Florida Railroad
Encyclopedia
The Florida Railroad was the first railroad to connect the east and west coasts of Florida
, running from Fernandina
to Cedar Key
. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad
, and, where still in use, is operated by CSX Transportation
and the First Coast Railroad
. The highway
corridor of SR 24, US 301, and SR A1A closely parallels the former Florida Railroad.
and gulf coast
of the United States
passes through the Straits of Florida
, close to the Florida Reef that lies just off the Florida Keys
. Prior to the 20th century many ships were wrecked around the southern end of the Florida peninsula. A railroad across the northern end of the Florida peninsula would allow cargoes from ships in the Gulf of Mexico
to be transferred to ships in the Atlantic Ocean
, and vice-versa, without the risk of passage through the Straits of Florida, while cutting 800 miles off the trip.
In 1842 the United States Congress
commissioned a survey of a route for a railroad between the St. Mary's River
and Cedar Key in the Territory of Florida. In 1853 the Florida Legislature
chartered the Florida Railroad to build a rail line from Fernandina (near the mouth of the St. Mary's River) to Tampa, Florida
, with a branch to Cedar Key. The president and chief stockholder of the Florida Railroad was U.S. Senator
David Levy Yulee
. Yulee decided to complete the line to Cedar Key first, leaving the connection to Tampa for later. Construction started in Fernandina in 1855. By 1858 the rail line was open between Fernandina and Palatka
, but the Panic of 1857
had left the railroad on the edge of bankruptcy. Yulee had to surrender a majority interest in the railroad to a northern
investment syndicate headed by Edward Dickerson to save the company. The line was completed to Cedar Key in 1860. At 156 miles in length, it was the longest railroad to be completed in Florida before the start of the American Civil War
.
The Florida Railroad was adversely affected by the Civil War. The USS Hatteras
raided Cedar Key in January 1862, destroying the railroad's rolling stock and buildings. In March 1862 a Union
squadron seized Fernandina. Shells fired by the USS Ottawa
damaged the last train leaving Fernandina, killing or injuring several passengers, and almost killing Senator Yulee. In 1864, the Confederate States Army
pulled up rails from the Florida Railroad to use on a new rail line from Live Oak, Florida
to Lawton, Georgia. Union forces had also destroyed 30 miles of track leading from Cedar Key.
The Dickerson syndicate resumed operation of the Florida Railroad after the war, but with much of the railroad's equipment, facilities and track destroyed or seized, the company did not do well, and defaulted on its bonds to the Internal Improvement Fund in 1866. The railroad was auctioned off, and bought back by the Dickerson syndicate for twenty percent of the original value of the bonds. In 1872 the Florida Railroad was reorganized as the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company, still under the control of the Dickerson syndicate. The newly reorganized company began construction of the long-promised line to Tampa through subsidiary companies: the Peninsular Railroad operated the line from the connection with the Florida Railroad at Waldo
to Ocala
and Silver Springs
, while the Tropical Florida Railroad ran from Ocala to Wildwood
. In the meantime, the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company had leased the Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad, providing a connection from its tracks at Hart's Road (later Yulee, Florida
) to Jacksonville, Florida
. Due to financial difficulties, the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company was reorganized as the Florida Transit Company in 1881, under the control of Sir Edward James Reed
. The company was restructured again as the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad in 1883.
The Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad was merged with the Florida Central and Western Railroad
, Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad and Leesburg and Indian River Railroad in 1884-85 to form the Florida Railway and Navigation Company.
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, running from Fernandina
Fernandina Beach, Florida
Fernandina Beach is a city in Nassau County in the state of Florida in the United States of America and on Amelia Island. It is a part of Greater Jacksonville and is among Florida's northernmost cities. The area was first inhabited by the Timucuan Indian tribe...
to Cedar Key
Cedar Key, Florida
Cedar Key is a city in Levy County, Florida, United States. The population was 790 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S Census estimates of 2005, the city had a population of 958. The Cedar Keys are a cluster of islands close to the mainland. Most of the developed area of the city has been on...
. The line later became part of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad
Seaboard Air Line Railroad
The Seaboard Air Line Railroad , which styled itself "The Route of Courteous Service," was an American railroad whose corporate existence extended from April 14, 1900, until July 1, 1967, when it merged with the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad, its longtime rival, to form the Seaboard Coast Line...
