 Due to Disston 's purchase , the IIF was able to sponsor railroad projects , and the opportunity presented itself when oil <unk> Henry Flagler became <unk> with St. Augustine during a vacation . He built the <unk> <unk> de León Hotel in St. Augustine in 1888 , and began buying land and building rail lines along the east coast of Florida , first from Jacksonville to <unk> , then as far south as Palm Beach in 1893 . Flagler 's establishment of " the <unk> " , a settlement for hotel and rail line workers across the river from the barrier island containing Palm Beach , became West Palm Beach . Along the way he built resort hotels , transforming territorial outposts into tourist destinations and the land bordering the rail lines into citrus farms . 
