Miami Pioneers Edwin & Ida Nelson

The story of an early pioneer family who arrived in Miami during its birth year of 1896. The Nelsons were retail pioneers & community activists. This is the story of Miami's first furniture merchant.

Cover: Original Miami Furniture Store location on NE First Street, west of North of Miami Avenue. Courtesy of Florida State Archives.

During Edwin Nelson’s time in Miami, he was a pioneer merchant, a community activist, and a man of faith who supported the less fortunate during a time when Miami was still a frontier town in the deep south. After Edwin’s death in 1919, it was the outpouring of grief and adoration from those who knew him well, and his generosity revealed during probate, that confirmed he was a man of high integrity and principle.

Edwin and his wife, Ida, arrived in South Florida during the City of Miami’s incorporation year of 1896, and experienced the unbridled possibilities of a new city. The Nelsons went right to work establishing some of the city’s firsts. While Edwin did not make any of these original endeavors his lifetime pursuit, he is remembered as being a founding member of the Magic City’s merchant community. This is the story of Edwin and Ida Nelson and the impact they had on the young City of Miami.

Pioneer Merchant

Figure 1: Advertisement in the Miami Metropolis on June 19, 1896. Courtesy of Miami News Archive.

Edwin and Ida Nelson were very busy after arriving in a partially built City of Miami in the summer of 1896. While other pioneer merchants hung their shingle to declare their specialty such as grocery, shoe, clothing, pharmacy, and realtor, Edwin founded the first furniture store in June of 1896. He called it the Miami Furniture Store, but early directory listings and advertising placements simply referred to the business as ‘Edwin Nelson Furniture.’

The store was located on Eleventh Street, just west of Avenue D. Based on the contemporary street name configuration, it was on NE First Street, just west of North Miami Avenue. Early descriptions of the location of the business, which is seen in the cover photograph, did not indicate if it were on the north or south side of NE First Street.

On November 20, 1896, the Miami Metropolis published an article that announced Edwin Nelson had commenced building a warehouse on a lot that he owned on Twelfth Street, just west of Avenue D (Flagler Street west of Miami Avenue). By the early 1900s, Nelson consolidated his entire furniture operation, store, and warehouse to that location prior to selling the business in 1904.

In addition to merchandising furniture and home furnishings, Nelson also provided an undertaking service which included embalming of the deceased. In many small towns during this time, it was common for furniture stores to also sell coffins and provide interment services as well, which allowed Nelson to make the claim that he was the first furniture dealer and funeral director in the City of Miami.