Redland, Florida
Redland, long known also as the Redlands or the Redland, is a historic unincorporated community and agricultural area in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located about southwest of downtown Miami and just northwest of Homestead, Florida. It is unique in that it constitutes a large farming belt directly adjoining what is now the seventh most populous major metropolitan area in the United States. Named for the pockets of red clay that cover a layer of oolitic limestone, Redland produces a variety of tropical fruits, many of which do not grow elsewhere in the continental United States. The area also contains a large concentration of ornamental nurseries. The landscape is dotted with u-pick'em fields, coral rock walls, and the original clapboard homes of early settlers and other historic early twentieth century structures.
Etymology
Through the early part of the 20th century, what was known as the "Redland District" – occasionally informally referred to as "the Redlands" or just "the Redland" – encompassed the communities of Homestead, Florida City, Redland, Silver Palm, Modello, Naranja, Princeton, and Goulds. The "Redland" community included in the Redland District was the area west of S.W. 177th Avenue to the Everglades, south to S.W. 288th Street, and north to S.W. 184th Street. The singular "Redland" was purportedly used to make it easier to differentiate the area from the city of Redlands, California.A smaller-sized community centered around SW 187th Avenue and SW 264th Street was briefly incorporated as "Redland" in 1910 and then dissolved. Efforts in the 1920s to reincorporate a "town of Redland"—a six-square mile area with proposed borders of SW 280th Street on the south, SW 197th Avenue on the west, SW 232nd Street on the north, and S.W. 177th Avenue on the east—failed when residents could not agree on the precise town limits. Later in the 20th century, people simply began referring informally to the entire agricultural area stretching northwest from the now well-developed Florida City, Homestead, and US 1 corridor as "the Redlands." Today, there is little consistency in usage. While a few residents maintain "the Redlands" is used only by those from outside the area, "Redland," "the Redlands," and "the Redland" are generally used interchangeably, with "Redland" being the more formal usage.
History
1897–1920
In 1897, John Brinsell became the first settler in the redland district, building the first house south of Cutler near what is now Silver Palm Drive and SW 157th Avenue. Brinsell was a surveyor that acted as a broker locating pioneer settlers on homestead claims in the area. John Brinsell, dubbed "Lying Johnnie" by fellow pioneers, often exaggerated land praises to lure settlers and sell property. He was never well-liked and eventually got into some trouble then left the area never to be seen or heard from again.The pioneer homesteaders, living in tents and lean-tos, began clearing and farming their land. Many of the roads that now crisscross Redland bear the names of these pioneers, along with numerical street/avenue designations later assigned by the county. The first harvests were a diverse group of cabbage, carrots, eggplant, beans, and tomatoes. Large-scale farming was impractical, however, because the red, iron-rich soil that gave the area its name could only be found in scattered "potholes" that, at their largest, were only an acre in size. To grow fruit trees, farmers first had to dynamite holes in the oolite rock.
In 1904, residents constructed the Silver Palm Schoolhouse at Silver Palm Drive and Newton Road. The two-story structure was the first and largest of seven rural schoolhouses built in the area in the 1900s. The 1904 arrival of Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railway several miles to the east in Princeton allowed the homesteaders to easily ship their produce elsewhere in Florida and the country. In 1906, the one-room Redland Schoolhouse was built of Dade County pine at the corner of SW 248th Street and Redland Road. Within five years, five more one-room schoolhouses were built in the area, the last being the Murray Hill Schoolhouse at the corner of Redland Road and SW 216th Street.
File:Anderson's Corner.jpg|thumb|300px|left|The 1911 William Anderson General Merchandise Store at Anderson's Corner, looking southeast from Silver Palm Drive
In 1911, William "Popp" Anderson, a surveyor from Indiana who worked for the FEC Railway, built the William Anderson General Merchandise Store, also known as Anderson's Corner, a general store catercorner from the Silver Palm Schoolhouse. The store served the thriving community until the 1930s, when it was converted into apartments and, eventually, a restaurant.
