Hialeah was named by a Seminole Indian named Willie Willie, when pioneer developer James Bright asked him to describe the property. He called it Hi-ale-ah, which means pretty prairie or high prairie.
Bright, a cattleman from Missouri, came to Miami in 1909 and bought 640 acres of submerged land northwest of the city. Within a few months, he dug the Miami Canal and drained his land.
He joined with New York developer and aviator Glenn Curtiss to incorporate Hialeah in 1921. Within 10 days, their company sold $1 million in land.
Bright built a house and cattle ranch at what is now the corner of Hialeah Drive and East Second Avenue. Curtiss built an airfield at what eventually became the Deer Park residential section.
G.R. Milliard, Hialeah’s first resident, built his home at Okeechobee Road and Hialeah Drive. From his house, he operated the town’s first post office, first real estate office, first general store, first car repair shop and the first headquarters for the bus line to Miami. His daughter was born the year the town was incorporated. He named her Leah.