Wilmington daily commercial., 1875-04-13

| TRAVEL TO AND FROM FLORIDA THE ST. JOHN 4
| AND IT'S s-rGRsoNAL-sT. AUGUs INE,
| ETc.
| s7~ciai torresloa 'e'lce Of The Commercial
HlDEnNIA, Fla, April A.
| Dining visit to Jacksonville, on March 26th,
! called ON William Fleming, formerly of New
Castle county, Del. lie has bought property
and seems to have identified his interests with
those of Jacksonville. He intends making it
his permanent home. lie told me, as illustrat-
| ing the rise in real estate there that he bought
! the house IN which he lives and two uuimproved
wharf fronts opposite, eighteen months ago. for
| $4,000 and that he could readily sell the wharf
| property, now, for as much As he gave for all,
and have his residence as clear profit. The
| largest business of ia ahsonville seems to be
| lumber shipping, aud there are nine extensive
| saw mills in operation there, The main draw
back is want OF capital, and discounts can only
| be had from the banks at such ruinous rates as
| ~ to ll9 per cent per month. The city author
iius arc making nome improvements and l un-
| dorstand that piece of low ground behind the
city IL to be drained, and good drive made over
| it, which will greatly increase the healthfulneHs
| Of the place and enhance the value of property.
| The
CROWDS OF PLEASURE
aud health seekers who come here every Winter
are great source OF profit but as many OF the
| hotel keepers are northern men. the greater
part of this money s not invested here. stopped
at the Moncrief House.k kept by Evaps & Haines,
OF Atlantic City N. j., and found it very we'll
kept hotel The rooms are large, well fur
nished, aud clean, and the table excellent. The
st. James Hotel il said to be the best, and some
| even say it is the best hotel south OF New York.
The railway connection is go roundabout and
poor that the steamers to Charleston go through
| in less time than the trains. There are two
| steamers weekly to Charleston, aud three to
Savannah. and two trains daily, and all are now
running crowded when north bound, and almost
empty when south bound The palace car
"Alaryland, which s the officers car Of the b. Il
o. II r., was standing at the depot on the eth
ult. 80 suppose some of the railroad magnates
were i'll town.
THE sT. JOINS RIVER
is wide and deep enough for the Charleston and
Savannah steamers up as far as Palatka, about
one hundred miles from the mouth. The prin-
cpal stopping places on the way up from jack
sOnville are Mandarin, Hibernia, Magnolia Green
Cove Springs, aud Tocoi. Mandarin is sixteen
miles from jacksonville and is a beautiful shady
spot 1t is principally noted as the winter resi-
dence Of Mrs. ii. b. Stowe. Hlbernia is nine
miles further up on the west bank of the river.
Mrs. Fleming has kept boarding house
here for many years and several Whining
ton people have been among her guests. Mag
nolia, four miles further, has very well kept no.
tel and several cottages, and is among the pref
test places on the river Green Cove Spring ID
the most important point between Jacksonville
and Palatka There are two large and well kept
ing which many find very heathful Among the
guests here this winter were Edward Hopes,
Charles B. Williams, Charles Sharpless, Jr,
Justice Shawbridge, Wm. W. Justice, Henry ID.
Lands, Elisha Roberts, Lewis j. Levlck, and
others from Philadelphia and vicinity. Tocoi s
the Western terminus of the st. Johns Railway,
and as passengers for st. Augustine disembark
hero, the wharf always presents busy scene
during tho season. 1t is fifteen miles from here
to st. Augustine, and until this season the trip
a n hOrsn wnnnpn
however, the wooden rails have been replaced
with good iron ones, well laid, aud the two horse
cars, taken off of the wheels and mounted end
to end on n platform car, form very passabe
conveyance. A good narrow gauge locomotive,
on regular gauge trucks, makes the trip in less
than an hour but seems wofully out of place
blowing its whistle within stones throw Of the
oldest European city on the continent.
ST. AUdUsTISE's PRINCIPAL ATTRACTION
consists in tile quaint old houses,
and the old fort and defensive wall,
bNilt by the Spauiards between the years
j65 and 1860 They are built of a peculiar
rock found ON the beach in large quantities,
called coquina. 1t is formed of shells. The old
fort San Marco is fine specimen of the ancient
style of dsfenceit has IT'D moat and draw-brldge
and there ID supposed to he an underground
passage connecting it with the Cathedral iii the
town. The monument i'll the public square,
which was erected to commemorate the short
lived Spanish republic of 1912, is an object of
much interest.
paatka is the
MAIN BUSINESS PoINT
on the river, south of Jacksonville. Col. II. s.
Hart, n New Englander, carries on an extensive
business here i'll orange raising lie is hlso
proprietor of the Putnam House, all excellent
hotel, and of tho line of small stern-wheel
steamers which run up the Oclawaha river as
far as Silver Spring. Thousands OF people stop
here during the winter, and many rpend the
whole winter here +. g. II.