Cover: Brickell family members at their Brickell Point residence in 1906
The story of Miami’s Brickell neighborhood begins with the journey of William Brickell from Steubenville, Ohio, to the mine fields of San Francisco during the Gold Rush of 1849, and then onto Albury, Australia where Brickell not only found his riches, but met his wife, Mary Bulmer. The couple had their first child in Australia, but decided to move to the United States where they grew their family to six children by the time they moved to the south bank of the Miami River. In total, they had eight children.
The Brickell’s arrived in New York in the early 1860s. From there they moved to Pennsylvania, Washington DC, California, but ultimately settled in William’s home state of Ohio. By 1867, Mary had tired long winters in Ohio and tasked William with finding property in the south to find a climate similar to Australia. William eventually met Harriet English who was selling approximately 2,500 acres of land in South Florida.
After a visit to the area, William agreed to purchase the entire acreage from Harriet English. While the transaction did not officially close until 1874, the Brickells moved to the mouth of the Miami River in 1871. They established a trading post and a post office on what became known as Brickell Point, where they served a very sparsely populated region until the incorporation of Miami in 1896.
Watch Part One of the History of Brickell Point to learn more about the Brickell family and the historic parcel of land located at the southern point along the mouth of the Miami River.
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