Henry Morrison Flagler

Henry Morrison Flagler became the second richest man in America as the creator and brains of the Standard Oil Company, in partnership with John D. Rockefeller. He then helped build Florida during a two decade span in which he created the Florida East Coast Railroad. At 74 he pursued his dream of building a "railroad across the sea," which he called the Key West Extension. It took seven years, from 1905 to 1912, to complete under deplorable working conditions and deadly hardships. It was an achievement second only to the Panama Canal.

Marathon, Florida · United States