Litchfield enquirer., 1869-10-28
; FLORIDA AS A WINTER RESORT.

Y A f'FLORIDA AS A WINTER RESORT.
 ITS ATTRACTIONS FOR ToURIsTsAND 1NTAL1Ds
 From the advance sheets of work enti
 tied "A Winter in Florida" on the eve Q
 publication by Messrs. Wood & Holbrook
 we take some passages of general interes
 at this season, when southern migration
 are just about beginning. The book il
 from the pen of Mir. Ledyard Bill, who
 spent the last winter in the sunny regior
 of which he writes -3Iai3 #na@ a5k.L
 | JACKSONVILLE. 4
 Jacksonville, named for General Jack
 son, IS an incorporated city, having tn.
 usual city officers and board of trade. Il
 IS regularly laid out, having eight princi
 pal streets about two miles long. and run ming parallel with the river St. John: these
 are crossed by others at right angles. their
 length being easily extended. Shade trees l abound, and of fine size, consisting of liy,
 and water oaks, the latter making for this purpose much the finest tree. It's .luxuri
 ant and rapid growth and hardness have
 caused it to be adopted. They are both
 evergreens From the river northward, a short distance, the land has gentle ele-
 vation; then descends, terminating in a low tract or swamp. On the northwestern side of the city is beautiful bluff, cover. ed with attractive residences, shaded with stately trees, and bearing the pleasant name of "La Villa. ''E The view up the river from this point is delightful. Eff teen miles away is Mandarin, projecting tongue of land, which, from where we stand, seems to sever the river. The river has such reach of view from this point, and such breadth of waters, as to give the appearance of 8 lake with wooded shores, fifteen miles long, and from three to five miles wide. Passing up from this village short distance, and toward the river banks, you come to the new town appro- priately named :. Riverside" and likewise suburb of Jacksonville. This place is now being built up, and designed to be
 made select quarter. Its streets are spa cious, and a park has been reserved, and many shade-trees planted. None but fine buildings are to be erected; and all must be painted instead of white washed-a practice followed by owners of cheaper dwellings in the city.ad3 .42.Iaca at -.
 No city of the South can show better ev- ldences of prosperity, or, a larger increase Of prosperity, relatively, than. Jackson
 vile. ia;ss ta ' .-. a34isssG, st G,:ia .10. The waste and stagnation caused by the war, has in this place entirely disappeared.
 On every had we behold the magic touch of northern hands and northern capital. Whichever way we turn, new stores and new buildings greet our view; old ones being enlarged, streets clean, and substan
 tial, or at least convenient plank walks laid where lately they were innocent of any such improvement. On the river, wharves are enlarged, till now it's accom- modations seem ample for an extensive commerce. In short, new impulses and pSssa psM ldsas haEs ssized e town; and its r Tha n~ess.. - ,,opniatlon % Of ffno n p,ssov .., about six thousand, increased during the winter months to about eight thousand. by the influx of strangers from all portions of the North, seeking temporary homes. Not until tie past year has there been anything like adequate accommodations for this large number. not taking into account the constant flow of visitors going and return
 ing. Great axertions have been and are being made to supply the demand for small houses. and northern energy and capital are kept busy. ,a.gfs s.s4a.- e1ie q
 As to hotels, there are several. There are numerous private boarding houses kept by northern people, with pleasant surround iRgs, and quite as inviting as the hotels to those seeking buta temporary home. Price of board ranges from twenty-fy dollars to ten dollars per week at these various places. aUnfurnished cottages can be had from twenty dollars to thirty dollars per month. Pleasant furnished rooms in pri- vate houses, including fuel, light and at- tendance, are from four dollars to six dol lars per week; and the best board without rooms, at the hotels, is eleven dollars per week, while in boarding houses it can be obtained at a less figure. Laundry work is extra, and costs usually one dollar per dozen. g,
 The town contains ten churches, four of which are colored, the most of them hay ing pastors. sBut the most of them need paint, with a little upholstering, which, with few additional yards of carpeting, would, even in Jacksonville-more favored than many towns of the South-add much to the comfort of both residents and stran- gers. But time will change this, and we must not expect overmuch from those who are already doing great credit to them 'seivesba5 ,gainage or'ga a.-1 ca 4a-st .sssI IL v..s.s COMMERCE.. .l fs4t..as . ,t The chief article, of manufacture and export, not only from this city but from Eastern Florida, is pine lumber: Jack sonville has over a haf-dozen extensive steam saw-mills, kept constantly in mo- ton. cutting up logs into lumber for the markets North. Whole forests go down t0 keep the maws of these monsters SUD- piled. Whether this will always last is doubtful; for. in the aggregate. asmall ar my IS kept plying the axe just back of the main river and along it's tributaries. We say " "just black from the river. Along the banks of ethea water courses no pine lumber grows; but 6, short distance back from them, in many cases less than hun dred rods, pine lumber abounds; indeed, it is the chief thing in this state, as it is in ah the states belting the Atlantic, as far up as the James River in Virginia. if,.4 The commerce of this place is equal to that of soma cities in the North of three times it's population: Brigs, schooners and steamers, several in the aggregate, ar- rive and depart almost daily for differen, ports up the riveN or along the seacoast from Savannah to Portland. :. A daily mail arrives by rail from the North; and this, with the telegraph, gives Jacksonville an importance which no other ffovu,, Sv, Ec.k EIor;do :.Ic~1