IPH Communities – South Miami

Institute for Public History (IPH) | Oral History Collections

South Miami Community

Originally situated along Biscayne Bay and named after Wilson Larkins, a migrant who came from Tennessee in 1897, what later became known as South Miami attracted other pioneer families such as the Dorns, the Williamsons and the Richards. Larkins store became the center of the community by the bay and other early institutions were formed in the early decades such as the Larkins School to the Women’s Club, and the Methodist Church. Yet it was Henry Flagler’s FEC railroad that altered the face and name of Larkins. Extended south from Miami through the area in the early 1900s- a mile west of the bay- near the present route of South Dixie Highway, the railroad built a station and the new center of the community was formed. By the time of World War I the population had increased to 350 and numerous subdivisions had been platted while what was called Ingraham Highway linked Miami and Coconut Grove to Sunset Drive.

South Miami was incorporated as a city in 1926 and doubled its population every decade from 1930 until 1960 when its numbers began to hold steady at around 10,000 people. It barely survived the great depression, suffered the hatred and division spawned by racism and segregation, sent its young to war during the 1940s and again in the 1960s. For most of its early life it lived in the shadow of the cities of Miami and Coral Gables as well as its close neighbor, the University of Miami. Nonetheless, by the 1990s, South Miami was coming into its own as a thriving city with pride in its own identity. The story of its history, drawn from the voices of its residents, is important in appreciating the changing nature of modern Florida.

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