Editing North Miami, Florida (section)

===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.