Saturday, October 10 at 2pm – Miami Pioneers 90th Anniversary

On Saturday, October 10 at the Pinecrest Library we will celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Miami Pioneers Historical Society — established on October 21, 1936.

Everyone is invited to attend. The Miami Pioneer Historical Society was established by prominent settlers who struggled to carve a modern city from a tropical wilderness in the late 19th century.

Casey Piket will present a look back at Miami in the year 1936, and present short biographies of the original fourteen founding members of this historical society.

Do you have something to share about South Florida’s pioneer era? Did your family arrive in the early days? Do you have stories to tell, old pictures to share, or some insight into the historical eras of yesteryear? We hope you can join us and we want to hear from you.

The original 14 founding members were: Isidor Cohen, E. B. Douglas, J. E. Lummus, John Seybold, John Sewell, Judge A. F. Atkinson, Harry C. Budge, Sheriff John Frohock, Dr. Robert E. Chafer, Charles A. Mills, Mrs. Frieda Blackman Hughes, Dr. P. T. Skaggs, Mr. Henry J. Egger, and T. N. Gautier.

Membership was limited to those that arrived and settled in the Dade County area prior to the year 1900, and they had to be at least 50 years of age at the time of joining.

Some of the first meetings took place at Roddy Burdine’s auditorium, organized by his assistant and later successor George Whitten.

In 1936, the Orange Bowl was brand new. The repeal of prohibition was changing the way Miamians socialized. The striking new two-story Art Deco Pan Am terminal for state-of-the-art flying clipper ships at Dinner Key hosted world travelers, while the fast-growing airport on NW 36 street saw Eastern Airlines and National Airlines begin serving the terrestrial airfield with the Boeing 247 and the brand new Douglas DC-3 passenger aircraft.

In 1936, Miami was actually emerging from the worst of the Depression and experiencing a distinct, architecture-driven economic recovery — the tropical Art Deco architectural style was all the rage. Thousands of unemployed residents found work building municipal projects, including the Miami Beach Post Office, the Miami Shores Golf Club, and various regional roads and public parks.

Landscape architect William Lyman Phillips turned 630 acres of dense tropical hammock donated by the Matheson Family into a spectacular public space on Biscayne Bay. On the adjoining property, Robert H. Montgomery founded the Fairchild Garden in 1936, naming it after his close friend and renowned plant explorer, Dr. David Fairchild.

The 17th mayor of Miami was British-born A. D. H. Fossey, known for working with his city manager, L.L. Lee, to secure federal New Deal assistance for the area to reduce local unemployment.

Our community has evolved greatly over the past 90 years, and we owe a debt of gratitude to those that came first with audacious vision, determination and tenacity to establish the foundations for our world-class metropolis.

Watch the video of our 90th Anniversary Invitation: https://www.mpnod.org/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/MiamiPioneers90Teaser.mp4

Read a short history of The Miami Pioneers: https://www.mpnod.org/2018/04/a-history-of-the-miami-pioneers/