The Overseas Railroad

I found this poster framed & hanging in the bathroom @ the Key West Visitor Center on my recent trip to the Keys. Right away I knew I had to take a picture of it. I love learning new things about the history of our nation & now I can say you never know when you're going to come across it, lol! I thoroughly enjoyed reading up on the facts of this wonderful story of a man with a dream & the struggles he faced to see it through. We need more men like that today...but anyway I'm rambling. This is for the August You Distress Challenge & I did the cardboard twist!

TFL everyone : ]

Journaling Reads: Did you know it was Henry Flagler's vision to connect the FL mainland with the port of Key West in anticipation of the growing shipping commerce he thought would be generated by the opening of the Panama Canal @ the start of the 20th Century?
Construction of the Overseas Railroad began in 1905, and by 1908 the first segment-from Homestead to Marathon-was completed. The 7 mile gap between Marathon & Bahia Honda was a more challenging task, but by Jan, 1912, Henry Flagler. then 82, was finally able to ride his dream from Homestead to Key West-traveling over 17 miles of concrete viaducts & concrete & steel bridges, over 20 miles of causeways & ultimately across 128 miles from island to island. He entered Key West that day a hero.
Flagler died the following year never knowing that his vision & determination changed the course of the FL Keys. With the addition of Flagler's Key West Extension, Key West was now the largest deepwater port on the Atlantic south of Norfolk, VA. Trade w/the Caribbean increased & Key West flourished for the next 23 years.