Editing Key Biscayne (section)

===Coconut plantation and would-be resort===
[[File:Biscayne Bay, through the cocoanut trees, Miami, Fla.tif|thumb|[[Biscayne Bay]] visible through coconut trees between 1900 and 1915]]
In 1902, [[William John Matheson]], who had made his fortune in the [[aniline dye]] business, visited Biscayne Bay on his yacht. He soon built a winter home in Coconut Grove overlooking the bay. In 1908 Matheson began buying up the property on Key Biscayne north of the Davis holdings, all the way to Bear Cut, over 1,700 (about 690 hectares) acres. Matheson created a [[plantations in the American South|plantation]] community, employing 42 workers by 1915, and 60 later. It included housing for the workers and their families, packing houses, docks, a school, a big barn, windmills, and {{convert|15|mi|km}} of (unpaved) roads. The plantation had 36,000 coconut trees, and a variety of other tropical fruits. In 1921 Matheson introduced the Malay Dwarf coconut to the United States. This is now the most common variety of coconut found in Florida, after [[lethal yellowing]] killed off most of the Jamaican Tall coconut trees and many other varieties. The Matheson coconut plantation was at least twice as large as any other in the United States. By 1933, the world price for coconut products had dropped to about two-fifths of its 1925 level, and the plantation stopped shipping.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=116–122}}<ref>[http://keyshistory.org/Matheson-3.html ''Life and Times of William John Matheson'', p. 3], Keys History – URL retrieved September 10, 2006</ref>

Waters Davis decided to sell his Key Biscayne property in 1913 (he died the following year). He appointed Ralph Munroe to act as his broker. Although Matheson bid on the property, Munroe arranged a sale, for US$20,000, to [[James Deering]], the [[International Harvester]] heir and owner of the [[Villa Vizcaya]] estate in Miami. In 1914 Deering decided to develop his new land on the island as a tropical resort. He felt that Cape Florida's "future lies in making sales for homes."{{sfn|Blank|1996|p=145}} To prepare, the land was cleared, with marshes and mangroves were filled in. Jetties were built on the ocean side, in the belief that they would protect the beaches from erosion. They have been found to aggravate erosion.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=144–147}}

Waters Davis stipulated in his sale to Deering that the Cape Florida lighthouse be restored. Deering wrote to the U.S. government seeking specifications and guidelines for the lighthouse. Government officials were taken aback by the request, wondering how a federal lighthouse could have passed into private hands. An Act of Congress and two Executive Orders, in 1847 and 1897, had reserved the island for the federal lighthouse and for military purposes. Patient legal work eventually convinced the U.S. Congress and President [[Woodrow Wilson]] to agree to recognize Matheson's and Deering's ownership of Key Biscayne.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=147–150}}

In 1920, the heirs of Venancio Sanchez filed a lawsuit against James Deering, claiming an undivided half interest in his Cape Florida property. This brought development of the resort on Cape Florida to a halt. After many legal battles, the suit was finally decided in Deering's favor by the [[United States Supreme Court]] in 1926. The decision came too late for Deering; he had died the previous year.{{sfn|Blank|1996|pp=151–152}}