HomeFlorida East Coast RailwayWilliam A. King

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William A. King — 21 Comments

  1. Thanks Jeff. Great research. Interesting to hear the story of William King and his impact on the area. William and family and their contributions to Homestead seem to have been lost until you returned them to the light.

  2. It is very interesting to learn the history of the people that lived in early Homestead. I enjoy reading about the people the roads are named after. My parents moved to Homestead in 1954 and I spent my first 50 years living in the area.

    As a child, I lived on Rose Road (S.W.316 street )…Could you tell me who that road was named after?

  3. I don’t know who Rose Road was named after. I suspect it was someone in the families of the developer, Kerr & Williams, who replatted Floral Park in 1956. The land was originally platted in 1926. I inquired of John Fredrick, Jr., whose father, John, Sr., lived on Rose Road also. Perhaps he will be able to offer some insight into how the road came to be named.

  4. More fine work, Jeff. Many thanks. Here’s a very ignorant question: What exactly did “East Glade” refer to? Was this what the oldtimers called the area east of the FEC right of way? Has the meaning changed over time? Thanks.

    • Hi Ed,
      That’s not an “ignorant question” at all. You are correct – the East Glade referred to the marl lands east of the pine rockland. It was also referred to as the “Front Prairie” and “marl prairie.” Unfortunately, there is not much left of the East Glade with all the houses built there in the last 30 years.

  5. You are the best. My grandmother Mollie Thomas whose husband was Oscar never remarried after he died. She was quite young and had 3 children to raise in 1916 he had built the house that she lived in the rest of her life. That house is no longer there N.W 13 St. and Krome Ave which was part of T. A. Campbell land grant.

  6. Jeff, such an interesting article! I recognize some of the names. Lee Lehman and his wife, Octavia, were good friends with my parents, Claude and Amelie Chipley. We spent many weekends down on Conch Key where they had a cabin on a canal there. Some of my fondest memories as a child were spent there, and Lee had many stories he told. I spent time in their beautiful home on Avocado Drive. My Daddy used to tell me stories of the railroad built going down on the Keys and how the hurricane (was it 26?) destroyed it all and many lives lost. Keep writing , Jeff!

    • I’m glad you enjoyed reading it. My articles are long and detailed and I wonder how many readers I’ve lost by that kind of writing. The hurricane that destroyed the railroad was the Labor Day hurricane of 1935.

  7. Thank you Jeff for the wonderful articles about the history of my home town and how it came to be. All the names are so familiar, i.e Horne, Campbell, King, Chapman, Adair.. The streets and roads. I was raised in a home across from the entrance to the Naval Pumping Station on Tower Road. I left my home in 1974 and have only been back a few times. But the changes as I knew it are great and make me sad. But I understand that they say it it is progressing times but it is still breaks my heart.

  8. Thanks so much Jeff. My grandmother was Marie King Saunders. And I heard stories about all these folks in my youth. When my grandparents were first married they moved to Flamingo and lived there for several years. When my father, Chesley Eugene Saunders, Jr., was old enough to begin school they moved back to Homestead and bought a home on First Street where they lived for the rest of their days. That property is now part of the city park baseball fields.

  9. As the second oldest grandchild of Chesley and Marie (King) Saunders Sr. I also remember many family stories! These also include fascinating accounts told to me by Grandaddy’s Mother Sarah (Roberts-Saunders) Pinder about growing up at Old Cutler by the sea! I feel so grateful to have known of forebearers that were true pioneers with tenacity, courage and grace. Their strength, endurance and love was and is a great example to ALL.

    • I’ve not been able to locate my notes, but somewhere, I have some newspaper clippings about Sarah Pinder’s rooming house in Homestead. I had long wondered about the building and when I stumbled across the reference, I said, “Ah hah!” But now I can’t find the notes! The Historic Homestead Town Hall Museum has a photo of one of the Roberts men – I can’t recall the first name right now. It was given to the museum by Anne Maree Walker. If you’d like to share some of the stories you were told, we’d definitely like to have a copy of them.

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