THE MACFARLANE RANCH AND GOLDEN GATE SUBDIVISION

Side One: This area, south of S. Dixie Highway (U.S. 1) and adjacent to the former Florida East Coast (FEC) Railway, comprises the MacFarlane Homestead and Golden Gate subdivisions. During segregation, these neighborhoods were home to many of Coral Gables’ African American residents. They came from the Bahamas and the southern United States during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Some black pioneers worked nearby in Coconut Grove, Miami, and Coral Gables. Others worked for notable local establishments, including the Peacock Inn, Deering Estate, and FEC Railway. They also assisted city founder George Merrick as he planned and built Coral Gables. The MacFarlane Homestead Subdivision is bounded by Oak Avenue on the north, Grand Avenue on the south, Brooker Street on the east, and U.S. 1 on the west. It was incorporated into Coral Gables in 1925, after the Coral Gables Securities Corporation purchased the land from the Flora MacFarlane estate. The Golden Gate Subdivision is bounded by Le Jeune Road on the west, Grand Avenue and U.S. 1 on the north, Grant Drive on the south, and Lincoln Drive on the east. Settlement in the neighborhood began in the early 1900s, but it was not annexed by Coral Gables until 1926. Side Two: The nearby Macedonia Missionary Baptist Church served as a focal point for the two subdivisions, and helped build a common community. The church’s five deacons all helped build houses for residents in both neighborhoods. In 1924, George Merrick donated 5 acres in Golden Gate for the construction of an African American elementary and junior high school, the Dade Training School. The same year, members of Macedonia Missionary Baptist helped found St. Mary’s Missionary Baptist Church, and held services in the school until 1926, when a permanent church building was constructed in MacFarlane Homestead. The school was renamed for black agriculturalist George Washington Carver in the 1940s and designated a local historic landmark in 1991. Residences in both subdivisions were built of Dade County Slash Pine, designed in the shotgun and bungalow styles common to the Bahamian islands. While only two of these Bahamian Vernacular houses remain in Golden Gate, there are many more in MacFarlane Homestead. Through the efforts of the Lola B. Walker Homeowners Association, the MacFarlane Homestead Subdivision received a local historic designation in 1989, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1994.