The Mystery of The Mosaic Tile

Well here's a Red Couch Chronicle story you won't hear on any tour. It all happened in the beautiful rotunda of the Ponce de Leon Hotel, now Flagler College. It was the funeral of one of America's most influential entrepreneurs, Henry Flagler. As the tale goes, during the May funeral, a strong and totally unexpected wind suddenly slammed shut the huge wooden entry doors and windows of the hotel. At that moment, a white puff or smoke ascended from Flagler's coffin and climbed to the top of the rotunda where it swirled about before diving headlong into the floor in front of a crowd of stunned mourners.

Upon inspecting the area of the floor where the smoke disappeared, the witnesses were amazed to discover that one of the tiny mosaic tiles that comprised the floor bore a remarkable resemblance to Henry Flagler himself. It is believed by many that his spirit, having no escape because the doors and windows were closed, made its home in the tile floor of his beloved hotel forever.

Today, you can take a tour of Flagler College and the rotunda. However, it's doubtful you'll get much if any detail about what really happened that day in 1913, or an explanation for why that tiny piece of tile looks so remarkably like Henry Flagler. No, stories from Florida's Historic Coast can only be found here, in the Red Couch Chronicles, which is all-together appropriate when you consider that our history is not the same old story.