A century of history is buried in Miami’s oldest cemetery. We have some highlights
The third episode of Miami Oculto (Hidden Miami) podcast invites you on a journey through the history and oddities of Miami City Cemetery. Founded in 1897, it’s the oldest cemetery in Miami and was founded on a plot that Mary Brickell sold for $750 to the city of Miami which was officially established a year earlier.
The 10 acres of Miami City Cemetery, located near Biscayne Boulevard and 18th Street, hosts the tombs of Miami’s pioneers, the city’s first doctor, Dr. James Jackson (yes, the same one from the hospital); Julia Tuttle, “the mother of Miami,” who convinced Henry Flagler to bring the railroad and put Miami on the map; the Burdine family, who created an empire of department stores, Burdines, which we know today as Macy’s.
Watch the podcast video with English subtitles:
Aside from the tombstones and silence, a gallery of characters, eccentricities and questions about who founded Miami endures among the tropical trees. How did Dr. Jackson choose to remember his faithful horse? How did a woman fascinated with the history of Pompeii –the Italian city buried by Vesuvius– end up embedded in a cement block in a land where hurricanes, and not volcanoes, are the greatest danger? And why did her husband, despite his wish to accompany her to eternal rest, settle for a common burial?
Who was the beloved chief of the Miccosukee tribe that was killed from behind, and what is his connection to Hialeah? What does the “crazy Russian” have to do with Dr. David Fairchild and the trees in the cemetery?
Follow us on the journey alongside journalist Jessica Serrano and experts Tracy Méndez and Lucia Meneses, from the nonprofit educational organization Dade Heritage Trust, who have steeped themselves in history by offering tours of the cemetery.
Tune in on Tuesdays to watch the episodes on YouTube and the el Nuevo Herald website. Find all the episodes of the Hidden Miami podcast on your favorite audio platform: Spotify Podcast, Apple Podcasts, and Amazon Music.
Listen to the podcast here: