55 Henry Flagler Facts: Founder Of The Florida East Coast Railway!

The Florida east coast railway was made by Henry Flagler

It was built in 1893. He was born in New York City in 1830.

He had a main role in establishing a standard oil company. He was a partner of Sr. John D. Rockefeller and Samuel Andrews. He was an American financier. It is currently owned by Grupo Mexico.

During his stay at St. Augustine hospital for his wife, he saw what Florida was lacking. He started developing industries, communities, and resorts in Florida state. His work led to a Class II railroad operating in the state of Florida. The FEC built the railroad to Key West.

He also made changes to the Florida legislature to change the law to marry his third wife, since his second wife was in an asylum. He was buried in St Augustine alongside his first wife, Mary Harkness.

The Early Life Of Henry Flagler

Henry Morrison Flagler was born on January 2, 1830.

• He was a founder of Standard Oil.
• It was first established in Ohio.
• He was born in New York.
• His father was a Presbyterian minister, Isaac Flagler.
• His mother was Elizabeth Caldwell Morrison Harkness. She had two sons from her previous marriage.
• Flagler's half-brother Daniel left for Ohio and worked in a store. Daniel left to work for his paternal uncle.
• At the age of 14, Henry also joined his brother in the store. He worked for $5 per month and then at a salary of $40 per month.
• He joined his brother and his uncle in a grain business that they started.
• In 1862, the Flagler and York Salt Company was founded by Henry and his brother-in-law. This company was in Saginaw, Michigan. It was a salt mining and production company.
• The company did not work during the civil war, as it required more technical knowledge, which Henry didn't have.
• Henry Flagler received many injuries when he fell at Palm Beach's Whitehall, the mansion he built-in 1913.
• Initially, he lost $50,000, and after that, he lost $50,000 when he borrowed money from his father-in-law.
• In 1866, he entered the grain business with the Harkness Grain Company.

Education Of Henry Flagler

Henry did not have a higher education.

• He studied until eighth grade in local schools in New York.
• When his brother moved to Ohio, he moved there with him at the age of 14.
• He worked in a superstore for some time, then was in the grain business.
• He also started his salt business, for which he incurred great losses.
• After this failure, he started working to repay his debt to his stepbrother.
• He became friends with John D. Rockefeller, who also worked for the Harkness Grain Company as a commission agent.
• Soon after, Cleveland was booming in the oil business, and Rockefeller went to join in on that business.
• In 1867, Rockefeller approached Flagler for some investment in his new venture. He was lent $100,000 by Flagler's stepbrother Stephen V. Harkness.
• He invested the money on the condition that Henry was made a partner in the business of crude oil in the oil industry.
• Producing 10,000 barrels per day, the Standard oil refinery industry became the largest oil refining industry in 1872.
• Flagler decided to build a railroad bridge across St. Johns River and two years later decided to expand Florida holdings.
• Then, Flagler built hotel ventures across Florida.
• Flagler Beach and Flagler County were also named after him.
• Flagler remained at the top of his business in reconstruction.
• The Hotel Ormond is also known as Flagler hotel and is a historical place in Florida.
• Mary Harkness was the first wife and the mother of the three children of Flagler.
• Mary Lily Kenan was the third wife of Henry M Flagler.

Accomplishments By Henry Flagler

He built a railroad as a key west extension alongside the Florida Peninsula.

• Henry Morrison Flagler used his connections as a grain merchant to increase the business of Standard Oil with Rockefeller.
• In 1877, he moved with his family to New York and also moved his Standard oil company there.
• In 1870, Standard Oil of Ohio was formed, which was the largest supplier of kerosene and oil.
• Standard Oil slowly gained a monopoly over all the oil companies across the United States.
• The company had 4,000 miles of pipelines, 5,000 tank cars, 20,000 domestic wells, and more than 100,000 employees.
• He loved St Augustine. He built the St Augustine and Halifax River Railroad, one of the first of Flagler's railroads in Florida.
• The Henry Flagler Museum in Florida is a gilded mansion. It is 100,000 sq ft (9,290 m) in area.
• Flagler dredged a river channel across West Palm Beach.
• The Royal Poinciana Hotel was his first hotel in Palm Beach.
• His second hotel in Palm Beach was Palm Beach inn.
• Flagler College was founded in 1968 as an arts college in St Augustine.

Legacy Of Henry Flagler

He is famously known for his contribution to building Florida's east coast and Palm Beach Estate.

• From Dayton to Key West, Florida's east coast railway was built. This helped a lot in increasing the agriculture and tourism industry of Florida.
• Jacksonville was the only developed area in Florida.
• Flagler was interested in Florida's beauty, and he invested his money in the development of the state, as there were few accessible places in Florida.
• He really liked St Augustine.
• The Ponce de Leon Hotel was built in the year 1885. This hotel had 540 rooms.
• Soon after, he realized that there was no transportation facility to visit his hotel. So, he started building railroads.
• First, he built a railroad bridge.
• Flagler's railroad was across St John's River near the Atlantic Ocean.
• After this, his railroad was extended to Palm Beach.
• He built his hotels in Daytona and Palm Beach after this.
• In 1896, the Florida east coast extended to Biscayne bay.
• In 1905, he built Flagler's folly, spanning seven mi (11 km).
• Key West was the most populated city in Florida.
• The U.S government decided to build the Panama Canal, and Henry thought it was the perfect way for the trade from Cuba and Latin America to travel.
• He built a rental shop near the Miami River.