History of the city of Hialeah, Florida

“High Prairie” was the Indian Seminole meaning of the city name Hialeah. The name suggests an image of the grassy plains which they used coming from the everglades to wharf their canoes and show their wares for the newly comers of Miami. The pioneer aviator Glenn Curtiss caught up with the high prairie and also Missouri cattleman James H. Bright who saw the 1921 great potential.

Hialeah produced significant contributions on entertainment during the early “Roaring 20’s”. Spanish sport named jai-alai and greyhound racing were included in Sports. The movie entitled “The White Rose” of D.W. Griffith was made at the Miami Movie Studios located in Hialeah. During the Miami hurricane in 1926 many things were put to end.

In 1925, historical events began and many people have been associated with Hialeah. On that year the Hialeah Park Race Track was opened which was nicknamed the “Grand Dame”. It was a horse track which received more coverage in the Miami media compared to any sporting event in the history of Miami and since that time many countless horse racing have been played out at the famous 220-acre park.

Hialeah’s beauty attracted millions of people such as the Hialeah Park Race Track which holds the dual eminence of making up an Audubon Bird Sanctuary through its own pink flamingos. It is also recognized by the National Register of Historic Places. The Park’s grandeur appealed thousands and even millions of known people among them are the famous leaders such as Winston Churchill, Kennedy Family, Harry Truman, General Oman Bradley, and J.P. Morgan.   

Historian in Hialeah, Fernandez-Kelly explicated Hialeah as “It became an affordable Eden”. In addition to, the place was visualized as a resort area for the elite, exiled Cuban leader, fleeing Fidel Castro’s 1959 revolution as well as World War II Veterans and the planner of the city transformed the city into a wage-earning community. Historian, Fernandez-Kelley added that the city as “a place where different groups have left their imprint while trying to create a sample of what life should be like.” Starting after The Cuban Revolution in 1959, more waves of Cuban exiles happen and upholding through to the Freedom Flights from 1965-1973, the Mariel Boatlift in 1980. Also, The Balseros or boat of the people of the late 1990s made what an expert has considered the most economically successful immigrant enclave in U.S. history as Hialeah is the only American industrial city that still continues to boost.  

Hialeah holds the rank of Florida’s fifth largest city with almost 240,000 residents since from 1925 it has a population of 1,500 and in 1960 Hialeah has grown at an increasing rate compared to the ten largest cities in the state of Florida. In Dade County, Hialeah is one of the largest employers. Resident in Hialeah has absorbed their cultural heritage and traditions into a hard-working and diverse community in which proud of its ethnicity and also a family oriented neighborhoods. Both the government and the residents of Hialeah authorized with serving the people are committed to preserving a quality community environment for working and raising families.