Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Florida's first railroad was constructed for the Lake Wimico & St. Joseph Canal & Railroad Company. Work began in 1835 and the first train ran in March 1836. The line extended nine miles from St. Joseph to Lake Wimico. The state's first steam locomotive was added in 1837. Economic distress, shallow lake waters, and a yellow fever epidemic combined to cause the abandonment of the line in 1839 and the decline of St. Joseph by 1840.