Miami Centennial Quilt

Perrine Land Grant
by Martha Dasher Howl

Appliqué with fabric, paint outline, inking

Dr. Henry Perrine introduced to South Florida many of the fruits and vegetables we now think of as native, including mangoes, key limes, avocados, date palms. In 1838, Perrine, a founder of the Smithsonian Institute, applied for a land grant of 230,000 acres to the south of Miami, but before it was granted to him, he died in the 1840 Indian massacre on Indian Key — one of the more grisly moments in South Florida history. Congress finally approved the land grant years after his death, in 1897. Ms. Howl writes, "My quilt square is just a small representation of my eternal gratitude to Dr. Perrine for providing this wonderful heritage to me."

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  Miami Centennial Quilt