Connecting Florida: Miami and Julia Tuttle with Becky Matkov

Connecting Florida: Miami and Julia Tuttle with Becky Roper Matkov

Acclaimed historic preservationist and author Becky Roper Matkov joins Kislak curator Dr. Carol Damian to share her research and new insights into the extraordinary life of prominent Miami pioneer Julia Tuttle.

When Julia Sturtevant Tuttle, a young wife and mother of two from Cleveland, visited her parents in remote South Florida in 1875, she fell in love with the clear blue waters of Biscayne Bay. She later purchased 640 acres at the mouth of the Miami River and returned as a widow to live there in 1891. Thanks to her convincing Henry Flagler to bring his railroad to the Miami River, and working relentlessly to build, promote, and nurture the community, in 1896 Miami was incorporated as a city. In her seven years of living on the banks of the Miami River, Julia Tuttle transformed a region.

Becky Roper Matkov, a director and past president of the Deering Estate Foundation, is a writer, acclaimed historic preservationist, and author of the award-winning documentary On This Land, the Charles Deering Estate. For 18 years she served as executive director of Dade Heritage Trust, leading fights to save the Freedom Tower, the Historic Miami City Cemetery, and the 2000-year-old Miami Circle. She has served as chairperson of the State Historic Preservation Advisory Council, as a trustee of the Florida Trust, and as president of the Junior League of Miami. For ten years she was the Florida Manager of the Elizabeth Ordway Dunn Foundation, working on environmental and preservation issues throughout the state.

Dr. Carol Damian is an art historian, former Professor of Art History in the School of Art and Art History at Florida International University, and former Director and Chief Curator of the Patricia and Phillip Frost Art Museum at FIU. She has contributed to numerous publications and lectures frequently on Latin American and Caribbean art, and the local art scene. She is currently Curator of the Kislak Center, part of the Miami Dade College Special Collections, housed at the Freedom Tower; and of the Chapel of La Merced Colonial Collection at Corpus Christi in Miami.

MDC Special Collections’ programs are made possible with the support of the Miami-Dade County Department of Cultural Affairs and the Cultural Affairs Council, the Miami-Dade County Mayor and Board of County Commissioners. They are sponsored in part by the State of Florida, Department of State, Division of Arts and Culture, the Florida Council on Arts and Culture, and the National Endowment for the Arts.