Flagler Station Over-sea Railway Historeum
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(305) 295-3562Description:
In January 1912, the first Oversea Railway train rolled from the Florida mainland through the Florida Keys to Key West, forever changing the face of many of the previously isolated islands by connecting them with the mainland and each other.Henry Flagler brought the railroad south to Florida. At this 'historeum,' Flagler's Railroad That Went to Sea, traversing 130 miles of sand and water, comes to life in rare motion pictures and photographs. Guests enter through a reconstruction of a section of the Key West Terminus (station). Inside visitors will find a themed mercantile store, filled with candies, turn of the century dolls and toys, dry goods, railroad memorabilia, gifts and related souvenirs.
A train's journey through the Keys is recreated in video, and you can roam a 16,000-pound restored payroll car. A collection of memorabilia is joined by a restored home dating from the era. Upon exiting the gift shop into the Flagler Station HISTOREUM®, visitors see the first of three film presentations. The first will show rare moving picture footage and photographs of the Key West Extension being built from its beginning in Homestead in 1905 to its completion and arrival on January 22, 1912 in Key West. They will meet the men responsible for this feat and experience the hardship, tragedy and grandeur of what was called by some "Flagler's Folly." A historyteller, will meet guests on the loading dock and tell them, first hand, of life as a worker on the Overseas Railway and how Key Westers felt as they anxiously awaited the arrival of the train. The Key West of January 22, 1912 will come to life.
Admission fee.
In January 2012, a Keys-wide 100th anniversary celebration is planned to honor Flagler's arrival into Key West on his namesake railway.
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