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The original 85 acres of tropical hardwood hammock forest was enhanced when the county made its first purchase to enhance the park with an adjacent 420 acres of mangroves and hammock in 1934-5. Now with more than 630 acres, the park features a mile of frontage along Biscayne Bay.Matheson wanted the land maintained in perpetuity "to preserve the wild and natural beauty" for the public to enjoy. Through additional gifts by Matteson heirs, county purchases, and other donations, property boundaries continued to stretch. The Civilian Conservation Core worked in the park during the 30s, building walls and shelters from the native "coral" rock. The buildings have survived the test of time and hurricanes, standing as unique features of the park's picnic area just off Old Culter Road at the entrance.A ridge of oolitic, Miami Limestone, rock runs along the east side of South Florida, separating the area geologically from the everglades to the west. This rock is often referred to as "coral" rock. Known as the Miami Rock Ridge, the area was covered with pineland and dense stands of hardwood trees, predominantly from the West Indies. The Ridge has elevations 3-12 feet above sea level and serves as the base for where much of Miami stands today. The park is an excellent example of this hardwood hammock and a glimpse into what Miami looked like in past centuries.

A picnic shelter, one of the ‘30s-era buildings still in use today at Matheson Hammock. 

The Miami-Dade park system is the third-largest in the country, and it all began in 1930 when William J. Matheson and his son Hugh donated 85 acres off Old Cutler Road to the County. This tropical hardwood hammock became Matheson Hammock Park, the first public park in the county and one of seven designated Heritage Parks. Almost six times its original size, visitors enjoy many bay-front amenities. Matheson Hammock is a popular spot for bikers, boaters, swimmers, and picnickers. The weekends are busy with boaters utilizing the full-service marina facilities and swimmers enjoy the tranquil waters of the family-friendly atoll. Kite-boarding is a popular sport from this location and visitors come from far and wide to dine at the nationally recognized, award-winning Red Fish Grill.

Matheson Hammock Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

A County-wide driving tour to 7 beautiful, unique historic Heritage Parks. Info and tips included.

Haulover Beach Park became the fourth major park in the Miami-Dade system when it was acquired in 1935, with the beach-front portion added six years later. Public access was delayed until 1948, due to World War II. But the park was put to good use with Coast Guard vessels patrolling on the lookout for German U-boats lurking off the coast. The distinctive Lighthouse Restaurant in Streamline Moderne style was repurposed as today’s Ocean Rescue Lifeguard offices.A significant thread of consistency during the park's development was the creative leadership of William Lyman Phillips, considered by many to be the Dean of Landscape Architecture. His work included five of the County's Heritage Parks: Greynolds, Haulover, Crandon, Matheson Hammock, and Fruit and Spice.The name "Haulover" is attributed to several traditions all involving the necessity of "hauling over" some sort of goods from the ocean to the bayside. Depending on which account you believe, the name could have been adapted from the routine hauling fish and turtles caught in the late 1800s, or through the efforts of moving mail by the "barefoot mailman" that served the area around the same time. Another legend attributes the name to the transport of liquor during prohibition, whereby smugglers would meet up with speed boats on the bayside to move their product quickly to the good citizens of the area.

One of two public beach parks operated by Miami-Dade County, Haulover Beach is boarded by the Atlantic Ocean on one side and features a total of 1.4 acres of sandy beaches. A man-made channel along the south side of the park connects the Atlantic to Biscayne Bay and today the beach is a haven for kite-fliers as well as sun worshippers, and the home of the largest public clothing-optional beach in the U.S.

Haulover Beach Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

Following the Great Depression in the 1930s, President Roosevelt’s Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) employed single, unemployed young men to work on environmental projects throughout the U.S.  In 1936, the CCC worked to construct coral rock and limestone buildings at Greynolds Park, a Miami-Dade County Heritage Park, on the Oleta River in the northeastern part of the county. Primarily 110 acres donated by A.O. Greynolds, the property was once a Seminole Indian trading post and later a rock quarry; some of the oolitic limestone was used to build the stone structures still in use. Open to the public in 1936, the county’s Historic Preservation Board designated Greynolds Park a historic site in 1983.

