John William Watson Sr. (October 31, 1859 - February 8, 1942) was an American politician and businessman who served in a number of elected positions throughout Florida.

Biography

Watson was born on October 31, 1859, in North Carolina. He studied at

Raleigh Academy Raleigh Academy, also Raleigh Male Academy for a period after the American Civil War, was a prominent school in Raleigh, North Carolina that lasted about 80 years until a governor's mansion (North Carolina Executive Mansion) took over its site. It ...

then traveled and worked various jobs. He eventually settled in Kissimmee, Florida where he established a hardware business and became active in local and state politics. He expanded the business to Miami and eventually moved there, building an edifice that would be known as the Watson Building, downtown. Watson was elected as state representative for the area that included Kissimmee and later Miami. He was later elected

Speaker of the Florida House of Representatives The speaker is the Speaker (politics), presiding member of the Florida House of Representatives. The Speaker and his staff provide direction and coordination to employees throughout the House and serve the members in carrying out their constitut ...

and a member of the

Florida Senate The Florida Senate is the upper house of the Florida Legislature, the State legislature (United States), state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida, the Florida House of Representatives being the lower house. Article III, Section 1 of the C ...

and served as the City of Miami's 6th and 8th Mayor. His first Miami election was a landslide. In between political victories, he owned a grocery store, hardware company and grapefruit grove among his multiple business endeavors. He built several buildings in Miami which became important to the city's growth and long-term development. The Watson family is considered to be among Miami's first settlers as they arrived before the railroad to town was complete. Watson testified before the House of Representatives' Committee on Indian Services regarding his first-hand knowledge of Seminole ''Indian'' culture and his distaste for the plans to drain the Everglades. He ran for Florida Governor unsuccessfully in 1911–1912.

Watson Island Watson Island is a neighborhood and man-made island in Biscayne Bay, in Miami, Florida. It is located Immediately east of the Central Business District and Arts & Entertainment District neighborhoods of downtown Miami and is connected to the m ...

is named after him. He died on February 8, 1942, at the age of 82, in Miami, Florida. He is buried in the Miami City Cemetery.

Fraternal and civic affiliations

Fraternally he was connected with the Masonic order, the

Knights of Pythias The Knights of Pythias is a Fraternal and service organizations, fraternal organization and secret society founded in Washington, D.C., on . The Knights of Pythias was the first fraternal organization to receive a charter under an Act of Co ...

, and the

Elks The Embeddable Linux Kernel Subset (ELKS), formerly known as Linux-8086, is a Linux-like operating system kernel. It is a subset of the Linux kernel, intended for 16-bit computers with limited processor and memory resources such as machines pow ...

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * ''Hon. John W. Watson.''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

, vol. 2, no. 110, 19 Mar. 1912, p. Page Three. * ''John W. Watson, Nominated Mayor I First Primar''y -

, July 23, 1913, Page One.

External links

The Magic City Miami History
Findagrave
Mayors of Miami Speakers of the Florida House of Representatives Democratic Party members of the Florida House of Representatives Knights of Pythias 1859 births 1942 deaths 20th-century members of the Florida Legislature {{Miami-stub

Biography

Fraternal and civic affiliations

See also

References

External links