The Oversea Railroad, the final link in the Florida East Coast Railway, was completed on this date in 1912. The culmination of the decades-long vision of wealthy investor Henry M. Flagler, the Overseas Railroad stretched over 100 miles out into the open ocean, connecting Key West with the Florida mainland. The project cost $430 million dollars and included some incredible feats of engineering, most notably a seven-mile-long span connecting Knight’s Key with Little Duck Key. The project made rail travel possible along a single line from Jacksonville to Key West via Flagler’s Florida East Coast Line. As well as railroads, Flagler built luxury hotels and platted entire cities for the purposes of developing the east coast of Florida. Shortly after completion of the Overseas Extension, Flagler died in May of 1913.
~Florida Historical Society
