Homestead grew out of a railroad station. The Florida East Coast Railway opened its first station here in July 1904, a town site was laid out around it, and the community was incorporated in 1913, which makes it one of the oldest cities in what is now Miami-Dade County. Since then the city has been shaped by farming, the military, two national parks next door and, above all, by hurricanes, most famously Hurricane Andrew in 1992. The timeline below puts the main events in order, with short notes on why each one still matters.
Before the town: homesteaders and the Redland
Settlers were already filing homestead claims in the pinelands north and west of the future station before there was a town to speak of. The first house in the nearby Redland area is usually dated to 1897, built by a surveyor who also helped new settlers find land. Life was rough. Early families lived in tents and lean-tos while they cleared pine and palmetto, and the rocky ground made farming slow work. The story of that farming country gets its own page: the Redland's farming history.
Where the name came from
The usual account goes like this. Henry Flagler's railway agreed in 1898 to put a station roughly 30 miles south of Miami as the line pushed toward Key West. Flagler's associate James E. Ingraham declined to have the stop named after himself. Construction supplies for the area had been consigned to "Homestead Country," a nod to the homesteading going on nearby, and railroad engineers shortened that to "Homestead." The name stuck.
Timeline of Homestead history
| Year | Event | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| 1904 | Florida East Coast Railway opens a station in July; the first town lot is sold in October | The town grows around the tracks, which is why the historic core sits along Krome Avenue near the railroad |
| 1905–1912 | The railroad extension south to Key West is built and the first train reaches Key West in January 1912 | Homestead sits at the mainland end of one of the era's most ambitious engineering projects |
| 1913 | Homestead is incorporated | It is generally described as the second-oldest city in the county after Miami |
| 1914 | A rock-breaking "scarifier" makes larger-scale farming possible on the rocky soil | Commercial agriculture expands across the Redland |
| 1916 | Royal Palm State Park is dedicated in the Everglades west of town | Often called Florida's first state park; later the nucleus of Everglades National Park |
| 1917 | The town hall is completed on Krome Avenue | Still standing; now a history museum and listed on the National Register |
| 1921 | The Seminole Theatre opens | Rebuilt after a 1940 fire, closed in 1979, restored and reopened in 2015 |
| 1926 | A major hurricane and the end of the Florida land boom | Many small businesses and banks fail |
| 1929 | A state subtropical experiment station is established near Homestead | Today it is the University of Florida's Tropical Research and Education Center |
| 1942 | Homestead Army Air Field is established | The start of the base that still operates northeast of the city |
| 1947 | Everglades National Park is dedicated on December 6 | Homestead becomes the gateway to the park's main entrance |
| 1955 | The air field reopens as Homestead Air Force Base | The base plays a prominent role during the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 |
| 1968 | Biscayne National Monument is created; it becomes a national park in 1980 | A second national park lies just east of the city |
| 1992 | Hurricane Andrew makes landfall on August 24 | Widespread destruction in Homestead and South Miami-Dade; the base is badly damaged |
| 1994 | The base is transferred to the Air Force Reserve | A smaller reserve installation replaces the active-duty base |
| 1995 | Homestead-Miami Speedway opens | Built as part of the recovery effort after Andrew |
| 2007 | The downtown historic district is listed on the National Register | Recognizes the early-20th-century commercial core |
| 2020 | The census counts 80,737 residents | Up from 60,512 in 2010, a gain of about one third in ten years |
The railroad years
For a few years Homestead was close to the end of the line. Work on the extension to Key West started in 1905 and ran until 1912, and the engineer who guided much of it, William J. Krome, bought land in Homestead and later became one of its best-known growers. The main street carries his name. The full story is in how Flagler's railroad and William Krome shaped Homestead.
Boom, bust and the farm economy
The 1910s and early 1920s brought a town hall, a movie theater, banks and shops along Krome Avenue. The 1926 hurricane and the collapse of the Florida land boom ended that run, and many small businesses failed. Agriculture carried the area through the following decades. Winter vegetables, avocados, mangoes, limes and later ornamental nurseries became the backbone of the local economy, supported by research at the experiment station founded in 1929.
A military town
World War II brought the air field in 1942. A hurricane in September 1945 heavily damaged it and the base was inactivated that December, only to return in the mid-1950s as a Strategic Air Command base. For the next four decades the base was a major employer in South Dade. Its history ran from bombers to fighters to the reserve era that began in 1994.
Hurricane Andrew and after
No single event changed the city more than August 24, 1992. Andrew came ashore as a Category 5 hurricane just northeast of Homestead, destroying or damaging tens of thousands of homes across South Miami-Dade and wrecking most of the air base. Recovery took years and changed the city's shape, from new subdivisions to the speedway. Read Hurricane Andrew and Homestead for the details.
Where to see this history today
- Downtown along Krome Avenue: the 1917 town hall, the Seminole Theatre and other early buildings. See the self-guided walk through historic downtown.
- Everglades National Park: the Royal Palm area preserves the site of the 1916 state park.
- The Redland: farm roads, fruit stands, nurseries and the county's Fruit & Spice Park.
- Coral Castle: one of the area's oddest landmarks, built by one man over almost three decades.
Frequently Asked Questions
When was Homestead, Florida founded?
The town grew around a Florida East Coast Railway station that opened in July 1904. The first town lot was sold that October, and Homestead was incorporated as a city in 1913.
Why is it called Homestead?
According to the usual account, railroad supplies for the area were consigned to "Homestead Country" because of the homesteading going on nearby, and engineers shortened it to "Homestead." Flagler's associate James E. Ingraham had declined to have the station named after him.
Is Homestead the oldest city in Miami-Dade County?
No. Miami is older. Homestead, incorporated in 1913, is generally described as the second-oldest city in the county.
What was the biggest event in Homestead's history?
Most residents would point to Hurricane Andrew, which made landfall on August 24, 1992, as a Category 5 storm. It destroyed much of the city and the nearby air base and reshaped the area during the long rebuilding that followed.
Where can I learn more about local history in person?
The historic town hall on Krome Avenue houses a local history museum with photographs and artifacts, and it keeps a research library. Contact the museum about hours and research access before you go.