Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Company

In 1881, a group of St. Augustine residents led by Dr. John D. Westcott incorporated the Florida Coast Line Canal and Transportation Company and the Florida legislature authorized the firm to dredge a series of canals to create an inland waterway along the length of the Atlantic coast. As an incentive, the state granted 3,840 acres of land for every mile of canal constructed and gave the company the right to collect tolls on the waterways. The State had millions of acres of public lands, which they frequently deeded to rail, navigation and other companies to spur development. In 1885, the stated deeded the canal company 87,670 acres of public lands. Dredging operations picked up considerably over the next five years moving south, and in 1890 the state deeded 345,972 acres to the company. That same year, the company sold over 1,300 acres to Duncan U. Fletcher, who deeded this land to his Florida Fiber Company to cultivate sisal hemp. In 1891-1892, the company had reached Jupiter and began to work southward to Lake Worth. In 1892, Henry Flagler invested in the firm and a year later became president for a brief time in order to expand his railway. The dredged canals and connected waterways became known as the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway, ultimately linking Jacksonville to Miami in 1912. The company and Flagler worked in tandem for a while, but also were in competition as both the railway and canal operations moved south. Over a 30-year period between 1882 and 1912, the company constructed 268 miles of canals, earning more than a million acres of state land. Henry Flagler ended up with a quarter of this land for the Florida East Coast Railway extension to Miami in the 1890s.

When Sydney O. Chase and Wallace R. Moses climbed the Jupiter Inlet lighthouse they saw the smoke of the Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Company's dredge in the direction of Juno. The texts also mention the expectation that the canal between Jupiter and Lake Worth will be completed before the next season, and then the company intended to connect Lake Worth and Biscayne Bay by dredging a canal from the south end of Lake Worth. They also noted the effects of the dredging on the banks of Indian River.

Credits:

• Map showing the lands & waterway of the Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Co., circa 1890s, Norman B. Leventhal Map Center, Boston Public Library

Sources:

• "The Papers of Albert Sawyer and the Development of the Florida East Coast, 1892 to 1912," by William G. Crawford, Jr., Tequesta, 2002
• A History of Florida's East Coast Canal: The Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville to Miami," by William G. Crawford, Jr., Broward Legacy, 1997

References in the Texts:

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• April 15, Friday

For other topics referenced in the Expedition texts, please refer to the Index to Subjects and Names.
1892 Everglades Exploration Expedition : Three Digital Texts, 2015