Cauley Square Historic Village, often shortened to Cauley Square, is a former

railway town A railway town, or railroad town, is a settlement that originated or was greatly developed because of a railway station or junction at its site. North America During the construction of the First transcontinental railroad in the 1860s, temporar ...

located in

Goulds, Florida Goulds is a census-designated place (CDP) in Miami-Dade County, within the U.S. state of Florida. The area was originally populated as the result of a stop on the Florida East Coast Railroad. The railroad depot was located near the current Southwe ...

, in the United States. Originally built in 1903 by William H. Cauley, it was declared a

historic site A historic site or heritage site is an official location where pieces of political, military, cultural, or social history have been preserved due to their cultural heritage value. Historic sites are usually protected by law, and many have been rec ...

Miami-Dade County Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Florida. The county had a population of 2,701,767 as of the 2020 census, making it the most populous county in Florida and the seventh-most populous county in ...

in 1994.

History

In 1903, the

Florida East Coast Railway The Florida East Coast Railway is a Class II railroad operating in the U.S. state of Florida, currently owned by Grupo México. Built primarily in the last quarter of the 19th century and the first decade of the 20th century, the FEC was a pr ...

, created by

Henry Flagler Henry Morrison Flagler (January 2, 1830 – May 20, 1913) was an American industrialist and a founder of Standard Oil, which was first based in Ohio. He was also a key figure in the development of the Atlantic coast of Florida and founde ...

, reached the town of

. William H. Cauley owned of land in the area; he built Cauley Square in the same year in an attempt to expand the population of Goulds. The buildings were then used to house Flagler's railway employees, as the railways that they worked on passed through the town. Cauley used the village as a shipping hub for his

tomato The tomato is the edible berry of the plant ''Solanum lycopersicum'', commonly known as the tomato plant. The species originated in western South America, Mexico, and Central America. The Mexican Nahuatl word gave rise to the Spanish word ...

es, sending them north along the railway when winter came. In 1926, Cauley Square was abandoned due to the effects of the

Great Miami Hurricane The Great Miami Hurricane of 1926 was a large and intense tropical cyclone that devastated the Greater Miami area and caused catastrophic damage in the Bahamas and the U.S. Gulf Coast in September of the year 1926, accruing a US$100 mill ...

. It remained vacant for over 20 years and the buildings were

condemned Condemned or The Condemned may refer to: Legal * Persons awaiting execution * A condemned property, or condemned building, by a local authority, usually for public health or safety reasons * A condemned property seized by power of eminent domain ...

for

demolition Demolition (also known as razing, cartage, and wrecking) is the science and engineering in safely and efficiently tearing down of buildings and other artificial structures. Demolition contrasts with deconstruction, which involves taking a ...

. In 1949, Mary Anne Ballard bought the property and restored it. In 1992, when

Hurricane Andrew Hurricane Andrew was a very powerful and destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that struck the Bahamas, Florida, and Louisiana in August 1992. It is the most destructive hurricane to ever hit Florida in terms of structures damaged ...

hit Florida, Cauley Square sustained over $1 million worth of damage. The storm heavily damaged most of the shops as well as resulted in the demolition of the majority of the main building's second floor; however, it was repaired.

declared Cauley Square a historic site in 1994. Following Ballard's death in 1998, the property was passed down to her family, who then sold it to Honduran native Frances Varela in 2001. In 2005, Cauley Square was hit by both

Hurricane Katrina Hurricane Katrina was a destructive Category 5 Atlantic hurricane that caused over 1,800 fatalities and $125 billion in damage in late August 2005, especially in the city of New Orleans and the surrounding areas. It was at the time the cost ...

and

Hurricane Wilma Hurricane Wilma was an extremely intense and destructive Atlantic hurricane which was the most intense storm of its kind and the second-most intense tropical cyclone recorded in the Western Hemisphere, after Hurricane Patricia in 2015. Part ...

, but was restored.

References

{{reflist Historic sites in Florida Railway towns Rail transportation in the United States History of Miami Florida East Coast Railway 1903 establishments in Florida Populated places established in 1903 1926 disestablishments in Florida Populated places disestablished in 1926 Former populated places in Miami-Dade County, Florida