RE Log Fall 2016

FALL 2016 Ransom Everglades LOG 11 A century later The Munroes were surely the most trans- formative owners of the Scrububs land, but others played significant roles in shaping Coconut Grove as a community. John Dubose, a former South Carolina senator-turned-lighthouse-keeper on Key Biscayne, was the first to build a home on the land, settling on the prop- erty in the 1830s. By 1877, the parcel, as part of a larger tract of land, was sold for the first time. John Frow, also a lighthouse keeper, forked over $100 for it. Frow transferred a section of the land to his sister Kitty, who was active in civic events in Coconut Grove, and her husband George Roberts, and they sold it to the Munroes in 1886. Arva Moore Parks – a native Miamian, historian, preservationist and community leader who taught history at the Everglades School for Girls – has authored, coauthored, edited or contributed to more than 30 books and documentaries, including the City of Miami’s official history: Miami The Magic City. During her six-year tenure as chair of the Coral Gables Preservation Board, she helped preserve some of the city’s most important landmarks and established relationships with members of the Merrick family. Widely honored for her writing and activism, she was awarded an honorary doctorate by Barry University and named an Alumna of Outstanding Distinction by the University of Florida and University of Miami. She was inducted into the Women’s Hall of Fame for Florida and Coral Gables, and was named the Robert B. Knight Citizen of the Year and first George Merrick Award of Excellence winner by the Coral Gables Chamber of Commerce. The Florida Historical Society honored her as the Caroline B. Rossitter “Outstanding Woman in Florida History.” She spent 18 months as pro bono acting director and chief curator of the new Coral Gables Museum, and two years as chair of the board. Her latest book, George Merrick: Son of the South Wind, was published by the University Press of Florida in 2015. Much like today, the land shot up in value. Just over 40 years later, Pittsburgh industrialist John Semple paid $100,000 for the property he renamed La Brisa – the breeze. Nearly 100 years and five owners later, Ransom Everglades School paid $27.6 million for the land, with a charitable donation from an anonyous donor that put the actual price at $34 million. That purchase reunited two pieces of land once considered part of the same parcel, and which share a similar, noble history rooted in learning, service, outreach and respect for the surround- ing world. first meeting of the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club. Kirk was the BBYC’s first secre- tary, serving under commodore Ralph Munroe (no relation). The BBYC yacht regatta – the first organized cultural event in South Florida, is still held an- nually in Coconut Grove on George Washington’s birthday. Scrububs before Ransom Everglades By 1893, the Munroes had built a wooden boathouse, South Florida’s first tennis court, a tool shed and servants’ cottage, and added a porch, second story, windmill tower, new roof and windows to their home. In February of that year, on the day that the Biscayne Bay Yacht Club held its annual regatta, the Munroes met a young man who had been advised by his doctor to travel from the cold winter of Buffalo, N.Y.; he suffered from a kidney disorder called Bright’s Disease. That man, Paul Ransom, presented a letter of introduction to Kirk Munroe from a mutual friend. Kirk and Mary Munroe spent days entertaining him, taking him around Coconut Grove, serv- ing him dinner at Scrububs and even introducing him to Julia Tuttle, who was then trying to convince Henry Flagler to extend his railroad to Miami. The Munroes’ hospitality was so genuine, the bay water so beautiful, and the environ- ment so seemingly restorative, Paul Ransom decided on that very trip to purchase a plot of land. He eyed the land adjacent to the home of his new friends. When Munroe real- ized his deed included that property, he sold it to Ransom for $1,300. A decade later, after dabbling in education by bringing students for winter tutoring to his “Pine Knot Camp,” Ransom opened the Adirondack-Florida School. The ethic he preached from the start, teach- ing his students to put more in the world than they took from it, Kirk and Mary Barr Munroe had modeled for years.