Plant Steam Ship Company

In the late 1870s and early 1880s, Henry B. Plant began to purchase and develop railway companies in order to build a system along the southern Atlantic seaboard. Also in the 1880s, he began acquiring and creating steamboat lines and hotels in cities served by his rail lines. With support from northern investors such as Henry Flagler, he formed the Plant Investment Company (PICO) in 1882 to expand his Plant System. The Plant Steam Ship Line operated between cities throughout the U.S. and Caribbean, including Port Tampa, Key West, Havana, Mobile and New Orleans. The Expedition was backed by Henry Plant, and the Plant Steam Ship Line agent, R.W. Southwick, in Key West arranged transportation for the men and their belongings both before and after the trek across the Everglades.

Credits:

• Plant Steam Ship Line advertisement, The Official guide of the railways and steam navigation lines of the United States, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico and Cuba, April 1897

Sources:

• Henry B. Plant Museum
• "Plant System," Wikipedia.org

References in the Texts:

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• March 14, Monday
• April 7, Thursday

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