Est. 1896 · Tequesta Burial Mound (Documented Archaeology) · National Register of Historic Places · Charles Deering Estate · Miami-Dade County Natural Preserve
The land at the southwestern edge of what is now Palmetto Bay has been inhabited continuously since the Tequesta people established settlements along Biscayne Bay. The Cutler Burial Mound, located within the estate's boundaries, dates to at least several centuries before European contact. Archaeological study has documented approximately 12 to 18 individuals buried there in a circular arrangement. The site has been disturbed since the 1860s and was ultimately incorporated into the estate's preserved landscape.
S. Howard Richmond, agent for the Perrine Land Grant Company, built a family home on the property in 1896 — the structure now known as the Richmond Cottage. By 1900, the cottage had expanded into the first hotel between Coconut Grove and Key West. Charles Deering, first chairman of International Harvester and a significant art collector, began purchasing land here in 1913. He acquired the Richmond Cottage in 1916, renovating it extensively with fireplaces, electricity, and plumbing.
Deering completed the Stone House in 1922, a 13,000-square-foot Mediterranean Revival residence designed by architect Phineas Paist to house his art collection. He collaborated with botanists David Fairchild and John Kunkel Small to restore the native tropical hardwood hammock and pine rockland ecosystems on the property. He lived on the estate from 1922 until his death in 1927.
The Deering family retained the property for decades before Florida purchased it in 1986, subsequently listing it on the National Register of Historic Places. Miami-Dade County Parks now manages the 444-acre estate in partnership with the Deering Estate Foundation.
Sources
- https://deeringestate.org/about/history/
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Deering_Estate
- https://communitynewspapers.com/cutler-bay/new-burial-mound-boardwalk-now-open-at-deering-estate/
- https://www.trailoffloridasindianheritage.org/deeringestate/
ApparitionsDisembodied voicesPhantom criesChild spirit encounter
The Deering Estate's paranormal programming is county-operated and explicitly grounded in documented historical events rather than fabricated folklore. The official ghost tour describes the Indigenous, settler, and Deering-era histories of the property alongside reported phenomena.
The most specific location-based accounts come from two areas. Near the boat basin, visitors have reported seeing apparitions and hearing what has been described as a woman's faint cry for help. Inside the Richmond Cottage, a visitor reported an encounter with a child's spirit in the room historically designated for children.
In 2009, a PRISM Paranormal Research team conducted an investigation and reported recording approximately 60 disembodied voices. These recordings are cited in the estate's ghost tour materials but have not been independently peer-reviewed.
The estate's approach to the Cutler Burial Mound is explicitly archaeological. The boardwalk provides public access to the mound's exterior while protecting the site. The estate's programming describes the Tequesta presence as historical fact, not as supernatural narrative — a distinction the county has maintained consistently in its public programming.