, and, where still in use, is operated by CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation operates a Class I railroad in the United States known as the CSX Railroad. It is the main subsidiary of the CSX Corporation. The company is headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, and owns approximately 21,000 route miles...
and the First Coast Railroad
First Coast Railroad
The First Coast Railroad is a class III railroad operating in Florida and Georgia, owned by Rail Link Inc..The FCRD was founded in April 2005 to lease 32 miles of a former Seaboard Air Line Railroad from CSX...
. The highway
Highway
A highway is any public road. In American English, the term is common and almost always designates major roads. In British English, the term designates any road open to the public. Any interconnected set of highways can be variously referred to as a "highway system", a "highway network", or a...
corridor of SR 24, US 301, and SR A1A closely parallels the former Florida Railroad.
History
The water route between the east coastEast Coast of the United States
The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, refers to the easternmost coastal states in the United States, which touch the Atlantic Ocean and stretch up to Canada. The term includes the U.S...
and gulf coast
Gulf Coast of the United States
The Gulf Coast of the United States, sometimes referred to as the Gulf South, South Coast, or 3rd Coast, comprises the coasts of American states that are on the Gulf of Mexico, which includes Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida and are known as the Gulf States...
of the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
passes through the Straits of Florida
Straits of Florida
The Straits of Florida, Florida Straits, or Florida Strait is a strait located south-southeast of the North American mainland, generally accepted to be between the Gulf of Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean, and between the Florida Keys and Cuba. The strait carries the Florida Current, the beginning of...
, close to the Florida Reef that lies just off the Florida Keys
Florida Keys
The Florida Keys are a coral archipelago in southeast United States. They begin at the southeastern tip of the Florida peninsula, about south of Miami, and extend in a gentle arc south-southwest and then westward to Key West, the westernmost of the inhabited islands, and on to the uninhabited Dry...
. Prior to the 20th century many ships were wrecked around the southern end of the Florida peninsula. A railroad across the northern end of the Florida peninsula would allow cargoes from ships in the Gulf of Mexico
Gulf of Mexico
The Gulf of Mexico is a partially landlocked ocean basin largely surrounded by the North American continent and the island of Cuba. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States, on the southwest and south by Mexico, and on the southeast by Cuba. In...
to be transferred to ships in the Atlantic Ocean
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, and vice-versa, without the risk of passage through the Straits of Florida, while cutting 800 miles off the trip.
In 1842 the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
commissioned a survey of a route for a railroad between the St. Mary's River
St. Marys River (Florida/Georgia)
The St. Marys River is a river in the southeastern United States. It is named after the Irish Saint Mary. From near its source in the Okefenokee Swamp, to its mouth at the Atlantic Ocean, it forms a portion of the border between the U.S. states of Georgia and Florida...
and Cedar Key in the Territory of Florida. In 1853 the Florida Legislature
Florida Legislature
The Florida State Legislature is the term often used to refer to the two houses that act as the state legislature of the U.S. state of Florida. The Florida Constitution states that "The legislative power of the state shall be vested in a legislature of the State of Florida," composed of a Senate...
chartered the Florida Railroad to build a rail line from Fernandina (near the mouth of the St. Mary's River) to Tampa, Florida
Tampa, Florida
Tampa is a city in the U.S. state of Florida. It serves as the county seat for Hillsborough County. Tampa is located on the west coast of Florida. The population of Tampa in 2010 was 335,709....
, with a branch to Cedar Key. The president and chief stockholder of the Florida Railroad was U.S. Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
David Levy Yulee
David Levy Yulee
David Levy Yulee, born David Levy was an American politician and attorney from Florida, a territorial delegate to Congress, the first Jewish member of the United States Senate, and a member of the Confederate Congress during the American Civil War...
. Yulee decided to complete the line to Cedar Key first, leaving the connection to Tampa for later. Construction started in Fernandina in 1855. By 1858 the rail line was open between Fernandina and Palatka
Palatka, Florida
Palatka is a city in Putnam County, Florida, United States. The population was 10,033 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 10,796. It is the county seat of Putnam County and includes East Palatka. Palatka is the principal city of the Palatka...
, but the Panic of 1857
Panic of 1857
The Panic of 1857 was a financial panic in the United States caused by the declining international economy and over-expansion of the domestic economy. Indeed, because of the interconnectedness of the world economy by the time of the 1850s, the financial crisis which began in the autumn of 1857 was...
had left the railroad on the edge of bankruptcy. Yulee had to surrender a majority interest in the railroad to a northern
Northern United States
Northern United States, also sometimes the North, may refer to:* A particular grouping of states or regions of the United States of America. The United States Census Bureau divides some of the northernmost United States into the Midwest Region and the Northeast Region...
investment syndicate headed by Edward Dickerson to save the company. The line was completed to Cedar Key in 1860. At 156 miles in length, it was the longest railroad to be completed in Florida before the start of the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
.