Green spaces are an important part of preserving the historic legacy of an area. And in Miami-Dade County, Florida the survival of native hammocks, rock lands, and the wildlife that thrives within is a vital part of the area's heritage. Today, the Miami-Dade parks system is the third-largest in the country, with 270 parks and additional conservation lands under County management, a total of more than 34,000 acres. Seven of those parks have been designated Heritage Parks.

Greynolds Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

Originally purchased by Commodore William John Matheson, in 1908, 1,700 acres became the largest coconut plantation in the U.S. By 1921 the plantation had more than 36,000 trees.In 1940, Miami-Dade's Matheson family expanded their philanthropic protection of the area's unique and beautiful shoreline with the donation of the acreage along the north side of Key Biscayne. The gift was restricted for use as a public park. In exchange, the country agreed to build a causeway to connect the Key to the mainland and in 1947, the new Crandon Park and Rickenbacker Causeway were opened to the public.The Mathesons weren't the first to inhabit Key Biscayne, that claim can most likely be made by the Tequesta Indians that inhabited the area for generations. Archeological materials have been found in the Park in recent years, thanks to the help of Hurricane Andrew in 1992. In the 1500s the island was visited by Spanish explorers Ponce de León and Pedro Menéndez de Avilés. Avilés was the first colonial governor of Florida. The park was also home to Crandon Zoo, which opened after World War II, which eventually evolved into Zoo Miami at an expanded location on the mainland.

This barrier island park features two miles of beach on its east side and Biscayne Bay, and its views of Miami, on the west. Boundaries included a unique fossilized mangrove reef, seagrasses, wetlands, coastal hammocks, and abundant wildlife. Amenities include gardens, a nature center, an Audubon-certified 18-hole golf course, marina, tennis center. bike paths, a historic carousel, and, of course, the beaches. Visitors enter the park on a designated State Historic Highway.

Crandon Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

Charles Deering hailed from South Paris, Maine and was the son of William Deering, who co-founded Deering, Milikent &amp; Company and then went on to establish Deering Harvester Company which eventually merged with McCormic Harvesting machine Company, forming the International Harvestory Company. Charles, who was Secretary of Deering Harvester, served as the initial chairman of the Board of the international company during the years of 1902-1910.Charles had a specific taste for fine art and filled his Miami mansion with pieces by Spanish artists such as El Greco, Diego Velasquez, and Rembrandt. According to the Estate’s official website, “In total, he amassed more than 4,000 pieces of art and had one of the largest collections of art in the world. His art collection was appraised at $60 million dollars in 1922.” Charles was an artist himself and enjoyed painting portraits. Some of his own artwork, such as a painting of U.S. Army General William Denison Whipple, still hangs in the Stone House today.The Deering site played an important role in the lives of early native populations. In partnership with the County’s Office of Historic Preservation, surveys have been completed at the Deering Estate discovering new archeological sites on the property from Paleo to Pioneer periods.With evidence of human settlements for 10,000 years, the Estate is also home to the Cutler Fossil Site and Cutler Burial Mound. From the Pleistocene era, the Cutler Fossil Site excavations have discovered a Paleo-Indian shelter and bones of megafauna. A number of Tequesta burials have been found in the Cutler Burial Mound, one of few surviving prehistoric mounds in Miami-Dade County. The burial site can only be visited with guided Natural Area Tours.

The stone home overlooking the Biscayne Bay was built in 1900 and first operated as an inn by Edith Richmond; it was called the Richmond Cottage. In 1916, an immensely wealthy businessman from Maine, Charles Deering, purchased the building and the 444 acres of land. He moved into the home in 1922 and resided there until his death in 1927. The home remained in the hands of the Deering family for over fifty years and fortunately was well preserved. Additionally, despite being located on the cusp of a densely populated and industrial area, the estate land is home to rare and threatened wildlife. Today, the house and land are open to the public for tours and exhibits of all sorts.The most recent treasure to become a Heritage Park, the Deering Estate, was purchased by the State of Florida in 1986 for $22.5 million and is managed by Miami-Dade County.The 444-acre site is an environmental, archeological, and historical preserve and is on the National Register of Historic Places.

