About Homestead
The City of Homestead is the second oldest city in Miami-Dade County. The area south of Miami was opened to homesteaders in 1898. At that time, a path known as the "Homesteader's Trail" was the only route in or out. 1904, railroad and oil magnate Henry Flagler, extented his railroad south to this area on the way to Key West.
Farmers were then able to transport their fruits and vegetables to Miami for shipment north. Flagler was convinced that his railway needed to be extended from Homestead to Key West to take advantage of the building of the Panama Canal. Crossing countless tiny islands, the Overseas Railroad was completed in 1912. The town of Homestead was incorporated in 1913.
Many early residents worked for the railroad and became the founding fathers of the new town. The main street running through downtown Homestead, Krome Avenue, was named after William F. Krome, an early Florida East Coast Railway engineer who worked on the important stretch of tracks that extended the railway to Key West.
In the early 1920's the town was in the middle of a real estate surge, the 1925 population qualified us as a "City". Then tragically, on Sept. 18, 1926, a major hurricane struck Homestead. The hurricane put an end to new building plans and caused a dramatic drop in the population.
In 1992, Homestead was practically destroyed once again by Hurricane Andrew. The city was in a recovery period for a long time and is now enjoying a major building boom.