Tallahassee - St. Marks Railroad 1831 - Florida Historical Markers on Waymarking.com

Side 1
This recreational trail follows the alignment of the historic Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad, the first Florida railroad chartered by the territorial government in 1831.
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Side 2
In 1831, the Leon Railway Company was the first railroad chartered by the Florida territorial government. In 1835, the Tallahassee Railroad Company received the first Congressional Land Grant ever given to a railroad. The grant included the privilege of using timber from public lands on either side for 100 feet plus ten acres for a terminal where the St. Marks and Wakulla Rivers join. The original right of way was a minimum of 60 feet wide and 23 miles long. Both slaves and free laborers cleared land and constructed the track composed of two, side-by-side longitudinal timbers, 8 feet in length and 5 feet apart, with 2-1/4 inch wide by 1/2 inch thick iron straps nailed across the top.

By 1837, the railroad was open for business. Mules pulled a tram-like car from Tallahassee to St. Marks over these primitive rails. Tickets were $1.50 for adults, half fare for children and 75 cents for a bale of cotton. Two years later a new bridge over the St. Marks River carried the trains to Port Leon. In 1843, a hurricane destroyed the town and the bridge, leaving the terminus in St. Marks.

Passengers wrote about the delays, the bumpy rides and the terrors of going through the wilderness, but the train was essential to business in the area. As much as 50,000 bales of cotton were shipped per year. Salt, firebrick, and other commodities from ports on the east coast were imported. After the Civil War, naval stores, timber and turpentine were exported. By 1856, solid T-iron track replaced the primitive rails and new steam locomotives were added. The railroad operated for 147 years, the longest operating railroad in Florida's history.

New life came to the old railroad bed in 1988 when the southernmost 16 miles became the Tallahassee-St. Marks Historic Railroad State Trail, the first State rail-trail in Florida. The corridor is now busier than ever with a paved surface for bikers, skaters, and walkers and a side trail for equestrians.

Marker Number: None Date: None County: Wakulla Marker Type: Roadside Sponsored or placed by: Florida Department of Environmental Protection, Office of Greenways and Trails Website: Not listed

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