South Miami Real Estate | Homes Sale and Rent
About the City of South Miami Florida
The City of South Miami, approximately 3 miles south of the City of Miami, encompasses 2.5-square miles within Miami-Dade County. It borders the University of Miami’s main campus and the cities of Coral Gables and Pinecrest. U.S. Highway 1 (South Dixie Highway) carries tens of thousands of vehicles through the city on a daily basis. South Miami, incorporated in 1927, is one of the County’s oldest municipalities with a permanent residential, tri-ethnic population of approximately 10,500. The “town center” area east of US1 is a vibrant shopping, dining and entertainment venue with a hometown ambiance. Two major hospitals within the city provide employment and services to people throughout the county and beyond.
History of the City of South Miami
Although Native Americans had doubtlessly roamed the area for centuries, the recorded history of South Miami began at the turn of the century when the rich farmlands of South Dade lured pioneers down through Little Hunting Ground (later known as Coconut Grove) to Big Hunting Ground (now known as Cutler).
In 1897, W.A. Larkins, an early pioneer and founder of South Miami, brought his family into the lush wilderness at the southernmost end of the wagon trail that is now the Ingraham Highway. He started a small dairy and a year later established a post office near what is not Cocoplum Circle. Upon the completion of the Miami to Homestead extension of the Florida East Coast Railroad in 1906, Larkins bought the property west of what is now Red Road and south of Sunset Drive and established the first grocery and general supply store located in the area. Additionally, the US Government moved the post office to that location, and the surrounding community was named Larkins in honor of the its Postmaster.
