Florida's First Cross-State Railroad
By Ariel Patterson • Photos courtesy of the Amelia Island Museum of History

Anyone who has spent any time in Fernandina has undoubtedly noticed the railroad line running under the bridge all the way down past the harbor at the end of Centre Street. This piece of Fernandina real estate carries more than lumber or freight, it carries with it a tangible link to Amelia's past. The tracks that began in Fernandina and ran to Cedar Key, laid 150 years ago, have been a consistent aid to Florida commerce and a constant reminder of the turbulent history of our state and our nation.

The historical prominence of the railroad is not surprising considering it was originally conceived by David Levy Yulee, Florida's most influential citizen of his era. As the visionary responsible for many advances in Florida in the early 1800s, it was creating Florida's first cross-state railroad that was his consistent dream.

Yulee had the critical task of selecting two cities to serve as the terminals for the line. On the Gulf he selected Cedar Key, about half way between Tallahassee and Tampa. On the Atlantic, he selected the only natural deep-water port north of the Keys - Amelia Island. It was the perfect location - well, nearly perfect. Yulee thought Fernandina and the railroad would actually be better served if the town would move about a half-mile to the south. While this may have presented a serious problem to the average person, Yulee was undaunted. He bought up property in the proposed location and persuaded the residents of Fernandina's Old Town, as it's known today, to move to the new port site. With both terminals selected and eager for train service, the real work began.

The Florida Railroad Company had been chartered in 1853, but the original construction company’s progress was too slow. In 1855, another prominent Fernandinian, Joseph Finegan, stepped in and took over construction. Under his direction, the road was built in stages; the first section from Fernandina to Lofton was completed on August 1, 1856. From there it went to Crawford, Fiftone, Reynolds, Hampton and Gainesville by February 1, 1859. The last three sections, from Gainesville to Venables, then to Sumner, and finally to Cedar Key, were finished for the first run of the complete line on March 1, 1861. The 155-mile railroad had been laid over 8 years, using only one locomotive to transport equipment and slave labor to lay the track.

The completion of the railroad was a major cause of celebration, not only for Cedar Key and Fernandina, but for the entire state of Florida. Shipping trade between Gulf ports like New Orleans and busy Northeastern ports no longer had to be routed around the Florida Keys. Goods could now be shipped to Cedar Key, carried by the railroad to the port at Fernandina, and shipped north from there.

The railroad was an important commercial development, but it also offered Florida residents the opportunity to see parts of their state that they had never been able to explore before. Linking many communities, the railroad provided a common connection through what was a primarily rural state. In 1860, less than a year before the first train ran the complete track, the Florida Railroad Company issued a sample schedule of the trains that would bring Floridians together:

FLORIDA RAILROAD CO.
Schedule of Trains
Monday, October 29, 1860

12:45 PM Lv. Fernandina Ar. 2:15 PM
3:40 PM Lv. Baldwin Ar. 11:30 AM
6:40 PM Lv. Gainseville Ar. 8:10 AM
8:40 PM Ar. Bronson Lv. 6:05 AM

Freight train west, Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.
Freight train east, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
At Baldwin, Daily connections are made with trains for Lake City and Tallahassee,

Signed, J.E. LARKIN, Eng. & Supt.
Fernandina, Oct. 23rd, 1860

While most residents were undoubtedly pleased with the commercial and social contributions of the railroads, there were those who did not welcome the technological intrusion. George W. Pettengill, Jr., in his report of Florida railroads, explained that "backwoodsmen claims that turpentine operations, developed as a result of the railroad, ruined their hog ranges, and that the railroad killed their cattle; farmers wives claimed that market eggs were broken when carts crossed the tracks."

A train wreck on a Florida railroad circa 1870.
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Regardless of the reactions of state residents, the railroad's fate was sealed. As each piece of track was being laid by the hands of slaves, national tensions were rising in the debate over abolition and states' rights. The impending cloud of secession threatened to destroy the railroad. Almost exactly a year after the first complete run of the railroad, both terminals were conquered by Union troops. An engineer for the Florida Railroad described the effect of the attacks on the railroad and its host communities: "At Cedar Keys the large railroad wharf, the warehouse, and depot structures are burned and destroyed, the trestles crossing from the Keys to the mainland, nearly a mile in extent, rotten to such a degree that they will have to be entirely rebuilt before trains can cross again..." The damage was just as bad on the other end of the line: "The three miles on Amelia Island, taken up and carried off for some other road; all the large and costly structures crossing the tide waters and streams on the last thirty miles of the road east rotten or destroyed, among them the two high-truss Howe bridges over Boggy River and Lofton Creek... the wharves and warehouses, the depot structure and shops at Fernandina destroyed." The complete destruction brought by the Union takeovers and the years of war that followed resulted in major reconstruction, lasting until April, 1866, when work trains were again able to reach Gainesville.

The depot at the foot of Centre Street stands as a
reminder of Fernandina's grand railroad.
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After the road was repaired, it was reorganized and renamed repeatedly. In 1872 it became the Atlantic, Gulf & West India Transit Company. In 1986, after six more name changes and various shifts in ownership, it was purchased by the current owner, CSX Transportation. The train depot at the end of Centre Street was donated to Fernandina Beach and now serves as the Amelia Island Chamber of Commerce.

The next time you stroll past the old brick station, or see the train crossing the river, or get stopped at a crossing waiting for it to pass, take a moment to remember how it helped transform the Florida wilderness and shaped the history of the state.