The Florida Railroad was adversely affected by the Civil War. The USS Hatteras
USS Hatteras (1861)
The first USS Hatteras was a heavy 1,126-ton steamer purchased by the Union Navy at the beginning of the American Civil War. She was outfitted as a gunboat and assigned to the Union blockade of the ports and waterways of the Confederate States of America...
raided Cedar Key in January 1862, destroying the railroad's rolling stock and buildings. In March 1862 a Union
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
squadron seized Fernandina. Shells fired by the USS Ottawa
USS Ottawa (1861)
USS Ottawa was a built for the United States Navy during the American Civil War. Her wooden hull was built by J. A. Westervelt, and her engines by the Novelty Iron Works of New York. She was commissioned at the New York Navy Yard on 7 October 1861, Lieutenant Thomas H...
damaged the last train leaving Fernandina, killing or injuring several passengers, and almost killing Senator Yulee. In 1864, the Confederate States Army
Confederate States Army
The Confederate States Army was the army of the Confederate States of America while the Confederacy existed during the American Civil War. On February 8, 1861, delegates from the seven Deep South states which had already declared their secession from the United States of America adopted the...
pulled up rails from the Florida Railroad to use on a new rail line from Live Oak, Florida
Live Oak, Florida
Live Oak is a city in Suwannee County, Florida. The city is the county seat of Suwannee County and is located east of Tallahassee, Florida. The population was 6,480 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau is 6,828 ....
to Lawton, Georgia. Union forces had also destroyed 30 miles of track leading from Cedar Key.
The Dickerson syndicate resumed operation of the Florida Railroad after the war, but with much of the railroad's equipment, facilities and track destroyed or seized, the company did not do well, and defaulted on its bonds to the Internal Improvement Fund in 1866. The railroad was auctioned off, and bought back by the Dickerson syndicate for twenty percent of the original value of the bonds. In 1872 the Florida Railroad was reorganized as the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company, still under the control of the Dickerson syndicate. The newly reorganized company began construction of the long-promised line to Tampa through subsidiary companies: the Peninsular Railroad operated the line from the connection with the Florida Railroad at Waldo
Waldo, Florida
Waldo is a city in Alachua County, Florida, United States. The population was 821 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 784....
to Ocala
Ocala, Florida
Ocala is a city in Marion County, Florida. As of 2007, the population recorded by the U.S. Census Bureau was 53,491. It is the county seat of Marion County, and the principal city of the Ocala, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated 2007 population of 324,857.-History:Ocala...
and Silver Springs
Silver Springs, Florida
Silver Springs is a U.S. populated place and spring in Marion County, Florida, just to the east of the city of Ocala. It is part of the Ocala Metropolitan Statistical Area....
, while the Tropical Florida Railroad ran from Ocala to Wildwood
Wildwood, Florida
Wildwood is a city in Sumter County, Florida, United States. The population was 3,924 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau's 2004 estimates, the city had a population of 3,598.-Geography:Wildwood is located at ....
. In the meantime, the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company had leased the Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad, providing a connection from its tracks at Hart's Road (later Yulee, Florida
Yulee, Florida
Yulee is a census-designated place in Nassau County, Florida, United States. The population was 8,392 at the 2000 census. The city was named for David Levy Yulee, Senator from Florida.-Geography:Yulee is located at ....
) to Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
. Due to financial difficulties, the Atlantic, Gulf and West India Transit Company was reorganized as the Florida Transit Company in 1881, under the control of Sir Edward James Reed
Edward James Reed
Sir Edward James Reed , KCB, FRS, was a British naval architect, author, politician, and railroad magnate. He was the Chief Constructor of the Royal Navy from 1863 until 1870...
. The company was restructured again as the Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad in 1883.
The Florida Transit and Peninsular Railroad was merged with the Florida Central and Western Railroad
Florida Central and Western Railroad
The Florida Central and Western Railroad was a railroad company that was the 1882 reincarnation of the Jacksonville, Pensacola and Mobile Railroad , which ran from Lake City, Florida, west to Chattahoochee, Florida The Florida Central and Western Railroad was a railroad company that was the 1882...
, Fernandina and Jacksonville Railroad and Leesburg and Indian River Railroad in 1884-85 to form the Florida Railway and Navigation Company.