Mr. Flagler's St. Augustine

by Thomas Graham

Arguably no man did more to make over a city or a state than Henry Morrison Flagler. Almost single-handedly, he transformed the east coast of Florida from a remote frontier into the winter playground of America s elite.

Mr. Flagler s St. Augustine tells the story of how one of the wealthiest men in America spared no expense in transforming the country s Oldest City into the Newport of the South. He built railroads into remote areas where men feared to tread and erected palatial hotels on swampland. He funded hospitals and churches and improved streets and parks. The rich and famous flocked to his invented paradise.

In tracing Flagler s life and second career, Thomas Graham reveals much about the inner life of the former oil magnate and the demons that drove him to expand a coastal empire southward to Palm Beach, Miami, Key West, and finally Nassau. Graham also gives voice to the individuals history has forgotten: the women who wrote tourist books, the artists who decorated the hotels, the black servants who waited tables, and the journalists who filed society columns in the newspapers.

Filled with fascinating details that bring the Gilded Age to life, this book will stand as the definitive history of Henry Flagler and his time in Florida."

Genres: Nonfiction, Biography, History

600 pages, ebook

First published April 29, 2014

Reviews

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent biography of Henry Flagler. The book contains great detail about Flagler's impact on St Augustine and Florida's east coast, including the building of his great hotels and the Florida East Coast Railroad. The author provides vivid descriptions of the people who populated Flagler's world. There's a lot of detail here but it is never tedious. The one area of Flagler's legacy that is more or less glossed over (presumably because it has little to do with Mr. Flagler's St. Augustine) is the extension of the railway to Key West. It's covered but not in great detail. For that reason, I would highly recommend that this book be read in conjunction with "Last Train to Paradise: Henry Flagler and the Spectacular Rise and Fall of the Railroad that Crossed an Ocean" by Les Standiford.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was exhaustive with details. Maybe could have been a little more severely edited, but gave a good overview of the times. Not really a leisurely read, but I appreciated all I learned and look forward to a repeat visit to St. Augustine to appreciate it more.

[Evan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beautiful. Saint Augustine has a vast and study worthy history, and the author masterfully illustrates St A’s narrative through the 19th century lens of Henry Flagler. Flagler was a remarkably powerful man, excellent in his business, a billionaire twice over, and conscious of how his capitalism affected society. This story is only missing a star because the author used 500 pages to cover what should have been much shorter. Nearly flawless though.

[JoAnn Plant · Rating 5 out of 5]

Though the book is lengthy, it provides an in-depth exploration. It begins with Flagler's early life and concludes with his passing and the people around him. It also details his creations, such as the Royal Poinciana and Ponce De Leon, along with their fates. However, it fails to address the fate of the Celestial Railroad to Key West. While there have been speculations, no definitive information has surfaced since it is no longer operational.

[Steffanie Kamper Culp · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a very thoroughly written biography. We visit st. Augustine regularly in wintertime. Reading this will make our next visit more interesting. I will probably take an architecture tour too. If you are interested in Florida history this is a good read. It takes a while to get through but I enjoyed it a great deal.

[Jessica Barnett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Such a great account of Henry Flagler and all the great work he did to bring St. Augustine to modern times. Graham's intensive research helps the reader invision 1900s St. Augustine with references to 21st century St. Augustine.

[Sue Hunt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very detailed year by year experiences in the life of Henry Flagler. Looking forward to spending Christmas in St. Augustine on a Road Scholar tour.

[Heidi Gardner · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a long read with tedious detail. Good for me!

[Russell Berry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Written by a local writer and thoroughly researched.

If you go to SA, believe THIS instead of the exaggerated stories you hear from the trolley car operators.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

While this is truly a tome of a book (500 pages) I found myself captivated by this non-fiction. Henry Flagler started from nothing, became the co-founder of Standard Oil with John Rockefeller, and with his money opened up Florida for the wealthy northern vacationer. It's amazing to read how he pretty much single handedly built up St. Augustine-American's oldest city. He is a man of strong beliefs, but also a man who was interested in and cared for the hundreds of people he had in his employ. After building three hotels in St Augustine, the Presbyterian church, the city hall and fire department-as well as many other buildings to entice northern vacationers-he set his sites further south and built up Palm Beach, Miami, and then developed transportation to Nassau and Cuba. Quite a visionary.
I hope to go back to St Augustine someday now that I know its history. A good book for anyone who enjoys history.

[Janice · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a fantastic book for history lovers and lovers of Florida as well. I grew up knowing of Flagler and visiting St. Augustine often. I wasn't aware of how much of St. Augustine was because of Flagler. If you've ever visited the city the book is well worth your time and, perhaps like me, you will want to revisit soon!

[Denise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book fascinating. Not only did I learn just how Mr. Flagler transformed St. Augustine into a tourist mecca, I was able to see my home town as it existed decades before I was born. I enjoyed every bit of it.

[Robert Vandiver · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent history of St. Augustine and Henry Flagler in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries. Flagler did so much to build Florida and the book tells the story very well.