On this day in 1830, Henry Flagler was born in Hopewell, NY. He was a partner of John D. Rockefeller when the Standard Oil Company was founded in 1870.

He first came to Florida in 1878, to seek a healthy climate for his wife. Following the death of his wife, Flagler returned to Florida and by 1885 was actively involved in the development of businesses in St. Augustine.

He also purchased the Jacksonville, St. Augustine & Halifax Railroad, which would become his Florida East Coast Railway.

He bought the railroad south to Palm Beach by 1894, and two years later extended the line to Miami. One of the railway stops along the way was the small settlement of Pompano.

Flagler died in 1913. He remains, however, the most significant individual in the history of South Florida.