Henry Morrison Flagler

Henry Morrison Flagler worked with John Davidson Rockefeller I to create the Big Oil monopoly (Standard Oil Trust), whose illegal tactics were outlawed by the Supreme Court in 1911.

Flagler discovered St. Augustine in the 1880s and built architectural wonders, including palacial homes, hotels and churches (many of which survive). 

This brought wealthy tourists here, including oil company executives. Flagler built the Flagler East Coast Railway, which helped provide transportation all the way to South Florida and produced iconic Florida architectural styles and spurred coastal development.

Henry Morrison Flagler is buried in St. Augustine in the rotunda of Flagler College (the former Ponce de Léon Hotel), which is named for Flagler, and some say his spirit haunts St. Augustine to this day.

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