South Miami 

is a city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States, in the Miami metropolitan area.

The population was 11,657 at the 2010 census and as of 2019, according to the U.S. Census
Bureau was 11,911.[5]
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
the Miami Intermodal Center 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).[6]
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"[7] (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;[8] 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.[9]
A depot was placed along the Florida East Coast Railway in 1904, and in the same year, John
Moses Dowling built the first house within what is now South Miami city limits. His son-in-law opened
the first store on the west side of the tracks, called the White Palace Grocery.[9]
Other prominent historic families have historic buildings and streets named for them, such as Dorn
Avenue (Southwest 59th Avenue) and the Shelley Building, among others.[7] Harold W. Dorn and his
brother Robert moved to the area in 1910; their primary interest was growing mango and avocado.[10]
[11]
 Mary E. Dorn was the first president of the Cocoplum Thimble Club, the first Women's club in
Larkins.[9] In 1925, the Dorn brothers built the Riviera Theatre at 5700 South Dixie Highway; in 1934,
Charles T. Fuchs moved his Holsum Bakery from Homestead to South Miami and turned the Riviera
Theatre Building into a bakery.
The first African-American to purchase land in the Larkins area was Marshall Williamson, who
moved there from Madison, Florida. He built his home at 6500 SW 60th Avenue and allowed it to be
used for church services even before the construction was completed. In 1916, he donated land for
the St. John's AME (African Methodist Episcopal) Church, one of Larkins's first churches and the first
church in the black community; it is located at 6461 SW 59th Place. Later, Williamson also donated
land for the J. R. E. Lee School. Because of his generosity, the black neighborhood became known
as Madison Square, after Williamson's hometown. Williamson died in 1972. Named after him is
Marshall Williamson Park, at 6125 SW 68 Street.