Redland, Florida facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Redland, Florida
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The 1912 Pioneer Guild Hall in Redland, now the Redland Grocery
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 Redland, Florida
Location in Florida
Redland, Florida
Location in the United States
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| Country | United States |
| State | Florida |
| County | Miami-Dade |
| Elevation | 7 ft (2 m) |
| Population
(2010)
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| • Total | 10,138 |
| Time zone | UTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC-4 (EDT) |
| Area code(s) | 305, 786 |
| FIPS code | 12-36100 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0285050 |
Redland, long known also as the Redlands or the Redland, is a historic unincorporated community and agricultural area in Miami-Dade County, Florida, located about 20 miles (32 km) southwest of downtown Miami and just northwest of Homestead, Florida. It is unique in that it constitutes a large farming belt directly adjoining what is now the seventh most populous major metropolitan area in the United States. Named for the pockets of red clay that cover a layer of oolitic limestone, Redland produces a variety of tropical fruits, many of which do not grow elsewhere in the continental United States. The area also contains a large concentration of ornamental nurseries. The landscape is dotted with u-pick'em fields, coral rock (oolite) walls, and the original clapboard homes of early settlers and other historic early twentieth century structures.
Contents
Etymology
Through the early part of the 20th century, what was known as the "Redland District" – occasionally informally referred to as "the Redlands" or just "the Redland" – encompassed the communities of Homestead, Florida City, Redland, Silver Palm, Modello (now a part of Leisure City), Naranja, Princeton, and Goulds. The "Redland" community included in the Redland District was the area west of S.W. 177th Avenue (Krome Avenue) to the Everglades, south to S.W. 288th Street (Biscayne Drive), and north to S.W. 184th Street (Eureka Drive). The singular "Redland" was purportedly used to make it easier to differentiate the area from the city of Redlands, California.
A smaller-sized community centered around SW 187th Avenue (Redland Road) and SW 264th Street (Bauer Drive) was briefly incorporated as "Redland" in 1910 and then dissolved. Efforts in the 1920s to reincorporate a "town of Redland"—a six-square mile area with proposed borders of SW 280th Street (Waldin Drive) on the south, SW 197th Avenue (Richard Road) on the west, SW 232nd Street (Silver Palm Drive) on the north, and S.W. 177th Avenue (Krome Avenue) on the east—failed when residents could not agree on the precise town limits. Later in the 20th century, people simply began referring informally to the entire agricultural area stretching northwest from (and outside of) the now well-developed Florida City, Homestead, and US 1 corridor as "the Redlands." Today, there is little consistency in usage. While a few residents maintain "the Redlands" is used only by those from outside the area, "Redland," "the Redlands," and "the Redland" are generally used interchangeably, with "Redland" being the more formal usage.
History
Redland originated in anticipation of Henry Flagler's railroad when pioneer homesteaders in the early 1900s developed a way of working the difficult soil, called scarifying or plow-breaking. This revolutionary method of agriculture allowed the land there to develop into the "winter greenery basket of America" and the "garden capital of the world". The center of town was located near Redland Road and Bauer Drive.
The area has many historic markers that tell the history of certain spots.
Geography
It is located at 25°31′41″N 80°29′24″W / 25.528°N 80.49°W, its elevation 7 feet (2.1 m).
Economy
With its tropical climate, many tropical fruit crops are grown in Redland that are not grown commercially elsewhere in the continental United States, such as mango, avocado, guava, passion fruit, carambola (star fruit), lychee, jack fruit, canistel, sapodilla, longan, mamey sapote, black sapote (chocolate pudding fruit), miracle fruit, jaboticaba, cecropia (snake fingers), and coffee beans. Avocados constitute the largest commercial crop, covering nearly 8,000 acres (3,237 hectares). Today’s farmers include Cuban- and Asian-Americans, as well as weekend dabblers and members of the farm-to-table movement.
The Fruit & Spice Park, a 37-acre (15-hectare) county-run park and local attraction, offers samples of virtually all of the tropical fruits grown here and more, including 150 varieties of mango and 70 types of bananas. The original one-room Redland Schoolhouse built in 1906 was used as the entrance to the park until it was destroyed by Hurricane Andrew; a faithful replica was built in its place. Like the Pioneer Guild Hall and Redland Farm Life School before it, the park frequently serves as a community center, hosting festivals, events, and community meetings.
Redland also contains a large number of ornamental nurseries that produce orchids and other ornamental plants. The Redland International Orchid Festival, which is the largest annual orchid show in the United States, is hosted at the Fruit & Spice Park each May.
Although there are some older one acre to 2 1/2 acre ranchettes, virtually all of Redland is outside of the urban development boundary (UDB) created by Miami-Dade County in the 1980s, and the resulting agricultural/residential zoning requires houses built in the area to be on a minimum of 5 acres (20,000 m2) of land. Farmers with large land holdings, aligned with developers, have sought to expand the UDB boundaries, arguing that restricting future development could drive down the price of land value. However, smaller farmers with five-acre lots, who outnumber farmers with larger operations, have thus far successfully fought to keep Redland outside of the UDB and zoned for agriculture. Both in the early 2000s and in the early 2010s, residents, like their forebears in the early part of the 20th century, explored incorporation, only this time to ward off any movement of the UDB and to avoid piecemeal annexation by Homestead and Florida City.
Despite zoning protection, Redland's historic and rural character has faded as original homes, lacking historic preservation protection, have been knocked down, and as the community succumbs to the insistent pressure of the surrounding urban area. In 2016, the historic 1905 pine clapboard Kosel homestead on the northwest corner of Plummer Drive and Redland Road was demolished, as was the 1926 Howard Schaff residence on the west side of Krome Avenue south of S.W. 272nd Street (Epmore Drive). Like many historic structures in Redland, both had been eligible for listing in the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP). To date, however, only two structures in Redland—the William Anderson General Merchandise Store and the Silver Palm Schoolhouse—have been listed in the NRHP. In addition, in January 2019, the Florida Department of Transportation began what is now almost-completed construction on its project to widen Krome Avenue through Redland to four lanes. The project has already forced the closure of one feed store in Redland, threatens the closure of another feed and supply store, and promises other dramatic impacts on the community's rural character.
Education
Public schools
Miami-Dade County Public Schools operates the public schools in Redland. In 1953, grades 9-12 and the agricultural curriculum moved from the Redland Farm Life School to the newly constructed South Dade High School three miles to the south. In 1958, Redland Junior High School opened in newer construction just to the east of the Redland Farm Life School, and the ninth grade returned from what was now South Dade Senior High. In 1983, the ninth grade was transferred back to South Dade, and the junior high became Redland Middle School, consisting of grades 6-8. The original Redland Farm Life School, now just an elementary school, suffered severe damage in Hurricane Andrew in 1992 and closed. Although the building still remains standing, the school board built a replacement, Redland Elementary School, just to the north.
High schools
- South Dade High School
Middle schools
- Redland Middle School
- South Dade Middle School
Elementary schools
- Redland Elementary School
- Avocado Elementary School
Private schools
- Redland Christian Academy (PK-12)
- Colonial Christian School (PK-12)
Points of interest in Redland
- Monkey Jungle
- Fruit & Spice Park
- William Anderson General Merchandise Store
- Silver Palm Schoolhouse
- Redland Farm Life School
