City of South Miami, Florida | ||
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City | ||
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Nickname(s): SoMi | ||
Motto: The City of Pleasant Living | ||
Location in Miami-Dade County and the state of Florida |
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U.S. Census Bureau map showing city limits |
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Coordinates: 25°42′37″N 80°17′42.61″W / 25.71028°N 80.2951694°WCoordinates: 25°42′37″N 80°17′42.61″W / 25.71028°N 80.2951694°W | ||
Country | United States of America | |
State | Florida | |
County | Miami-Dade | |
Settled | 1897 | |
Incorporated | June 24, 1927 | |
Government | ||
• Type | Council-Manager | |
• Mayor | Philip K. Stoddard | |
• Vice Mayor | Walter Harris | |
• Commissioners | Gabriel Edmond, Josh Liebman, and Robert Welsh | |
• City Manager | Steven Alexander | |
• City Clerk | Maria M. Mendez | |
Area | ||
• City | 2.3 sq mi (6.0 km2) | |
• Land | 2.3 sq mi (6.0 km2) | |
• Water | 0 sq mi (0.0 km2) 0% | |
Elevation | 10 ft (3 m) | |
Population (2011) | ||
• City | 11,932 | |
• Density | 5,137.6/sq mi (1,983.6/km2) | |
• Metro | 5,422,200 | |
Time zone | EST (UTC-5) | |
• Summer (DST) | EDT (UTC-4) | |
Zip Codes | 33143, 33155 | |
Area code(s) | 305, 786 | |
FIPS code | 12-67550 | |
GNIS feature ID | 0291395 | |
Website | http://www.southmiamifl.gov/ |
South Miami is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, in the Miami metropolitan area. The population was 10,741 at the 2000 census and as of 2011, according to the U.S. Census Bureau was 11,932.
South Miami's central business district is directly served by the Miami Metrorail at the South Miami station on Sunset Drive, connecting the suburb to downtown Kendall, Downtown Miami, and Miami Central Station at Miami International Airport.
South Florida had been roamed by Native Americans (Tequesta, Calusa, and Jaega), probably for centuries, before white pioneers advanced through Little Hunting Ground (later known as Miami's Coconut Grove neighborhood) to Big Hunting Ground (now known as the Cutler neighborhood of Palmetto Bay).
Wilson Alexander Larkins (1860–1946) was 36 years old when he, his wife (Katie Estelle Burtashaw) and five children, and their livestock arrived in Fort Dallas (now the Lummus Park Historic District of Miami) in 1896. He purchased property west of Red Road and Sunset Drive, where he built a home and barn. He also built the first general store east of that area in 1898 at what is known today as '"Cartagena Plaza" or "Cocoplum Circle" (actually in Coral Gables, Florida), and as the community grew, he established a post office in the community. Larkins became the first Postmaster, a role he held for sixteen years; he named the area Manila, but the majority of the settlers, who began building homes around his store, preferred the name of "Larkins" in his honor.