Most people sum up Florida in just one word: vacation. That is not a new association. A century ago, steamboats and then railroads brought northerners to the land of sunshine. If there is one individual’s name that often appears on road names as well as the front or back covers of history books, it is that of Henry Flagler. His determination together with his vision transformed Florida from a wilderness into a 20th-century state in a matter of years. By constructing a railroad down the eastern coast of the state, he provided thousands with easy access to areas where many people had previously struggled to live in isolated communities.