Julia Tuttle

Known as the "Mother of Miami", Julia Tuttle worked tirelessy to revatilize the desolate, swampy and isolated land that would one day become home to Miami, and she is known as the only woman to found a major U.S. city. Tuttle owned land that is now known as Biscayne Bay where she grew orange trees, lemon trees, and various other vegetables. She believed a railroad would be a great addition to the land to provide access to area and so she set off to get the attention of one real estate mogul Henry Flagler. The Great Freeze of 1894 wiped out majority of Florida's orange groves, except of course for Julia Tuttle's. After seeing that the Miami area was spared from the Great Florida Freeze, Flagler finally gave in to Tuttle and agreed to build a railroad that would connect Miami to the rest of the U.S. in return for half of her land. The first train arrived in Miami on April 22, 1896, and by July of the same year the city of Miami was officially incorporated, all thanks to Tuttle and her tireless efforts. Tuttle is also noted for creating the town's first bakery, laundry, hotel, and episcopal church. She died in 1898 at the age of 49 leaving behind a large amount of debt that was paid off by the selling of her land, which unfortunately led to her name being forgotten, until the creation of the causeway over 95 by Biscayne Bay that we now know as the Julia Tuttle Causeway.