In 1912, the Pioneer Guild, a group founded by the women of Redland in 1907 to do good for social, religious, and civic purposes, constructed the Pioneer Guild Hall at the southwest corner of Redland Road and Bauer Drive, adjacent to a newly constructed Episcopal church and a general store called the Redland Grocery Store. The building contained a stage and a dance floor and became the community's social center for dances, dinners, and teas. It also served as a civic center where plans were discussed for better living conditions, and as a cultural center for lectures, art classes, and music classes. Famed orator William Jennings Bryant gave a lecture on the "Origin of Man" at the Guild Hall. Young people were brought in during the summer and taught etiquette as well as art, and the intersection at which the building stood became the de facto center of town.
In 1914, Alvin Lindgren, the son of an early pioneer, had a steam tractor built to his specifications that would lead to a revolution in farming in the area. Using the machining and welding experience he had gained from working for the FEC Railway, Lindgren developed the first tractor capable of scarifying rock land. After clearing the land of trees, grass, and shrubs, the "scarifier" would plow the land in four different directions, pulverizing the oolitic limestone and making it possible to roll the land flat. Although first used mainly for clearing lands and laying out roads – Lindgren is responsible for most of the roads in Redland – farmers soon discovered that they could grow crops in the scarified lands instead of just in the potholes of red soil. Farming on a larger scale had now become feasible, and the farmers of Redland soon started to grow citrus, followed by avocados, mangoes, papayas, and a variety of other tropical fruit.
In 1916, the Redland Farm Life School was constructed on land donated by William Anderson at the northeast corner of Coconut Palm Drive and SW 162nd Avenue. Opening its doors in October 1916 to 195 students, it was the second-largest consolidated school in the country, combining the one-room schools from Redland, Goulds, Eureka, Modello, Princeton, Murray Hill, and Silver Palm into a single modern educational facility with classrooms for grades one through twelve. Area children living in outlying areas were for the first time transported by bus. The school contained indoor bathrooms, electric lighting, drinking fountains, a science laboratory, cloak rooms, a cafeteria, and a stand-alone 3200-square-foot auditorium that seated 300 people.
1920–1945
In 1923, Orchid Jungle, one of South Florida's first roadside tourist attractions, opened on the east side of SW 157th Avenue, south of SW 264th Street. It would remain one of the most popular attractions in the area for another 70 years.In early 1926, The Aladdin Company, a Michigan-based manufacturer of pre-cut homes, began the development of Aladdin City, a planned community with a projected population of 10,000 residents in the northeastern section of Redland, at Hainlin Mill Drive and Farm Life School Road. The developer promised to "spread the Redlands' fame." The Redland District Chamber of Commerce – eager to take advantage of the thousands of dollars of promotional advertising being spent on the development – incorporated the Arabian-themed community as "the ninth community in the famous Redlands." Although a handful of homes and a town hall were built, the development effectively collapsed with the end of the Florida land boom of the 1920s. Today, all that remains is a small portion of the development's unique street plan and a handful of Arabian-themed street names.
The 1926 Great Miami Hurricane caused tremendous damage throughout Redland. The Pioneer Guild Hall, and the neighboring Episcopal church and general store were hard hit. A new Episcopal church was built closer to neighboring Homestead, leaving the Redland Community United Methodist Church, built in 1913 a mile north, as the only church in Redland. The Guild Hall and general store were restored, but both struggled after the Great Depression. In the early 1940s, Ludolf Andersen and his wife bought the property, and moved the Redland Grocery Store sign to the Guild Hall. The Redland Grocery still operates today in the old Guild Hall, run by the Andersens' son and grandson.
In 1927, the Seaboard Air Line Railway came through the center of Redland, with pioneer resident George W. Kosel donating both a mile of right of way and a station site at SW 256th Street. The Seaboard also built a wooden depot at the northwestern edge of the Aladdin City development. Both depots further increased the ability to ship produce out of the area.
In 1933, another famed roadside attraction, Monkey Jungle, opened on Hainlin Mill Drive a mile and a half east of Aladdin City. Known for its tagline, "where the humans are caged and the monkeys run wild,” it remains a major attraction in the area, having survived devastation and temporary closure from hurricanes and allegedly false claims of animal abuse.
On June 29, 1935, the post office at Redland was discontinued.
With the demise of the Guild Hall, the Redland Farm Life School became the focus of virtually all activity in Redland, acting as a de facto community center. Residents gathered at the school for holiday fairs, elections, dances, and agricultural meetings. The property also served as a playground for neighborhood children.