Community Involvement

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Enhancing Arts, Culture and Historic Preservation

Arts and culture provide many positive benefits, both tangible and intangible, and are an essential part of our quality of life.  We significantly contribute to the economic vitality of communities, generating revenue, creating jobs and enriching the lives of people of all ages.

Similarly, historic preservation improves communities and also provides a legacy of cultural, educational, aesthetic, inspirational and economic benefits for present and future generations to enjoy.  Miami Corporation’s commitment to arts and culture and historic preservation originates directly from the ancestors within our company’s family tree.

William Deering, founder of the Deering Harvesting Company, was extremely philanthropic especially in the areas of public welfare and education. He served as president of the board of trustees of Northwestern University, the allied Garrett Biblical Institute, and was a founder of the Wesley Hospital in Chicago. Click here to read more about William Deering’s legacy.

Charles Deering, son of William Deering, not only studied art but also became an accomplished portrait painter himself. The impressive art collection he amassed over the years was eventually distributed to the Art Institute of Chicago after his death.

Charles Deering’s home south of Miami, Florida was known as “The Deering Estate at Cutler.” Now a 444-acre park and museum listed on the National Register of Historic Places, the Deering Estate is a place of natural beauty as well as cultural significance. The Estate includes historical buildings dating from 1896 to 1922. There are also important archaeological sites that date human presence on the land to 10,000 years ago and animals as far back as 100,000 years. Today, it is administered by the Deering Estate Foundation on behalf of the State of Florida.

Between 1912 and 1914, James Deering purchased 180 acres of land in Coconut Grove, Florida with frontage on Biscayne Bay, and transformed it into “Vizcaya,” an estate inspired by an Italian villa - the baroque Villa Rezzonico -- in Bassano del Grappa. The main house at Vizcaya is distinguished for its Italian Renaissance-inspired architecture and its interiors filled with European, Asian, and American artifacts spanning two millennia. Unlike many other house museums from this era, Vizcaya still possesses almost all of its original furnishings, offering an experience of great historic and cultural integrity. It is open for the public to enjoy.

Click here to view the full story of Vizcaya on our Farmton website.

Click here to visit the Vizcaya Museum & Gardens website.

Current Philanthropic Efforts

As a company, Miami Corporation understands that investing in our communities is an important part of our business operations. Miami Corporation continues the legacy of its founders with a focus on sustaining agriculture, preserving our environment, cultivating the next generation of leaders, and promoting the arts and historic preservation. We strive to protect all of the unique facets that make our communities more sustainable. Our company has philanthropic efforts in Oregon, Louisiana, and Florida.

Our commitment to being good corporate citizens focuses on four core areas:

Specific Community Benefits from the Farmton Tree Farm

One way in which Miami Corporation’s commitment to environmental stewardship and conservation is exemplified is through the best management practices conducted at the Farmton Tree Farm and our comprehensive planning efforts for the property during the past few years.

Our Farmton conservation efforts have significant ecological value from a regional and statewide perspective. There are two tributaries to the St. Johns River - Cow Creek and Deep Creek – that originate on or meander through the property. The site contains Spruce Creek Swamp, which is the headwater of Spruce Creek, as well as Crane Swamp. It includes Buck Lake and Buck Lake Marshes with rich habitat diversity.  One of the most important community contributions is the donation of a nature preserve, along the environmentally spectacular Deep Creek ecosystem, to a public trust, to be called the Deering Preserve.

Although the Farmton Local Plan provides for conservation of approximately 43,000 acres of agricultural and silvicultural areas, the beauty and significance of this parcel justified additional assurances that the land would be protected in perpetuity, and agreements are being put in place to for fee simple ownership by a public trust dedicated to its preservation and maintenance.

Other Community Support in Florida

 

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