Tuesday Tea and Tomes: Last Train to Paradise - the story of Henry Flagler, railroads and gilded age Florida

 

Last Train to Paradise tells the tale of excess to access: the railroad across the ocean

"Last Train to Paradise" tells the tale of excess to access:  The co-founder of Standard Oil, Henry Flagler's, multi-million dollar pursuit of a railroad connection to the southernmost city in the contiguous United States, Key West.

Flagler College, previously a Gilded Age hotel

Statue of Flagler, co-founder of Standard Oil

I became familiar with some of Flagler's legacy in 2016, when my husband, Chris and I embarked on a road trip from Bradenton, Florida to our home in southeast Michigan. Our first overnight stop was in St. Augustine, the oldest city in the US and, in the Gilded Age, a "project" for Henry Flagler.

Once the Ponce de Leon, Flagler College

Chris, recreates hotel guest experience

Flagler, and fellow robber baron, John D. Rockefeller, made millions in the refinement and transport of oil. In his early fifties, Flagler could have rested comfortably on his estimated worth of 100 million dollars (today's equivalent of 2 billion), but, instead, he poured it into developing Florida, including homes and hotels in St. Augustine and Palm Beach.

Flagler was born in New York and, after a few detours in other northern states, eventually moved back. Due to his wife, Mary's, poor health, doctors advised a milder climate  during the colder months of the year. In his late forties, he and his wife traveled south to Jacksonville, Flagler's first introduction to Florida - and he was smitten.

Inside Flagler College, a poster of "Palace in Paradise", the Hotel Ponce de Leon

Unfortunately, Mary Flagler's health did not improve and she died at the age of 47, leaving Henry with a young son to raise. Two years after Mary's death, Flagler married Ida Alice Shourds, one of Mary's nurses. With Ida Alice, he traveled down to St. Augustine and, finding no adequate hotel, built two of his own. In 1888, Flagler's  luxury hotel, the Ponce De Leon, opened its doors to guests. Shortly after, the Alcazar was built to accommodate the overflow from its sister hotel across the street. Though not quite as ritzy as the Ponce De Leon, it offered  spa amenities, like Turkish and Roman baths, which touted health and restorative benefits.

Russian baths inside the Alcazar Hotel

Chris in the foyer of hotel-now-museum

To continue his expansion south, Flagler acquired a few small railroads and continued to build upon them to provide transport to Palm Beach and, eventually, Miami, building homes and hotels along the way.

Alcazar, built after the Ponce de Leon, not quite as ritzy, but many amenities

"The Last Train to Paradise" provides such biographical information, but its main focus is on the final chapter of Flagler's Florida pursuits - the railroad across an ocean, starting from the southern tip of the state's mainland across all the little islands to its ultimate destination, Key West.

The author, Les Standiford, gives detailed accounts of the armies of  laborers and engineering marvels that tackled not only the creation of bridges and passageways, but horrific hurricanes and legions of mosquitoes.

The book begins and ends with the hurricane of 1935, a Labor Day weekend storm of truly epic proportions. Still on record, per a 2017 National Geographic article,  as the "most intense hurricane that has ever struck the United States", it took claim to Flagler's last endeavor.  

We found this book a fascinating account of the development of Florida and Flagler's steadfast conviction to a costly and, ultimately, destroyed dream of a railroad to Key West.  

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On the campus of Flagler College

I learned about "The Last Train to Paradise"  from my cousin, Dianne, when we visited her last fall. She asked if I had heard about Henry Flagler (I had!)  and she recommended and loaned me this book. It brought back memories of our trip to St. Augustine and also, it pushed me to underscore Palm Beach and Key West on my "wish list" of places to visit in the future.

Otto Lightner

Gilded Age furnishings at the Lightner Museum

In 2016, we stopped at both the Ponce De Leon, which transformed into Flagler College in the 1960's, and the Alcazar, now the Lightner Museum. The latter was purchased by Otto Lightner in 1946 (the hotel had permanently closed its doors in 1931 during the Depression) to house his vast array of collections from Gilded Age furnishings to Wedgwood urns. As someone who loves to collect, this struck me as equally incredible and overwhelming. Room after room of fine antiques and curiosities, it becomes a bit daunting, but worth the tour, for sure.

The Alcazar closed its doors in 1931, Otto Lightner purchased it in 1947 to house his vast collections

Next up for BTS in 2022:  Palm Beach and Key West. But, for now, two thumb's up to "Last Train to Paradise" and a big "I'll look forward to going back" to St. Augustine!