Flagler
[flag-ler]
Flagler visited Florida in 1883, and, annoyed at the inadequate transportation and hotel facilities, he undertook to improve them. He bought up and consolidated several local railroads and organized the Florida East Coast Railway, which he extended S from Daytona through Palm Beach (1894) to Miami (1896) and thence 150 mi (241 km) to Key West (1912). He established steamship lines, dredged the Miami harbor, and built palatial hotels, all to encourage the development of Florida as a winter playground. He also made anonymous gifts to build schools, churches, and hospitals. Altogether Flagler invested over $40 million in the peninsula and, more than any other, was responsible for Florida's growth.
See S. W. Martin, Florida's Flagler (1949).
Licensed from Columbia University Press
(born , Jan. 2, 1830, Hopewell, N.Y., U.S.—died May 20, 1913, West Palm Beach, Fla.) U.S. financier. He initially worked as a grain merchant. His friendship with John D. Rockefeller led to their establishing a firm that in 1870 became the Standard Oil Co. Flagler served as a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey until 1911. He was hugely influential in the development of Florida as a vacation centre, involving himself in such enterprises as extending the Florida East Coast Railway, dredging Miami's harbour, and the construction of a chain of luxury hotels.
Learn more about Flagler, Henry M(orrison) with a free trial on Britannica.com.
(born , Jan. 2, 1830, Hopewell, N.Y., U.S.—died May 20, 1913, West Palm Beach, Fla.) U.S. financier. He initially worked as a grain merchant. His friendship with John D. Rockefeller led to their establishing a firm that in 1870 became the Standard Oil Co. Flagler served as a director of Standard Oil of New Jersey until 1911. He was hugely influential in the development of Florida as a vacation centre, involving himself in such enterprises as extending the Florida East Coast Railway, dredging Miami's harbour, and the construction of a chain of luxury hotels.
Learn more about Flagler, Henry M(orrison) with a free trial on Britannica.com.
Flagler is a Statutory Town in Kit Carson County, Colorado, United States. The population was 612 at the 2000 census. The town was established in 1888 as a small settlement near the then-new Rock Island Railroad. It was renamed after Henry Flagler at the request of his daughter, who liked the area.
Flagler is near Exit 395 on I-70 and it about 120 miles east of Denver and Colorado Springs.
Boxer Irish Bob Murphy was born in Flagler. Author Hal Borland moved to Flagler at age 15 when his father became publisher of one of the local newspapers, and attended high school there.
Geography
Flagler is located at (39.294031, -103.065832).According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 0.5 square miles (1.4 km²), all of it land.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 612 people, 271 households, and 171 families residing in the town. The population density was 1,123.3 people per square mile (437.6/km²). There were 319 housing units at an average density of 585.5/sq mi (228.1/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 96.57% White, 2.29% Native American, 0.33% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.10% of the population.There were 271 households out of which 29.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.9% were married couples living together, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.9% were non-families. 35.1% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.88.
In the town the population was spread out with 25.8% under the age of 18, 5.7% from 18 to 24, 23.2% from 25 to 44, 23.4% from 45 to 64, and 21.9% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $28,523, and the median income for a family was $43,542. Males had a median income of $29,821 versus $19,500 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,770. About 4.3% of families and 8.1% of the population were below the poverty line, including 9.3% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over.
Economy
The economy of Flagler and the surrounding area is composed largely of agriculture, specifically wheat and corn production. Flagler is also the self-proclaimed "Birdseed Capital of World," with a Wagner's Wild Bird Seed plant listed as the town's top private employer. Flagler is home to an all-purpose convenience store, small hotel, local supermarket, and numerous churches.School
Arriba-Flagler Consolidated School District #20 educates local children in grades preschool through 12th, as well as children from nearby Arriba, Colorado. The school's mascot is the panther, and students compete in sports such as Eight-man football, volleyball, basketball, baseball, and track. Flagler's archrival is the Stratton Eagles, which Flagler beat to end what was, at the time, the longest winning streak in Colorado high school football history. Flagler Senior High School is represented by the colors orange and black, and is consistently one of the top-performing schools in the state academically
Historic Events
Flagler is the site of a tragic air show accident that occurred on September 15, 1951. A stunt aircraft performing for Fall Festival Day lost control and impacted the show's spectators, killing twenty people.References
External links
This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Last updated on Saturday October 04, 2008 at 23:24:19 PDT (GMT -0700)
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