HOMESTEAD CENTENNIAL TIMELINE
1898 South Dade County opens for homesteading
1902 William J. Krome surveys South Florida to determine location of Florida East Coast
Railway Key West extension.
1905 The Key West Extension begins, workers from the Bahamas assist in construction.
1907 First school opens in Homestead
1909 First Baptist and First United Methodist Church formed.
1912 Homestead’s first bank opens at the corner of Krome Avenue and Mowry Street.
1913 The Town of Homestead is incorporated with a population of 121 people and 28
registered voters.
1915 The Royal Palm State Park is opened by the Florida Federation of Women’s Clubs.
Homestead gets it first gas station at the corner of Krome Avenue and Flagler Street and the bank
is robbed.
1917 Town Hall (43 N. Krome Avenue) is built, along with first electric plant and the first
fire truck is purchased.
1923 Homestead becomes a city. The Chamber of Commerce is formed. Population grows to
3,360.
1924 Fannie Starr Turner, a Spellman Seminary graduate develops the first formal school for
African American children with an eventual student body of 100 students. Curriculum included
Latin, algebra, science art, music and drama.
1927 Lawrence Mark McClain, a Bahamian worker on the Florida East Coast Railroad,
homesteaded 160 acres south of Mowry Street, and turned it into “McClain’s Addition”, one of
the first subdivisions in Homestead with lots 25’x75’.
1925 The South Florida Real Estate Boom peaks. Homestead High School is established and
the Homestead Rotary Club receives its charter.
1926 Ed Leedskalnin starts constructing “Coral Castle”, the Card Sound bridge opens and in
September “the Great Hurricane of 1926” hits the southeast coast of Florida and destroys the real
estate boom. The First Presbyterian Church is chartered.
1930 The population declines to 2,319
1932 The First National Bank of Homestead is established.
1935 The Labor Day Hurricane destroys the railroad to Key West. Homestead Baptist Church
converted into emergency hospital, Homestead residents are first responders to hundreds of Keys
victims.
1938 A highway to Key West opens, using the railroad right of way and bridges.
1939 The Lily Lawrence Bow Library is built as a WPA project. Franklin D. Roosevelt visits
Florida City.
1942 Lt. Col. William Plummer activates the former Pan Am Services Air Field into a fully
operational military base, Homestead Army Air Field.
1945 Hurricane closes Homestead Army Air Field
1947 Royal Palm State Park becomes Everglades National Park, President Truman
participates in dedication.
1950 Retired military helps increase local population, local population is 4,573.
1953 Homestead Air Force Base is reestablished.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis turns Nation’s attention to possible missile attack, three missile
sites established in farm land of the Redland.
1965 A permanent Nike Missile Site is built and manned inside the Everglades National Park.
1965 Aerojet facility is built ad manned testing solid rocket fuel vs liquid fuel. Three firing
occurred between 1965 and 1967. 1986 Aerojet sold most of its land to the South Dade Land
Corporation.
1972 Turkey Point Nuclear Power Station commissioned.
1975 New Homestead City Hall is constructed and local government moves off of Krome
Avenue to US 1 and Campbell Drive.
1983 Homestead population has increased to 25,000.
1992 Hurricane Andrew devastates Homestead with a direct hit.
1993 Homestead Miami Speedway groundbreaking
1995 First race at Homestead Miami Speedway.
2012 Homestead population has increased to 62,000
0 comments:
Post a Comment