We’re once again delving into the history of Fisher Island and taking a closer look at perhaps its most important figure: Carl G. Fisher. Also known as the father of Fisher Island, he played a significant role in Florida’s history thanks to his various real estate developments.
Born on January 12, 1874 in Greensburg, Indiana, Carl Fisher left school at the age of twelve and bounced around numerous jobs as a teenager before opening a bike shop with his siblings in 1897. The shop proved to be one of the first indicators of Fisher’s success as a future entrepreneur. He expanded into an automobile business, launching what is believed to be the first automobile dealership in the United States which he named the Fisher Automobile Company.
While Fisher had concentrated his efforts largely within Indianapolis, he set his sights on South Florida after taking a Miami vacation in 1910. Seeking to transform what was then largely 3,000+ acres of swampland, he decided to call his future project “Miami Beach” and eventually began working on the city, dredging Biscayne Bay to create its famous residential islands and building high-end hotels like the Flamingo Hotel, the predecessor to what is now the Flamingo South Beach.
By the 1920s, the Florida land boom was in full effect as tales of South Florida’s real estate opportunities reached a fever pitch and land swaps were common. After purchasing over 150 acres of land from millionaire businessman Dana A. Dorsey, this land would become the private community we all know as Fisher Island.
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