Julia DeForest Tuttle (née Sturtevant; January 22, 1849[1] – September 14, 1898) was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami, Florida, was built. For this reason, she is called the "Mother of Miami." She is the only woman to have founded what would become a major American city.[2]
Julia Sturtevant was the daughter of Ephraim Sturtevant, a Florida planter and state senator. She married Frederick Leonard Tuttle on January 22, 1867. They had two children: a daughter, Frances Emeline (b. 1868), and a son, Henry Ethelbert (b. 1870). Julia Tuttle first visited the Biscayne Bay region of southern Florida in 1875 with her husband, visiting a 40-acre (16 ha) orange grove her father had purchased. She loved the experience, but returned to Cleveland, Ohio, with her family.[citation needed]
Moving to southern Florida
Tuttle came to Fort Dallas, Florida, from Cleveland, Ohio, on a steamship after her father and mother had moved to South Florida. A little over ten years later, in 1886, her husband died; the foundry had already been sold. Upon his death, she found that her husband had not been good at managing money. This placed Julia in dire financial straits. To supplement her small income, she had to turn their four-story home into a boarding house and tearoom for young ladies. In 1890, when her father died and left her his land in Florida, she sold her home in Cleveland, Ohio and relocated to Biscayne Bay.[citation needed]
Tuttle used the money from her parents' estate to purchase the James Egan grant of 640 acres (2.6 km2), where the city of Miami is now located, on the north side of the river, including the old Fort Dallas stone buildings, and the two-story rock house built by Richard Fitzpatrick's enslaved workers some 50 years earlier. This was converted into her home. In 1891, Tuttle brought her family to live there. She repaired and converted the home into one of the show places in the area with a sweeping view of the river and Biscayne Bay.[3]
Tuttle immediately decided to take a leading role in the movement to start a new city on the Miami River, but knew that decent transportation (in that time, a railroad) was necessary to attract development. Tuttle tried to induce Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Fort Dallas (Miami), and offered to divide her large real estate holdings if he would do this. She wanted to extend it to that place because she wanted to make it easier to get around. She wrote numerous letters to Flagler in this connection and finally made the trip to St. Augustine and in person repeated her offer. Her efforts were of no avail at that time; however, providence favored Tuttle. The Great Freeze of 1894-1895 devastated the old orange belt of central and northern Florida, destroying valuable groves and wiping out fortunes overnight.
Either Flagler then recalled Tuttle's story of the tropical Biscayne Bay weather and sent some men to investigate, or Tuttle alerted Flagler that the freeze had spared the Miami River, sending as evidence a bouquet of flowers and foliage (possibly oranges) to Flagler, whose order to extend the Florida East Coast Railway was then given. On February 15, 1896, Joseph B. Reilly, John Sewell, and E.G. Sewell, the vanguard of the Flagler forces, arrived, and the work of building the Royal Palm Hotel was commenced.[citation needed]
Under an agreement between the two, Tuttle supplied Flagler with the land for a hotel and a railroad station for free, and they split the remainder of her 640 acres (2.6 km²) north of the Miami River in alternating sections. On April 22, 1896, train service of the Florida East Coast Railway came to the area. On July 28, male residents voted to incorporate a new city, Miami. Thereafter, the city steadily grew from a small town to a metropolis.[citation needed]
Death and legacy
In 1898, Tuttle fell ill with apparent meningitis. Plans were made to move her to Asheville, North Carolina, by rail for treatment, but her condition deteriorated before she could be transported. She died on September 14, 1898, at age 49. Her funeral took place at her Fort Dallas home, and she was buried in a place of honor at the City of Miami Cemetery. Her tombstone notes her year of birth as 1848, while other sources list 1849.
Tuttle died leaving a large amount of debt, partly the result of her altruistic land grants to Flagler. Her children sold her remaining land to pay off the debt. For that reason, her name was mostly forgotten until it was placed on a causeway for Interstate 195 over Biscayne Bay. In contrast, the name of William Brickell, a large landowner on the south side of the Miami River who contributed to Tuttle's efforts to incorporate the city, was widely used on the south side of what became Miami.[citation needed]
Akin, Edward N.. The Cleveland Connection: Revelations from the John D. Rockefeller - Julia Tuttle Correspondences. In Tequesta: the Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, no. XLII (1982). [1]
Frank, Andrew K. Before the Pioneers: Indians, Settlers, Slaves, and the Founding of Miami (University Press of Florida, 2017)
Tuttle Family Papers. Finding aid. Tuttle Family Papers - 1889-1954 -
Wiggins, Larry. The Birth of the City of Miami. In Tequesta: the Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida, no. LV (1995). [2]
Further reading
Sheppard, Elena (2021-12-03). "Overlooked No More: Julia Tuttle, the 'Mother of Miami'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-12-29.
