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	Record Group Number:	900000
	Series/Collection Number:	M88- 41
	Creator:	White, Fred R., 1885-
	Title, Dates:	Florida East Coast Railway overseas extension photographs, c. 1907-1910.
	Amount:	44 photographs
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	Biographical/Historical:	The Florida East Coast Railway (FEC) began in 1885 when developer Henry Flagler purchased the Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax River Railroad. Flagler (1830-1913), who originally made his fortunes along with John Rockefeller at the Standard Oil Company, had recently built the Ponce De Leon Hotel in St. Augustine and needed a dependable transportation system for its guests. Over the next few decades, Flagler built a series of hotels along Florida's east coast and used the FEC to connect them with the North. In 1905, Flagler decided to connect Key West with the state's mainland -- over 100 miles apart -- by rail. Originally called "Flagler's Folly," the Overseas Extension took seven years and employed over 4000 men. The 127-mile rail opened on January 22, 1912. It was abandoned in 1935 after that year's Labor Day hurricane badly damaged the rail. Today's Overseas Highway uses portions of the FEC's original Overseas Extension Rail. Fred R. White was the Chief Administrative Officer for the Iowa State Highway Commission for 32 years. Considered one of the pioneer highway engineers in the nation, White began his engineering career with the FEC's overseas rail extension to Key West after graduating from Iowa State College in 1907.
	Summary:	This collection consists of a photographic album containing 44 black and white photographs of the construction of the Florida East Coast Railway's overseas rail extension to Key West. Created by one of the project's engineers, Fred R. White, the album includes images of rail bridge construction, the workers' camps, the various steam ships and barges employed during the project, and FEC employees at work on various projects. These photographs document the types of technology involved in the rail extension, the various construction activities including dredging and bridge building, transportation of supplies and men, and the worker's social life. The photographs are not labelled nor dated.
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	Subject Access Fields:	Florida East Coast Railway. Construction industry Florida Railroads Design and construction Florida. Railroads Florida Railroads Design and construction Florida Photographs. aat Key West (Fla.)
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