Why isn’t Miami the capital of Florida? Curious 305 explains how that happened
Editor’s Note: This article was inspired by a question an Instagram user submitted through Curious305, our community-powered reporting series that solicits questions from readers about Miami-Dade, Broward, the Florida Keys and the rest of the Sunshine State. Submit your question here or scroll down to fill out our form.
Hey, Curious305: Why was Miami not considered to be the state capital?
This may be hard to believe, but long before Miami Beach and “Moon Over Miami” and “Miami Vice,” Miami wasn’t on anyone’s minds when a capital city was chosen years before Florida even gained statehood in 1845.
That’s because Miami wasn’t incorporated until 1896. By then, where to place the capital and its Capitol building had long been settled.
According to the Florida Department of State, the state’s capital was chosen for geographical reasons and there was initial leeway over its placement.
St. Augustine, the oldest city in the territory, dating back to its founding in the 1500s, was the first choice for a Capitol in 1821. But by 1824, legislators had already transferred government business from St. Augustine to Pensacola for alternating sessions because travel from these incorporated parts was hazardous and could take nearly 20 days, according to the state department.
Tallahassee became the capital of what was known as American Florida in 1824, “primarily because it was the midway point between the two principal cities,” the state department notes. Then a Capitol was established there in 1839 and completed in 1845 when Florida was granted statehood.
Miami, way down south, was incorporated in 1896. By that point, Tallahassee long had dibs. Even as far off as 1986, most major touring music acts didn’t want to route their tours this far south, let alone state legislators who had gotten used to calling Tallahassee home base while in office.
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The State of South Florida?
That’s not to say there haven’t been rumblings about making a new capital by splitting Florida into two states, a South Florida state and a North Florida state. Y’know, like North Carolina and South Carolina?
That conversation has been going on for years for political and financial reasons and seems to resurface during heavily contested and close political races.
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In 2014, South Miami commissioners, with then-Mayor Philip Stoddard’s support, voted 3-2 to approve Vice Mayor Walter Harris’ resolution calling for a new state of South Florida, to include 24 of the state’s 67 counties. This new state would run from Tampa and Orlando south to the Keys.
The state of South Florida would have taken 39% of the state’s area and served as home to 13.4 million people, or 67% of the state’s nearly 20 million population. Florida’s population has since grown to nearly 22 million over the last eight years, according to the U.S. Census. Current figures find that the city of Miami has nearly 440,000 people. Tallahassee has just over 197,000.
The argument, which didn’t sway Tallahassee? Local leaders and some of their constituents think Panhandle lawmakers take South Florida’s tax money while ignoring the region’s needs, and that South Florida collected more than half — 69% — of Florida’s then $22 billion in sales and documentary taxes, according to Miami Herald reporting.
Oh, and by the way, these commissioners did not suggest converting their city hall building on Sunset Drive into the South Florida Capitol or making the city of Miami capital of this proposed new state, for that matter. Harris had suggested a good place for South Florida’s state capital would be just west of Fort Pierce, the Herald reported.
