In 1889, Capt. Henry Seawall and his wife, Abbie, settled on the peninsula that bears their name. The Sewall family had previously inherited a third of the 16,000-acre Miles-Hanson Grant, awarded by the king of Spain in 1823, including the southern 130.8 acres of the Sewall's Point peninsula. Henry Sewall built a home, cleared his land, and planted pineapples. A long freight dock extended into the Indian River at the southeastern tip of the peninsula and for many years served as a popular stopping place for travelers. A Sewall's Point Post Office was established in May 1891 and remained in operation until 1918. Henry Sewall served as a Dade County commissioner in 1893, when south Sewall's Point was within Dade County, and as a state representative in 1894-95. He was also active in the Pineapple Growers' Association and the Club of Hutchinson island from its establishment in 1895 until his death thirty years later.