Deering Estate at Cutler

In 1935, Mary Calkins Heinlein, born into a pioneer Redland family, convinced the County to begin efforts to purchase 18 acres in Redland, the first lasting settlement in south Miami-Dade. Heinlein had a life-long fascination with the exotic fruits and plants that could be grown in the area and she and her husband owned a small nursery. William Lyman Philips was hired to create landscape plans for the garden. Philips was the landscape architect and designer of the nearby Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden. Design plans were completed in 1944, and Heinlein was named the first superintendent of the Preston B. Bird and Mary Heinlein Fruit and Spice Park.The Mango Café is housed in the Bauer-Neill Mitchell House. The original 1902 home was moved to the Park from eight miles away and is an example of a typical Redland pioneer home. Both the pioneer home and the 1906 one-room schoolhouse (Welcome Center) were completely destroyed during Hurricane Andrew but were meticulously replicated as you see today. A coral rock building dating from around 1913 was the only surviving historic building on the site after Andrew devastated the area in 1992. The building was originally a lab used for citrus canker research.Within the now enlarged Park, there are more than 500 varieties of exotic fruits, herbs, spices, and nuts from around the world; 180 varieties of mangos; 70 varieties of bamboo; 40 varieties of bananas; 15 varieties of jackfruit trees, a herb and vegetable garden, and African Baobob trees. Visitors are allowed to sample fallen fruit, but may not pick any from trees or plants. Arrangements can also be made for collecting seeds and cuttings suitable for planting.

The 37-acre Preston B. Bird and Mary Heinlein Fruit &amp; Spice Park showcases more than 500 varieties of exotic fruits, herbs, spices, and nuts, including 180 varieties of mangos. The Park is part of the Redland Historic District and also home to a 1906 schoolhouse used as the Welcome Center, and the Bauer-Neill Mitchell House which serves as a café. The Welcome Center has a nicely stocked gift shop filled with tropical treats as well as educational information about the area, its history, and the many fruits and spices grown. It offers an excellent educational experience for children. The Mango Café is famous for its twin lobster rolls.The Park offers guided tram tours daily as well as a self-guided walking tour map, classes, and workshops. The Park is accessible and has wheelchairs available. Strollers can easily navigate the paths. Cost is $10 for adults, $6 for children 6-11, and under 6, free.

Fruit & Spice Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

With the land donated from James Sottile and the vision of County Commissioner J.D. Redd, the park was originally dedicated in 1939.Since there were no funds designated to develop the site as an accessible public park, the County made a deal with the WPA in 1939 to deepen the North Canal and widen the south side for boat dockage, add fill for a parking area, carve out an atoll-shaped swimming area, and build a two-story caretaker's house. The County furnished materials and the WPA provided the manpower. The project was not without its challenges, however, with no electrical access to light the needed channel markers for the marina and no water supply. The installation of a windmill solved the electrical situation. Wells for water could not be drilled close to the bay and a solution was found farther away requiring water to be stored and pumped slowly through pipes not larger than two inches. Once again, windmill power was used to operate the pump needed to move the water. Bottled water was used for drinking and cooking.During World War II the site was used as a crash boat base in conjunction with operations at the nearby Homestead Air Force Base. It wasn't until after the war that power lines and water mains were extended to the park. Funds from a County General Obligation Bond were also able to complete the residence, expand the marina, and create a new entrance.Many enhancements were made in the years that followed, a beach was created to enhance the atoll swimming area, the marina was enlarged and a beach pavilion, lifeguard stands, and boat ramp were added. During segregation, there was a second, smaller atoll beach with custodian quarters, restrooms, and a refreshment stand on the north side of the North Canal. After desegregation, the area was converted into a family camping area and boat launching ramp.The park was re-dedicated in 1955.

Homestead Bayfront Park is a charming destination created on land donated in 1938, by James Sottile, owner of South Dade Farms. The public can access 90 of the park’s 1,200 acres.  Neighboring Biscayne National Park, Homestead Bayfront Park has many inaccessible areas that are home to protected natural zones and coastal wetlands. During WWII the site was leased to the Air Force and afterward, with the addition of an atoll pool, marina, and other facilities, the park opened to the public in 1955. The on-site La Playa restaurant has a tasty menu and a great setting. They are open Monday - Friday 11 AM - 8 PM and Saturday and Sunday 11 AM - 11 PM.

Miami-Dade County's 7 Heritage Parks

Matheson Hammock Park: A Miami-Dade Heritage Park

Introduction

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Backstory and Context

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