Dana A. Dorsey

Dana Albert "D. A." Dorsey (1872–1940) was a businessman, banker, and philanthropist who became one of the first African–American millionaires in Florida and the American South.

Dana Albert Dorsey was born in Quitman, Georgia. He was the son of former slaves and the first child in his family not be born into slavery. He received only a fourth-grade formal education, teaching himself after that.

Dorsey came to the Miami area of South Florida around 1896. He worked as a carpenter for the Henry Flagler Florida East Coast Railroad. During that time, he recognized the need to provide housing for black workers. He purchased one parcel of land in Overtown at a time, on which he designed and constructed one rental house per parcel, reinvesting the rental income to build more and rent more, eventually expanding as far north as Fort Lauderdale.

In 1917, he and his wife Rebecca sold land to the City of Miami for a park for African–Americans (during an era of segregation). Dorsey Park is located on Northwest 17th Street and First Avenue.

In 1919, Dorsey sold the barrier island of Fisher Island – just east of the mainland – to the automotive pioneer Carl G. Fisher, who was developing Miami Beach. In 1925, Fisher traded the island to William Kissam Vanderbilt II in return for a 200-foot (61 m) yacht. Vanderbilt's improvements led to what is today one of the wealthiest and most exclusive residential enclaves in the area.

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