Savannah morning news. [volume] (Savannah) 1868-1887, 1884-12-07
FLORIDA IN A MAP.

A Birds Eye View of the Plant Railway
System and the Peninsula State in
Miniature Bias Relief Model - Some
Geographical Facts not Generally
known.
The News referred yesterday to the bas
relief map of the Plant system of rail-
ways in the South, which will form one Of
the features of the exhibit of tie Savan-
nah. Florida and Western Railway at the
New Orleans Exposition. The map is the
- I. q. Leutze, and was begun
e "Ti : in Sentember ION the suggestion
of f't General Manager Haines. us y feetln
length and IL feet in width, but =" rs irreg-
ular outline, and though apparently of
one piece or mold it is composed Of twelve
sections, each representing the tOpog-
raphy of a certain geographical division
of Florida, the complete model in
Guiding the counties of Southern
and Eastern Georgia and portion
of South Carolina as far north as Charles
ton, 1t is the largest model gifts kind in the
world, and furnishes perfect birds eye
view of the "Land of Flowers" with the
relative heIght above sea level of the
lakes, valleys, hills, cities and plains of
the State, and is calculated to impress
upon the mind of any one who may see it
! a more correct idea of the Plant system Of
railways, and of the great Peninsula State
which they traverse, than any picture,
map or other representation could give.
The work was done solely by Mr..
LeutZe, and is an achievement
most creditable to his patience and skill.
1t is accurate in the representations of
distances and elevations, being modelled
upon a horizontal scale of two miles to an
inch, and upon a vertical scale of fifty
feet to an inch. To accomplish this work
Gnol of nTpnqrQfOrU Gfu6U W
required, and hundred or more au-
thOrities were consulted. Figures as to
elevation or depression were verified
or others substituted, the lOca-
ton of lakes definitely fixed or the
source and course of rivers ascer-
tanned. Few persons are aware that the
noted Okefinoke swamp in Southeast
Georgia IS the source of the great Suwan-
nee river of Florida, which empties into
the Gulf of Mexico, or, in other words,
that the head waters Of that river are near
Waycross, in this State, and none of the
waters of the swamp are drained by
streams emptying into the Atlantic Ocean.
The typographical model of the territory
where the swamp and river are located
shows where the dividing ridge FORM
ing the water shed begins and ends.
1t is an object lesson in geogra-
ply which even blind man can
distinguish simply by passing his hand
over the model. Lake OkeechObee is
shown to be 81 feet and S5-1Q1ths above
the sea level, while Lake Kissimmee is 60
and j0-10Oths feet. The canal which was
recently built to drain the waters OF the
lake into OkeechObee and thence via the
Caloosahatchie river to the gulf is clearly
shown, and the observer cannot fail to
recognize the wisdom OF the
policy in selecting that route for
the canal when he has the COM
paratiye elevations of the territory
presented so plainly to view. The high
est point of land in the Peninsula State
is Mount Munnerlyn-244 feet-lOcated in
the southern portion of fernando county.
The town of Lakeland, on Lake Weir, is
30 feet above sea level, while the waters
of the lake are 1875 feet above the sea.
Lake Parker, in Polk county, one mile
east of Lake Weir, is 131 feet. Lakes Agnes
and Louisa, in Polk county, are less than
a quarter of a mile apart, yet the
former is shown as the source of the
waters of the Withlacoochee river, which
flow northwest over 200 miles, forming a
bold and beautiful stream, and emptying
into the Gulf of Mexico, about y miles
south of Cedar Key, while Lake Louisa
is the source of the Palatlakaha river,
which flows in a nOrtherly and easterly
direction, the waters finally mixing with
those of the st. Johns.
Inc lQe0 Oh HuOWluS WHAT lu0
topography of Florida is and
how the Savannah. Florida and Western
Railway Company is extending its lines
across the territory, and where the Plant
system furnishes rail connections with
other lines of transportation, cannot but
| be appreciated by thousands OF visitors to
the great Exposition, and in various
| ways it will tend to give the public an
| accurate conception of the Flowery Land.
The model is composed Of layer of
Portland cement, spread upon an I'M
| mense table as foundation for super
structure of plaster of Paris. The ground
work of the model was then painted
| green, with lakes and watercourses, in
Guiding the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf
Of Mexico, in blue, towns and cities in
red, railways in gold, silver, or red, and
boundary lines between counties in yell
low and red. A steamship is represented
sailing out OF Tampa Bay for Havana,
| and other vessels are shown on the South
Atlantic. Twenty-three lighthouses and
two lightships are also shown
| in their locations. The esti-
mated weight of the model is 10000
pounds. This novel representation OF
State in miniature will be on exhibition
at the company's paint shops this morn
ing, and tomorrow morning 1t Will be
taken down preparatory to shipment to
| New Orleans. On its arrival there Mr..
Leutze will add some finishing touches to
the work, and will superintend its erec-
! ton at the Exposition.