The weekly Floridian. [volume] (Tallahassee, Fla.) 1867-19??, 1883-03-27
three by land, is the old town ofSt. Marks,
one Of the Oldest places Ia the United

turc0 Dy L4nu, 10 the ola town OF St Marks.
one Of the oldest places ID the United
States.
Nayerez, in 1928, built Is fieet of boats
here, and departed Septaa,ber 22d. 1928.
on his ill-fated expedition which discoy-
cred the mouth Of the Mississippi
river. This was thirty-seyen years before
the discovery and foundiag Of St. Angus
tine by Menendez. De Soto's vessels
were landed At or near St Marks in 1889,
and he sent them coasting westwardiy.
1t is supposed that they discovered Pen
sacola Bay. Missions wesss established
soon after by the Catholics at st. Marks,
and St. Louis, near Tallahassee, for the
conversion of the Indians. In 17ls
Spain erected at St. Masks a large and
well constructed fort. It was built out
of stone, and was almost equal to the one
at st. Augustine in strength. It was
torn down years ago, and part of the
stone taken to construct Marine Hos
pital. The balance was carried to Talia-
hassee and used for building purposes.
April 10th, 1918, General Jackson seized
St Marks, captured Ambr;ster and Ar
burthnot, two British traders, aud hung
them there.
The history of St. Marks is rather sin
gular one. 1t is located at the junction
of the St. Marks and the Wakulla rivers,
on government reservation that was ac-
quired from Spain The inhabitants may
be termed "squatters on government
land, liable to be elected at any time. One
of the most remarkable things is to see
the tenacity with which the inhabitants
cling to the place They have had al
most everything to contend against since
she became a part of the Uuited States.
Opposition towns have sprung up, had a
brief existence, and then died. Storms
have nearly destroyed the town several
times. August 26, 1851 tidal wave
struck the place and nearly carried it
away. October 9th, 1852, a storm of
wind and wave carried away a greater
portion of the town, and drove ten ves-
sells ashore. August 3oth, 1856, tidal
wave struck her, doing considerable dam
age, and drove one vessel ashore. No.
vember, 8, 1859, the warehouses and rail-
road depot were destroyed by FIRE, the
work of an incendiary. September 10th,
1873, storm Of wind and wave carried
away the ware and store houses, wharf
and twenty-three buildings. September
9th, 1882, storm OF wind and wave
carried away the wharf, warehouse and
two store houses, and done considerable
damage to all the other buildings.
A Marine Hospital vas erected at St.
Marks many years ago by the u. S. Gov
ernment at great expense. 1t was elegantly
finished and furnished, and was what may
be termed a splendid structure of brick and
stone. The furniture doors, windows,
flooring, &c, have long ago disappeared,
and nothing remains but the brick and
stone walls. 1t is shame AMI disgrace
to let SO elegant bailding as it was go
to ruin
st. Marks new contains post-office,
two stores and about one hundred inhab-
itants. Sea-going vessels drawing ten
feet of water can safely land at her
wharf
A short distance above st. Marks on
Of an old Spanish eoWn TTeE thar are NJ sns one
to know when it existed or by whom
built. There are stone cellar walls, foun-
dations for houses, chimneys, DC.
Three miles below ST. Marks on the east
side of the river and bay, near forty years
ago the town of Port Leon was laid out,
with big expectations of its becoming
great commercial city. Business lots sold
as high as $1,000 a piece Large ware
and store houses were erected, fine hotels
and residences were built, and the rail-
road from Tallahassee extended to it. 1t
done an immense business, and its inhab-
itants soon expected it to become the
Queen City of the Gulf In September,
1853, it was entirely destroyed by storm
and not vestige remains to mark the
spot.
Had the citizens in the towns above
the town of St. Marks encouraged small
farmers to have purchased the lands and
improved them, with little farms we'll
titled" and built all kinds of manufacto-
ries, DC, they might to-day have all been
prosperous villages, surrounded by beau
tiful farms, and the river alive with boats,
sea-geing vessels, &c, and the fine min
eral springs improved and nice hotels
near them well filed With guests. In
stead of that the lands sre nearly all in
the hands of non-residents, who won't do
anything to help build up the country,
and the consequence is that the st. Marks
river, from its source to its mouth, is as
it were bowling wilderness and the
abode of dead towns and cities.
FL. G. RIPPEY.