Editing North Miami, Florida (section)

==History==

===Early history===
In the final phase of Indian inhabitation of the area that eventually became "North Miami", [[United States Army]] soldiers in 1856 cut a [[Florida State Road 809|Military Trail]] through nearly impassable thickets and rivers connecting [[Fort Lauderdale]] to [[Fort Dallas]] at the mouth of the [[Miami River (Florida)|Miami River]]. This eight-foot trail, [[Miami-Dade County, Florida|Dade County]]’s first roadway, crossed a unique natural bridge—a natural limestone bridge spanning {{convert|40|ft|m|0}} across the creek that no longer stands in [[Arch Creek, Florida|Arch Creek Memorial Park]]—in an area that would attract a settlement that early on would be known as "[[Arch Creek, Florida|Arch Creek]]". Even before 1890, a handful of adventuresome pioneers spent brief periods around the [[Arch Creek, Florida|Arch Creek Natural Bridge]], a centuries-old Indian settlement.

In 1891, Charles J. Ihle<ref>https://www.allinmiami.com/blog/top-5-things-you-may-not-know-about-north-miami</ref> was the first to put down roots in the [[Arch Creek, Florida|Arch Creek]] vicinity. He purchased {{convert|80|acre|m2}} from the [[Florida|State of Florida]] at one dollar an acre in the area of today’s N.E. 116th Street and [[Biscayne Boulevard]]. The place was so remote that his nearest northern neighbor was thought to live in [[Ft. Lauderdale]]. Ihle built a temporary palmetto frond shelter. During the next 27 years he grew shallots, coontie, squashes, bananas, sugar cane, Puerto Rican pineapples, lemons, guavas, limes, rose apples, Jamaican apples, and tomatoes.

By 1905 the area surrounding the nine-year-old Arch Creek Railroad Depot had become the community’s hub. It was located at 125th Street and the F.E.C. tracks. That year a post office and a school were opened nearby. By 1912, eighteen homes, a church, a general store, a blacksmith shop, and two tomato packing houses were located around the railroad. The population was estimated at less than one hundred. Farming was still the principal occupation.

The [[Florida land boom of the 1920s|Florida land boom]] that was underway in the 1920s spread to the Arch Creek farming community. The Biscayne Canal was dug in 1924 to remove farmland from flooded conditions. But as a consequence, the soil began to lose its moisture, and the farming which had been the backbone of the economy was no longer profitable. However, in step with the times, this drained land became available for partitioning, lot sales, and development.

===Birth of North Miami===
Thirty-eight out of the forty-seven registered voters, at the encouragement of developers E.C. Harner, Earl Irons, and Arthur Griffing, showed up and voted to incorporate into a town on February 5, 1926. North Miami, between 1926 and 1931, was named "Town of Miami Shores", partially because its early eastern boundary was the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The Town limits were: bounded on the south by [[Miami, Florida|Miami]] and [[Miami Beach, Florida|Miami Beach]], on the east by the [[Atlantic Ocean]], on the west by 17th Avenue, and on the north by a line which approximates Golden Glades Drive or 166th Street. Incorporation moved costs from developers to residents and lot purchasers. Late in 1926, a bond issue of $287,000 was passed to build streets, sidewalks, a town hall, a water system, and fire protection.

The devastating [[1926 Miami Hurricane|September 1926 hurricane]] burst the real estate land speculation. The local community recovered from the damage, but lot sales came to a stop, and the northern tourist's names showed up in great numbers on the delinquent tax list. Some money from the bond issue was used to build a Spanish-Mediterranean style city hall building at N.E. 8th Avenue and 125th Street in 1928. The City Hall also housed the police and fire departments. In the 1930s a new water plant and gravity tank were installed behind City Hall. The first newspaper, ''The Miami Shores Bulletin'', was published in 1927–1928 and chronicled the events of the times. The historic [[W. J. Bryan Elementary School|William Jennings Bryan school]] was constructed in 1928 on the same spot where the Arch Creek Elementary School had burned down the year before.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.northmiamifl.gov/community/history/index.html|title=City of North Miami official site - History Page 1|access-date=2007-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070625162226/http://www.northmiamifl.gov/community/history/index.html|archive-date=2007-06-25|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===The 1930s===
Seven miles (11&nbsp;km) of Atlantic oceanfront beachland property from the [[Broward County]] line southward to Surfside were removed from the town limits as a result of a 1931 [[Florida Supreme Court]] decision. The 1926 hurricane ended plans for a causeway to deliver municipal services to that area of town. With no services being received, the beach area instituted a lengthy court lawsuit to separate and form their own community.

