Clarence S. Coe

Clarence Stanley Coe (C. S. Coe) (b. Riverside, Iowa, December 24, 1865, d. St. Augustine, Florida, March 5, 1939) was an American master bridge builder and railroad civil engineer, who supervised the planning and building of the Florida East Coast Railway’s Seven Mile Bridge, linking the Florida Keys to Marathon, Monroe County, which, when completed in January 1912, was acclaimed as the longest bridge in the world and an engineering marvel. Later, Coe was appointed the first city manager of Miami, Florida, and after that was appointed chief engineer of Duval County, Florida.

Coe was one of nine children born to Sylvester Coe and his wife, Ann (née Rowlands), a native of Llangollen, Wales.

He was educated at the University of Minnesota, earning a degree in engineering in 1889. After graduation, Coe held various engineering positions in the rapidly expanding railroad industry.

In 1905, he joined the Florida East Coast Railway, first as resident managing engineer of the Key West Extension, having charge of viaduct construction. As resident manager, he constructed viaducts totaling nearly 12 miles over open water. Coe had charge of the entire engineering and inspection departments, the labor force, and all floating equipment.

In 1910, Coe was promoted to division engineer with responsibility for overseeing construction of the Seven Mile Bridge over open ocean, a feat never before attempted.

The railroad line south of West Palm Beach was constructed in phases by the Florida East Coast Railway and its predecessor systems. Founder and owner Henry Flagler began his railroad building in 1892. Under Florida's generous land-grant laws passed in 1893, 8,000 acres (3,200 ha) could be claimed from the state for every mile (1.6  km) built. Flagler would eventually claim a total in excess of two million acres (8,000  km²) for building the FEC, and land development and trading along the line would become one of his most profitable endeavors.

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