South Florida's history is mostly recent.  As late as 1870 there were only 100 people residing in Miami-Dade County.   One of the oldest settlements was Coconut Grove, where a post office was established in 1873.  Miami simply  popped into existence as a tourist town with the arrival of the railroad and the building of one of the railroad's hotels in 1896.

     Miami grew quickly in the next twenty years.  But then came The Boom. The Boom, from 1920 to 1926, was the greatest land speculation bubble the world has ever known.  At the crest, in 1925, every statistic was fabulous. In that year 971 subdivisions were platted, 481 hotels were built.  It was estimated that one third of the cash in the United States was stuffed into Miami banks.  In 1924 the Miami Herald became, for two years,  the world's largest newspaper.  Things began to slow down in 1926 and then came the September hurricane.  Boom turned into bust.  The Great Depression began in Miami several years earlier than the rest of the country.

     But while the rest of the country was mired in depression another, smaller boom began in Miami Beach.  It was the time of the building of hundreds of art deco hotels and apartment buildings.  Movies such as "Flying down to Rio" in Pan Am's clipper ships and enjoying the "Moon Over Miami"  popularized Miami throughout the entire world in the 1930's as a premier resort city.

     Miami was also one of the nation's leading centers of aviation. The Opa-Locka airport became a Naval Air Station and was the only dirigible docking port in the United States south of Lakehurst. The Graf Zeppelin, the USS Akron and the USS Macon all visited Miami in the 1930's.

     With the coming of war in 1941,  tourism and construction abruptly stopped.  But fortunately for Miami, it became a major center for military training for the allies. After the war, Miami started growing again.  Air conditioning made it more livable all year 'round.  The arrival of jet airplanes solidified Miami's position as the capital of the caribbean.   Miami was the headquarters of Eastern Airlines, National Airlines, and Pan Am's main base.   One amazing story was the transformation of Miami's ethnic makeup.  In 1940 there were 8,000 Jews in the Miami area.  This increased to 55,000 in 1950, 140,000 in 1960, and 230,000 in 1970.

     But Miami was still an all-American tourist town until 1959.  The Cuban revolution changed that.  Tens of thousands of well educated Spanish speaking exiles poured into Miami, transforming it into a cosmopolitan city.  Key Biscayne had a moment in the spotlight when it became Nixon's winter White House.   The year 1972 was notable for the Miami Dolphins' completing football's first and only perfect season plus winning Super Bowl VII.

     Then came drugs.  And the notorious wealth of drug money.  Our image was popularized as "Miami Vice" with the five year (1984-1989) run of the TV series starring Don Johnson.   In 1985 Mel Fisher found the $450 million treasure of the 1622 shipwreck of Nuestra Senora de Atocha 35 miles southeast of Key West. The award winning "Golden Girls" (1985-1992) was set in Miami and provided some needed laughs.

     On August 24, 1992 disaster struck. South Florida was hit by Hurricane Andrew. It caused 38 deaths and over $26 billion in damage.

     In the 1990's Miami became the cruise ship capital of the world.  And Miami Beach, which had declined because of increased tourism in the Caribbean, had a resurgence: South Beach became a fashion and club scene mecca.   More immigrants from the chaos to the south of us has made Miami the most diverse large city in the United States according to the 2000 census.