The wealthy Shoreland Company, located to the south of the Town, lobbied the 1931 [[Florida Legislature]] to officially grant their huge development the name "[[Miami Shores, Florida|Village of Miami Shores]]". The Legislature did so. It also passed an official act abolishing "Town of Miami Shores" as a name. The next step was for the local population to choose a new name. The municipality was renamed the "Town of North Miami".

During the [[Great Depression|Depression years]], in 1933, Mrs. Cecille Sevier and Mrs. Ella S. Klefeker became the first two women elected to the Town Council. The 1940s census stated that 1,973 inhabitants lived in the "Town of North Miami".

===Post World War II growth===
At the end of [[World War II]] in 1945, the large and constant influx of former military veterans and their young families changed the face of North Miami by ushering in a great growth period. Homebuilding, road building, shops, stores, and office business construction now continued for decades almost without stopping. By 1951 it was reported nationally that North Miami was one of the fastest-growing towns in the United States. During this time, the growing community needed a high school, so in  1951 construction started for [[North Miami High School]]. In August 1954, [[North Miami High School]] opened its doors for the children of the growing community.

Partially to meet this challenge of fast growth, the voters of North Miami in 1952 voted to adopt a new charter and a new name. The new charter, enacted as an official statute of the [[Florida Legislature]] on May 27, 1953, provided for the establishment of a full-time administrative head (City Manager form of government) to carry out the policies of the elected Mayor/Council. The new and present name officially introduced on this date—the City of North Miami.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.northmiamifl.gov/community/history/index2.html|title=City of North Miami official site - History Page 2|access-date=2007-02-25|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070119004123/http://www.northmiamifl.gov/community/history/index2.html|archive-date=2007-01-19|url-status=dead}}</ref>

North Miami is known for its large Haitian-American population. In 2001, voters made [[Republican Party (United States)|Republican]] [[Josaphat Celestin]] the first [[Haitian Americans|Haitian American]] mayor of a large [[Miami-Dade County]] community. In 2009, voters made Democrat and Haitian immigrant [[Andre Pierre]] mayor of North Miami.<ref>{{cite web|title=www.northmiamifl.gov/docs/2009_Run-off_Municipal_Election_Results.pdf|url=http://www.northmiamifl.gov/docs/2009_Run-off_Municipal_Election_Results.pdf|access-date=2019-07-16|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170206211505/http://www.northmiamifl.gov/docs/2009_Run-off_Municipal_Election_Results.pdf|archive-date=2017-02-06|url-status=dead}}</ref> In 2013, voters made Haitian American Lucie Tondreau the city's first female Haitian-American Mayor;<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1952196.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190716001547/https://www.miamiherald.com/latest-news/article1952196.html| archive-date = 2019-07-16| title = Tondreau voted North Miami's first Haitian-American woman mayor| website = [[Miami Herald]]}}</ref> she soon left office following about being criminally charged.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article4523011.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141217053339/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/crime/article4523011.html| archive-date = 2014-12-17| title = Suspended North Miami Mayor Tondreau found guilty of mortgage fraud| website = [[Miami Herald]]}}</ref><ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article16122632.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20150709112528/http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article16122632.html| archive-date = 2015-07-09| title = Ex-North Miami mayor gets 65 months for role in fraud scheme| website = [[Miami Herald]]}}</ref> In 2014, voters made Haitian immigrant Dr. [[Smith Joseph]] mayor of North Miami.<ref>{{cite web|title=North Miami elects doctor as new mayor|url=http://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/community/miami-dade/north-miami/article3568689.html|website=The Miami Herald}}</ref> In 2019, voters made Philippe Bien-Aime, who was born in Haiti and migrated to the US in 1993, mayor of North Miami.<ref>{{cite web| url = https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article230434589.html| url-status = dead| archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20190516000506/https://www.miamiherald.com/news/politics-government/election/article230434589.html| archive-date = 2019-05-16| title = Philippe Bien-Aime elected new North Miami mayor| website = [[Miami Herald]]}}</ref>
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