Miami River Greenway

This 1850s structure is the oldest standing house in Miami-Dade County. It was built by William Wagner, a German immigrant and U.S. Army veteran. After being wounded in the Mexican-American War in 1847, Wagner returned to Fort Moultrie, Georgia to recuperate and married Eveline Aimar, a French Creole.

In 1855, Wagner's former Army unit was assigned from Fort Moultrie to Fort Dallas along the north shore of the Miami River. There, Wagner joined forces with Captain Sinclair, a sea captain with two schooners, and established a sutter's store to serve troops during the Third Seminole War (1855-1858). With help from Captain Sinclair, Wagner built a steam-powered coontie mill on Wagner Creek. The production of starch from the native coontie plant (Zamia pumila) which grew profusely in the pine woods became a means by which Miami's early settlers could earn cash. In the late 1850s, Wagner built a house nearly 50 yards from the creek that would come to bear his name. The Dade County pine house is a hand-hewn, peg-fastened and wood shingled example of 19th century shelters.

In 1875, acting on a suggestion by the Reverend Bishop Verot of St. Augustine, Wagner built a small Catholic chapel known as the "Little Church in the Pine Woods," which burned down in 1892. The "Little Church in the Pine Woods" was regarded as the earliest house of worship in the Miami area since the Spanish missions.

Wagner sold his property to Julia Tuttle in 1893, then bought it back from the probate court in 1899. He died on the land in 1901 at the age of 76. William Wagner was regarded as a true pioneer who lived to see the incorporation of Miami in 1896.

Development in 1920-1970 prompted the Wagner Homes donation to the Dade Heritage Trust, a non-profit preservation group who understood the Wagner Homes' restoration and relocation to Lummus Park, named after Miami's third mayor (1900-1903) John "J.E." Lummus. The Miami City Commission designated the Wagner Homestead a historic site in 1984.

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Catholic chapel circa 1890 Historical Museum of South Florida

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