1896 – The first train of Henry Flagler’s Florida East Coast Railroad arrived in Miami on this date! A year earlier Henry Flagler and Julia Tuttle, Miami’s founder, had reached a deal which would eventually grant Flagler half of Mrs. Tuttle’s land north of the Miami River. The land was for the development of a new city including hotels, streets, docks and other public facilities, laying the foundation for the city of Miami to incorporate in July of 1896. By 1897 approximately 2,000 people inhabited the new town, half of whom were employed in some capacity by Flagler. That first train into the city sparked a century of growth which continues to this date.