Flagler doesn't extend his railroad into southern Florida

Hi!

How do you think the southern US would have developed if Henry Flagler didn't extend his railroad past Palm Beach to Miami (or didn't even bring all the way down to Palm Beach)? The most likely scenario I can think of would be that southern Florida would be pretty underdeveloped, much like central Florida away from the coast. All the swamps and marshes down in the Everglades won't help much, either. The Keys would likely be unhabited.

Miami would remain a small town, if it survives. One big hurricane could make the few inhabitants decide to leave.

Long term: Florida probably wouldn't become as much of a sunbird state as it is now -- people may go to the Southwest when it opens up. If people do go down south, they'll stay around Amelia Island and places like that. Eventually, Palm Beach (or wherever the end of the line is) may become a big metropolis like Miami is today.

One thing I'm intrigued by is whether refugees from Cuba (if the state goes communist in this time line) will try to sneak over to the US. They may be able to reach Miami or Key West. However, with those two areas more or less deserted and with little infrastructure, they'd probably figure they didn't have a shot to get any further north. Would there be less of a Latino influence down there? Perhaps the Keys become Latino colonies?

Also -- if there isn't as much infrastructure in Florida...what happens to Disneyworld? Would Disney put Disneyworld there if there aren't a lot of sunbirds touting the nice weather and stuff?

ACG
 
South Florida is #1 on the list of Places in America that Humans Have No Business Inhabiting, Certainly not in Wasteful Suburban-Style Development Patterns. Honestly, the region has no business being developed, but we did it anyway.

As the only place in the mainland US with a (sub?)tropical climate, it seems that tourists would find a way to get down there eventually. Someone else would have built a railroad, or a highway, or an airport. But the names and details would be different, and that could be an interesting locally-centered AH.
 
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