This March’s celebration of Women’s History Month provides an opportunity to reflect upon some practical lessons from our female forebears. There are a number of local women whose work and efforts on behalf of the community are worthy of praise, but for today, the focus will be upon the “Mother of Miami”: Julia DeForest Tuttle. Tuttle was perhaps one of the most persistent, dedicated, and visionary women of her time. As far as lessons from history go, did you know that one of her most noteworthy historical achievements also represents an underrated case study in effective grant writing?

So driven was Tuttle to lead the movement to start a new city along the Miami River that after writing numerous letters to Henry Flagler, she personally made the trip to St. Augustine to discuss the matter of extending his railroad further southward. Her vision to attract development to South Florida depended upon ensuring efficient access to the area—and in the 1800s that required a train. Allegedly, her effort in St. Augustine proved fruitless. But as one story goes, after The Great Freeze of 1894-1895, wherein the majority of Florida’s citrus groves were devastated, the clever Tuttle sent Flagler flowering orange blossoms from her own yard beside Biscayne Bay—a demonstration of the area’s “freeze proof” potential. Offering her own “local match,” in effect, by granting Flagler significant tracts of her own land for the construction of the railway, Tuttle deftly capitalized on a collaborating interest to propel her vision forward. Ultimately, Flagler accepted, and the rest is Miami history, folklore or not.