Florida Railroads: The Gateway to Flowers, Oranges, & Alligators explores how nearly 6000 miles of track came to define the Sunshine State and reshaped the economic future of Southwest Florida. The development of Florida railroads soared from the 1880s through the roaring 1920s. Laid by hand through the often-unforgiving landscape of Florida, the tracks connected the country’s southern peninsula to the booming industry of the north. Henry Plant and Henry Flagler were career industrialists who shared a love of Florida’s distinctive natural wonders and the desire to capitalize on its untapped economic potential. The industrial giants’ race to lay track down on the east and west coasts provided the infrastructure that would establish the Sunshine State as a national leader in agriculture and tourism well into the 21st century.
The Atlantic Coast Line railway crossed the Caloosahatchee reaching Fort Myers in 1904, issuing in a new era of development throughout Southwest Florida. The railway facilitated the transport of fresh agricultural products, such as flowers and fruit, for commercial sale in northern states. The land boom of the 1920s drove the competing Atlantic Coast Line and Seaboard Air Line to extend down the west coast; passenger depots dotted the map from Fort Myers to Everglades City. Both companies’ lavish passenger trains promoted the thriving tourist industry that continues to drive our economy today. The Stock Market Crash of 1929 and the rise of personal automobiles would ultimately crush the American passenger lines, but not before the natural beauty and wild allure of Southwest Florida captured the imagination of tourists across the country.
Florida Gulf Coast University Library extends our sincerest gratitude to scholar Gregg M. Turner who gifted Florida Gulf Coast University with his extensive collection of Florida railroad history and scholarship in 2014. Turner is a former national director of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society at Harvard Business School and a foremost academic authority on railroads. Warmest thanks are extended to Jim Powers and the IMAG History and Science Center for their intellectual and physical contributions to the exhibit. We would also like to thank the Sanibel Public Library and Florida Memory for their contributions. The Turner Railroad and Sanibel Historical Collections are available to view online via DigitalFGCU.
