William Brickell (May 22, 1817(?) – January 14, 1908) joined

Julia Tuttle Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849 – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she's called the "Mother of Miami." She's the only woman ...

as a co-founder of

Miami Miami is a East Coast of the United States, coastal city in the U.S. state of Florida and the county seat of Miami-Dade County, Florida, Miami-Dade County in South Florida. It is the core of the Miami metropolitan area, which, with a populat ...

, Florida. During the Civil War, Brickell and his wife Mary, whom he met and married in Australia, lived in the

White House The White House is the official residence and workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue Northwest (Washington, D.C.), NW in Washington, D.C., it has served as the residence of every U.S. president ...

while he worked as an aide to President Abraham Lincoln. In 1868, the Brickells purchased two tracts of land, one of which stretched from

Coconut Grove Coconut Grove, also known colloquially as "The Grove", is an affluent and the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhoods of Miami, neighborhood of Miami in Miami-Dade County, Florida. The neighborhood is roughly bounded by North Prospect Driv ...

to the Miami River, which they purchased from Mrs. Harriet English and her brother Richard Fitzpatrick who had acquired it by grant from the

King of Spain The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

. The family moved to southern

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

from

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, arriving by ship in 1871. He and his family opened a trading post and post office in their home on the south bank of the Miami River, near the site of

Fort Dallas Fort Dallas was a military base during the Seminole Wars on the banks of the Miami River in what is now Downtown Miami, Florida, United States. History Old Fort Dallas was established on the plantation of Richard Fitzpatrick and William Englis ...

. The Brickells' neighbor,

, also originally from Cleveland, is credited with attracting the attention of Florida's east coast

railroad Rail transport (also known as train transport) is a means of transport using wheeled vehicles running in railway track, tracks, which usually consist of two parallel steel railway track, rails. Rail transport is one of the two primary means of ...

and

resort hotel A resort hotel is a hotel which often contains full-sized resort facilities with full-service accommodations and luxury amenities. These hotels may attract both business conferences and vacationing tourists and offer more than a convenient plac ...

magnate Henry M. Flagler to extend his interests to the area. Both Brickell and Tuttle contributed land to the Flagler's

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a p ...

, which brought growth and development and put Miami on the map. After William Brickell's death, his widow, Mary Brickell, became one of the young city's prominent real estate developers and managers. Originally, William and Mary Brickell were entombed on their property located at 501 Brickell Avenue, Miami, but in 1946 their daughter Maud Brickell decided to move her parents to Woodlawn Park Cemetery and Mausoleum, now Caballero Rivero Woodlawn North Park Cemetery and Mausoleum.

References

* Beth Brickell. ''William and Mary Brickell: Founders of Miami and Fort Lauderdale.'' The History Press, 2011 1810s births 1908 deaths Businesspeople from Miami Florida pioneers 19th-century American businesspeople {{US-business-bio-1810s-stub

See also

References