Section 2.2: Julia Tuttle, Flagler & the Birth of Miami

The Flagler Museum in Palm Beach — a Gilded Age mansion turned National Historic Landmark.

While exploring Florida’s colorful history, visitors will learn that it was Miami businesswoman Julia Tuttle who encouraged Flagler to extend his Florida East Coast Railway farther south from Palm Beach—she sent him fresh produce and orange blossoms to demonstrate that Miami was unaffected by a freeze gripping most of the state. Flagler not only brought the railway to Miami but went all the way to Key West via the monumental project called the “Eighth Wonder of the World” at the time—the Overseas Railroad, which remained in operation until the Labor Day hurricane of 1935. All was not lost, however—the railroad trestles and foundations were later used to create the Overseas Highway, a 113-mile scenic highway that runs through the Florida Keys to Key West. It’s part of U.S. Route 1 and is the only road that spans the entire Florida Keys chain. 

Visitors can delve into Flagler’s history at the palatial Flagler Museum, formerly Whitehall, his Gilded-age mansion in Palm Beach, called “grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world” when it was completed in 1902. Today, this National Historic Landmark displays priceless period furnishings, works of art and sculptures. 

The Breakers Palm Beach — an iconic oceanfront resort known for its timeless luxury. Photo courtesy of The Breakers Palm Beach.

In 1896 Flagler built the Palm Beach Inn (renamed The Breakers in 1901) overlooking the Atlantic Ocean in Palm Beach. A five-diamond and oceanfront property, The Breakers is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and spreads out over 140 acres on the island of Palm Beach. 

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Flagler Museum

When it was competed in 1902, the New York Herald proclaimed that Whitehall, Henry Flagler’s Gilded Age estate in Palm Beach, was “more wonderful than any palace in Europe, grander and more magnificent than any other private dwelling in the world.” Today, Whitehall is a National Historic Landmark and is open

to the public as the Flagler Museum, offering self-guided tours, changing exhibitions, and special programs.

The 2026 Spring Exhibition, “Golden Hour: Charles Courtney Curran and the Romance of American Impressionism,” is on view through May 24th. Blending the elegance of the Gilded Age with the airy brushwork of American Impressionism, Curran’s paintings, filled with women in flowing white dresses, playful children, and lush floral landscapes, offer a luminous vision of summer at its most poetic.

Visit the Flagler Museum to learn more about Henry Flagler’s impact on the development of the state of Florida and America’s Gilded Age.

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