Henry Morrison Flagler

Abstract

Several people stand out in the development of Florida into a world-class tourist destination, including Walt Disney and his successors, Addison Mizner of Boca Raton, and Henry Plant. The earliest and arguably the most influential of Florida's first developers, however, was Henry Morrison Flagler, who may have invented the concept of the Florida vacation as we know it today. At the very least, the early contribution of Flagler to Florida's tourism industry should not be overlooked. Impressed with the state's salubrious climate, Flagler in 1885 pushed a railway south along the east coast, eventually laying rails all the way to Key West. Along the way he developed a remarkable group of hotels, several of which still stand today, although not all of them still operate as hotels.