“A Trip Over the Transit Railroad”
In 1883 journalist A. L. W. took a trip on the Transit Railroad in Florida, which connected Fernandina on the Atlantic to Cedar Key on the Gulf. They shared their experiences in an article published on the front page of the May 15, 1883, issue of the The Weekly Floridian in Tallahassee.
Let’s follow along as they visit 10 towns along the route.
“The majority of persons living in Middle Florida, whose business or pleasure has not railed them to the Eastern part of the State, have very little idea of the material progress, the great influx of immigration, I lie important industries, or the rapid development of the country along the line of the Transit Railroad, which connect Fernandina, the best harbor on our Atlantic coast, with the important port of Cedar Key on the Gulf of Mexico; nor is it possible in the short scope of one letter to convey more than a general view of this very important portion of the State. The traveller from Middle Florida, after a night spent in the comfortable sleepers of the Florida Central and Western Railroad, which is under the efficient management of Major W. M. Davidson, a Middle Florida man, strikes the Transit road at…”
Hotel Oliver, Baldwin, Florida, courtesy of the State Library and Archives of Florida
“…long a very important transfer point for freights for the line of the Transit road. Cedar Key and the Gulf coast, which formerly came from the North and West via Savannah and Live Oak, but which, since the completion o! the Waycross “Short Line," is now delivered to the Transit system at Callahan, twenty miles north of Baldwin. […] The lumber industry along this road is immense, as is attested by the long trains of heavily loaded flat cars which were passed at various points; in fact, the monotony of the pine forest was almost constantly broken by a panorama of saw mills, young orange groves and handsome residences seen from the car windows as we sped along, till proving the existence of an industrious and thrifty population, each contributing his quota to the prosperity of the road and the material progress of the State. The towns of Highland, Lawty and Temples were passed when the brakeman called out…”
Call Street, Starke, Florida, courtesy of the State Library & Archives of Florida
“twenty minutes for dinner and alighting from the train we proceeded to the “Railroad House," kept by Mr. Kleinsmidt, an industrious German, who owns a farm and orange grove near town, while his estimable wile and charming daughters vie with each other in serving the tired traveller with all the good things which go to make up a first-class dinner. […] There are several groves in the vicinity, some bearing, while most of them are young.— In the town new houses are going up on all sides and the song of the saw and hammer is the music which greets one at every turn. […] Speeding along we soon reached…”
Seaboard Depot, Waldo, Florida, courtesy of the Matheson History Museum
“…the junction of the Transit with the Peninsular Railroad. Here we switched off the through coach which is run daily from Jacksonville to Wildwood, thus obviating the necessity of a change of cars between these points. Waldo has a fine hotel, a cigar factory, several stores and churches, and is the terminal point of the Santa Fe Canal, which brings the fine orange country of the lake region within easy access of the railroad. […] Our next stopping place…”
Arlington House advertisement in the “Eden of the South,” 1883, courtesy of the State Library & Archives of Florida
“…the metropolis of East Florida, is a city of about four thousand inhabitants and the county site of Alachua, one of the richest agricultural counties in the State. […] Besides its numerous stores and other business places Gainesville has a bank, a cotton seed mill, three ginning establishments, three livery and sale stables, two depots (the Transit and Florida Southern), two first-class hotels, the Arlington and Varnum House, (the former about the size of our Leon) and quite a number of boarding houses. I have not space in this letter to devote to the above business enterprises the attention which each deserves. […] Six miles further on we come to…”
A Giant Crop of Irish Potatoes in Florida, courtesy of the Matheson History Museum
“…the boss vegetable station of the Transit road. I have not spoken of this industry heretofore because I was at a loss how to convey to the minds of your readers a just idea of the magnitude of this business on the line of the Transit and Peninsular roads. All along we had observed at the different stations large lots of vegetables in crates waiting shipment but here we saw the entire platform covered with piles on piles of crates filled with, beans, cucumbers, peas, Irish potatoes and cabbage […]. Some idea of the extent of the business may be gleaned front the fact that twice a week, Mondays and Wednesdays, an extra train far vegetables only, is run from Bronson to Fernandina to connect with the steamships of the Mallory line, in addition to the daily freight train.
Church Street, Archer, Florida, courtesy of the Matheson History Museum
“…also in Alachua county, is a live little town with five or six stores, and contributes its quota to the vegetable business. Peach culture has here been brought into some imminence by the Rev. J. P DePass, well known to many in our section.”
A.H. Bateman and family in front of their home in Bronson, ca. 1910, courtesy of the State Library & Archives of Florida
“…the county site of Levy County, is distant from Cedar Keys about thirty-five miles. It has four stores, and besides being the shipping point of a vast scope of country for miscellaneous exports such as cotton, hides, wax, etc., being situated in the midst of a fine grazing country, large numbers of beef cattle are annually shipped from here to the markets of Savannah and Charleston. After passing Otter Creek, a flag station, we next arrive at…”
“…the residence of C. B. Dibble, Esq., who, in addition to his orange grove, has developed an entirely new industry; you who are familiar with the lovely flower gardens of the Floral City, just think of eight or ten acres in Tube Roses. The flowers are sold in Gainesville, Cedar Keys and other places, while the bulbs are shipped North, and I am told the proprietor has found it profitable. Soon after leaving this station we pass through a spur of the far-famed…”
Gulf Hammock fiber factory, ca. 1890, courtesy of the State Library & Archives of Florida
“…probably the largest and finest body of hammock land in the State, whose sylvan depths furnish alike wealth to the enterprising cedar cutter, and the fattest turkeys and juiciest venison which ever tickled the palates of tourist epicures at the Egmont and St. James. Swiftly skimming over the few remaining miles we soon alighted at…”
Bird’s Eye View of Cedar Key, 1884, courtesy of the University of Florida Digital Collections
“…the Venice of the Gulf, whose cool sea breeze, fresh from the “cradle of the deep," tanned our (very dusty) brows, and tossed the smoke-plumes of our locomotive in fantastic wreaths and curls, the same whose shrill whistle had in the early morn mingled with the hoarse roar of old ocean as he piled his white-capped waves high on the smooth beach at Fernandina. […] Cedar Keys has been so often written up, and is so well known by reason and its importance as a Gulf port, that any attempt of my weak pen to do it justice would be futile. […] The principal industries of Cedar Key are its lumber mills, of which there are four or five for the manufacture of pine lumber, and two cedar mills belonging respectively to the Faber and Eagle Pencil Companies. In addition to the above its export of fish and oysters is a source of great revenue, while its sponge trade is by no means an inconsiderable item of its business. […]
“I have already spun this letter out to more than double my original intention, and yet “the half remains untold,” for one could find material for many letters in the beautiful little city of Cedar Key, and its adjacent Islands, bays and rivers, which I left with regret, feeling that next to the breezy hills of Tallahassee I would rather live on the lovely Gulf Coast of Florida.”
The full article can be viewed here via the Library of Congress’s Chronicling America database: https://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov/lccn/sn82015289/1883-05-15/ed-1/seq-1/.