Page 126 - John Anderson

&KDSWHU7KH5DLOURDGV$UULYHLQ2UPRQG

The aggregate net worth of these vessels amounted to about
$5,000,000. The U.S. Census of 1880 recorded “that there was a
larger fleet of steam vessels carrying passengers and freight on the
St. Johns River in Florida than on any river south of the Hudson in
New York. Jacksonville's steamboats earned international recognition
and nearly all of the St. Johns River steamboats became famous
locally in one way or another. Some had a wider sphere of celebrity
and a few were known throughout the United States. By 1890, the
riverside town of Palatka had eight first-class hotels. The river also
became the State's first "river highway", enabling homesteaders to
move into the central part of the State.

Beginning in 1875, as river traffic brought more people and goods to
the banks of the St. Johns, several Tram railroads were being built by
Utley J. White northwest of the then New Britain colony, eventually
connecting Jacksonville to Ormond and Daytona by rail.
Utley James White made his first advent to Florida in 1872, coming
directly to St. Johns County. He first found employment with the Tocoi

114