The Key West citizen. [volume] (Key West, Fla.) 1879-current, 1939-03-23
LAND In THE MAKING
Norwegian A American Writer Dwells on the Tortuga
Development of Key West, Rich in History and
Tradition, Rgenerated by Federal Funds
From "Nordisk Tidende', Brooklyn, N. Y.

the CubanS came. They made
it the cigar center of the United
States, and also sponge fishing
became a prosperous industry.
Flagler-the Visionary
In those days, there lived in
Florida a very remarkable man.
A railroad man. He had built the
East Coast Railroad to Miami
and he had preached the gospel
of sunshine and oranges, of salt
water and sand, and hundreds of
thousands had come in response
to his sermons. Now he was be-
ginning to get old, but his keen
brain was working even better,
and it is told that one night he
called his Board of Directors to-
gether and he said to them, II
have had a vision. i have had an
inspiration. Other men have built
railroads through the mountains
and under the rivers. / am going
to build a railroad into the sea.
We will start from here and build
a railroad to Key West. We will
build it into the ocean itself.
Every once in a while, we will
anchor it on one of the Keys, it is
only 80 miles left to Cuba, and
that will come later. People
laughed at this idea. Some people
called it "Flagler's Folly. Seven
years later the first train pulled
into Key West. Henry Flagler,
the master builder, had done II.
But long before Flagler, greater
builders than he had been at
work. In the soft murmurnig of
the sea small jelly-like creatures
grew. They surrounded them
selves with a hard shell and they
built one on top of the other and
made under water mountains of
coral rock. Such a rock is Key
West, the town located in the
middle of the sea, living of the
sea, and actually is the child of
the sea.
Then, one day, the waves
washed in a seed and that seed
grew into a tree and because it
was hard for its root to find hold
} in the rock, and the waves were
washing and the wind was blow
ing, this tree braced itself and it
yset out more roots in all direc-
StionS' and some of the branches
turned down and formed still
more roots. These held fast to
the sand and sea-grasS that
washed in. When finally the tree
died, its remains were mixed
with the sand and sea-grass, and
! it had prepared a better place for
the tree that was to follow. Just
the same as you and I try to pre-
pare for those who are to follow
us.
1t Is A Land in the Making
This process of building new
land has recovered from the sea
some of what the sea has taken
away from us. You can actually
stand there and see the land
grow. Very hard times came to
Key West 1t lost the cigar indus
try. It's sponge fishing dwindled
away. 1t had no more ship salv-
aging, because the waters are too
we'll marked. The government
took away its Navy and Army
personnel and in 1885 part of the
railroad blew away. Like most all
railroads it was not making
money any more and they re-
fused to rebuild it.
From being the richest town
in Florida, it sunk to be one Of
the poorest. It began gradually
to decay. Houses were not paint
ed any more. The porches rotted
away and the people suffered.
LBut the.Key- Westers began look
ing at those fine bridges that
Flagler had built-the piers and
the arches were still standing.
Some one began to wonder how
good were they below water,
and some one else took the in
itiative to look into that, and
they found they were as good as
when they were built 80 years
before, and they said, IF Flag
Ter could build a railroad, why
can't we build a modern high
way on the top of the bridges"
Engineers estimated and planned
and they found out they would
need about four million dollars.
1t was then that they sent dele
CATION up to Washington, and
there was a man there, who, aft
er hearing of their plan, said,
My friends, here is check.
IS A New Lease On Life
So,, today you get in your car
in Miami-you cross bridge after
bridge, and island after island.
Your motor is humming over the
waves. You are driving out into
the sea. You are on the oversee
highway. 1t is the last glorious
| stretch,-it is the climax of U. S.
Route No. / from land of Maine
i a. 4hn Lard In the Making And