William John Matheson was an American industrialist, born in Wisconsin

Wisconsin

Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...

 but educated in Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

. Having learned, while in Scotland, about recent breakthroughs in the development of aniline dyes, Matheson became an early importer and distributor of such dyes from Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

. He founded the National Aniline and Chemical Company, which merged with four other companies to become the Allied Chemical and Dye Corporation. Matheson's estate on Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, Fort Hill, was well known. He also had an estate in Coconut Grove, Florida

Coconut Grove, Florida

Coconut Grove is the oldest continuously inhabited neighborhood of Miami, Florida in Miami-Dade County, United States. The neighborhood is roughly bound by North Prospect Drive to the south, LeJeune Road to the west, South Dixie Highway and Rickenbacker Causeway to the north, and Biscayne Bay to...

, and created a coconut plantation on the northern two-thirds of Key Biscayne, an area now occupied by Miami-Dade County's

Miami-Dade County, Florida

Miami-Dade County is a county located in the southeastern part of the state of Florida. As of 2010 U.S. Census, the county had a population of 2,496,435, making it the most populous county in Florida and the eighth-most populous county in the United States...

 Crandon Park and the Village of Key Biscayne

Key Biscayne, Florida

Key Biscayne is a village in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States on the island of Key Biscayne. The population was 10,507 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,324....

. William's older son, Hugh Merrill Matheson was an early student at Ransom School and William donated a building to the school; the Matheson Infirmary.

In 1930 William donated 80 acres to the county which was named Matheson Hammock Park

Matheson Hammock Park

Matheson Hammock Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami at 9610 Old Cutler Road, just south of Coral Gables, Florida. The park surrounds the north and western ends of Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden.-History:...

. In 1940 his children donated 808 acres, the entire north end of Key Biscayne, to the county as Crandon Park

Crandon Park

Crandon Park is a urban park in metropolitan Miami, occupying the northern part of Key Biscayne. It is connected to mainland Miami via the Rickenbacker Causeway.-History:...

and additional acreage on the other side of the bay to Matheson Hammock Park.