived by her daughter, Tiffin Shenstone, and her son Daly Highleyman, who passed away on December 31, 1990.

Related Content:

• Article: Point View Subdivision

Figure 2: Caption of Katherine Highleyman in the 1920s. Courtesy of Daly Highleyman.