Julia Tuttle woos Henry Flagler south
Railroad magnates Henry B. Plant and Henry M. Flagler laid tracks into south Florida in the late 1800s. Expecting population growth and advertising the exotic pleasures of Florida, both built lavish Florida hotels in an effort to create a new American Riviera. The proliferation of the railroads allowed growers to ship their products with great speed and brought ever-increasing numbers of people into the state to make their fortunes from bountiful fruit trees. The railroads also helped shift the concentration of citrus into central and south Florida after the great freeze of 1895, when transportation routes to the market became available.