January 23, 2023
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For the Julia Tuttle Causeway see Interstate 195 Florida Julia DeForest Tuttle nee Sturtevant January 22 1849 1 September 14 1898 was an American businesswoman who owned the property upon which Miami Florida was built For this reason she is called the Mother of Miami She is the only woman to have founded what would become a major American city 2 Julia DeForest TuttlePortrait of Julia DeForest TuttleBorn 1849 01 22 January 22 1849Cleveland Ohio U S DiedSeptember 14 1898 1898 09 14 aged 49 Miami Florida U S SpouseFrederick Leonard TuttleChildren2 Contents 1 History 2 Moving to southern Florida 3 Death and legacy 4 References 5 Sources 6 Further readingHistory EditJulia Sturtevant was the daughter of Ephraim Sturtevant a Florida planter and state senator She married Frederick Leonard Tuttle on January 22 1867 They had two children a daughter Frances Emeline b 1868 and a son Henry Ethelbert b 1870 Julia Tuttle first visited the Biscayne Bay region of southern Florida in 1875 with her husband visiting a 40 acre 16 ha orange grove her father had purchased She loved the experience but returned to Cleveland Ohio with her family citation needed Moving to southern Florida EditTuttle came to Fort Dallas Florida from Cleveland Ohio on a steamship after her father and mother had moved to South Florida A little over ten years later in 1886 her husband died the foundry had already been sold Upon his death she found that her husband had not been good at managing money This placed Julia in dire financial straits To supplement her small income she had to turn their four story home into a boarding house and tearoom for young ladies In 1890 when her father died and left her his land in Florida she sold her home in Cleveland Ohio and relocated to Biscayne Bay citation needed Tuttle used the money from her parents estate to purchase the James Egan grant of 640 acres 2 6 km2 where the city of Miami is now located on the north side of the river including the old Fort Dallas stone buildings and the two story rock house built by Richard Fitzpatrick s enslaved workers some 50 years earlier This was converted into her home In 1891 Tuttle brought her family to live there She repaired and converted the home into one of the show places in the area with a sweeping view of the river and Biscayne Bay 3 Tuttle immediately decided to take a leading role in the movement to start a new city on the Miami River but knew that decent transportation in that time a railroad was necessary to attract development Tuttle tried to induce Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Fort Dallas Miami and offered to divide her large real estate holdings if he would do this She wanted to extend it to that place because she wanted to make it easier to get around She wrote numerous letters to Flagler in this connection and finally made the trip to St Augustine and in person repeated her offer Her efforts were of no avail at that time however providence favored Tuttle The Great Freeze of 1894 1895 devastated the old orange belt of central and northern Florida destroying valuable groves and wiping out fortunes overnight Either Flagler then recalled Tuttle s story of the tropical Biscayne Bay weather and sent some men to investigate or Tuttle alerted Flagler that the freeze had spared the Miami River sending as evidence a bouquet of flowers and foliage possibly oranges to Flagler whose order to extend the Florida East Coast Railway was then given On February 15 1896 Joseph B Reilly John Sewell and E G Sewell the vanguard of the Flagler forces arrived and the work of building the Royal Palm Hotel was commenced citation needed Under an agreement between the two Tuttle supplied Flagler with the land for a hotel and a railroad station for free and they split the remainder of her 640 acres 2 6 km north of the Miami River in alternating sections On April 22 1896 train service of the Florida East Coast Railway came to the area On July 28 male residents voted to incorporate a new city Miami Thereafter the city steadily grew from a small town to a metropolis citation needed Death and legacy EditIn 1898 Tuttle fell ill with apparent meningitis Plans were made to move her to Asheville North Carolina by rail for treatment but her condition deteriorated before she could be transported She died on September 14 1898 at age 49 Her funeral took place at her Fort Dallas home and she was buried in a place of honor at the City of Miami Cemetery Her tombstone notes her year of birth as 1848 while other sources list 1849 Tuttle died leaving a large amount of debt partly the result of her altruistic land grants to Flagler Her children sold her remaining land to pay off the debt For that reason her name was mostly forgotten until it was placed on a causeway for Interstate 195 over Biscayne Bay In contrast the name of William Brickell a large landowner on the south side of the Miami River who contributed to Tuttle s efforts to incorporate the city was widely used on the south side of what became Miami citation needed Just as Tuttle is called the Mother of Miami Flagler became known as the Father of Miami Coincidentally both Tuttle and Brickell had previously lived in Cleveland where they first met citation needed In addition to the Julia Tuttle Causeway the memory of Tuttle has been honored with a sculpture in Bayfront Park by Daub and Firmin 4 Julia Tuttle statue in Bayfront Park Miami Julia Tuttle memorial marker in the Miami City CemeteryReferences Edit Wright E Lynne 2001 More Than Petticoats Remarkable Florida Women Guilford Conn TwoDot p 22 ISBN 978 1 56044 993 5 Copquin Claudia Gryvatz January 23 2014 What s the One Major American City Founded by a Woman Parade Andrew K Frank Before the Pioneers Indians Settlers Slaves and the Founding of Miami University Press of Florida 2017 Kelly House 27 July 2010 Julia Tuttle statue arrives The Miami Herald Retrieved 28 July 2010 Sources Edit Biography portalAkin Edward N The Cleveland Connection Revelations from the John D Rockefeller Julia Tuttle Correspondences In Tequesta the Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida no XLII 1982 1 Frank Andrew K Before the Pioneers Indians Settlers Slaves and the Founding of Miami University Press of Florida 2017 Peters Thelma Biscayne Country 1870 1926 Miami Fla Banyan Books c1981 Tuttle Family Papers Finding aid Tuttle Family Papers 1889 1954 Wiggins Larry The Birth of the City of Miami In Tequesta the Journal of the Historical Association of Southern Florida no LV 1995 2 Further reading EditSheppard Elena 2021 12 03 Overlooked No More Julia Tuttle the Mother of Miami The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 2021 12 29 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Julia Tuttle amp oldid 1126175559, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
