The morning news. [volume] (Savannah, Ga.) 1887-1900, 1899-05-18

lance west OF Apalachicola bay, and had
much deeper bar entrance. few en-
terprising gentlemen conceived The idea
about 1888 of utilizing this better entrance
by establishing shipping point on ST.
Joseph's bay, and connecting it with the
Alphabetical river by making a short ral-
read connecting with a creek running into
Lake Winico, which was connected with
the Apalachicola river.
An act of the legislature, in 1886, had es-
tablished il as the county seat of Frank
lin county but this was rejected by Con
gress, and Calhoun county being soon
afterwards established ST. Joseph was
made the county seat of that county. The
railroad was first constructed to Depot
creek, a harbor of Lake Winico ana was
built of fiat bar iron laid on stringers.
Lake Winico harbor was not found avail
able on account of shdllowness for uu-
interrupted navigation, and the route of
the railroad was afterwards changed 10
lola, a landing on the Apalachicalo river.
A Town Grew Up Rapidly.
Considerable progress was made in
building up st. Joseph during the years
1856 and 1881 A long wharf was built. cot
ton was brought thtae IN large quantities
to be shipped and many vessels came to
receive cargoes Tie entrance to The bay
permitted drop of seventeen feet. and
ampl anchorage room. A bank was estab-
lished, stores built, boarding houses open
ed, and all the usual business accompan-
iments of a growing town. and last, not
least, two newspapers, were issued the
ST. Joseph Telegraph and the ST. Joseph
Times, both devoted to the interests Of the
rising city, a rivaf TO Apalachicola.
A constitutional convention to frame
constitution for the state of Florida was
appointed to be held there in December,
1887. The population at that time had
reached probably 600 to 500. The conVen-
ton comprised the most prominent citizens
of the state I know of but one survivor
of that distinguished body, the Hon. VIII
liam Marvin, who held the office of United
States judge in territorial times, and sub
sequently to the admission of the state
for many years. He was made provisional
Governor after the civil war, and was
elected to the Senate of the United States
in 1861 but not permitted to take his seat.
He is now living at Sheneateles, ". y, is
in his ninetieth year, and has mind as
vigorous and clear apparently as ever.
Saint Joseph in 1s3S-39.
Judge Marvin. in his interesting letter
to Judge Raney kindly loaned me, says:
NV recollection of the town of Saint JOS
eph, as l saw it in 1858, when mem
Der of the constitutional convention, Is
that the town at that time possessed
population of between 300 or 400 souls, liv-
ing in frame or wooden houses scattered
here and there over considerable space
of ground There were one or two wooden
warehouses and grocery stores A ship or
baroue was lying at the wharf taking in
a cargo of cotton during most of the time
the convention was in session. / do not re-
member that there were any hotel accom-
modations in town, although l thlnk there
must have been. Several members of the
convention, myself included, boarded at
a boarding house kept by Mr.. simmons
1.-THE convention held its sessions in
fine. large, commodious hall, built cheap
Nv. but for its special use. The men VINO
seemed to be the most actively engaged in
.hoonoing' the town were Edward Wood
commonly called Ned Wood; and his broth
or whose name, 1 think, was benjamin.
They were also the active business men,
."The impression made upon my mind at
the time was that there was a forced at
tempt being made to build up a town by
diyerting the trade of the Apalachicola
river nv means of a railroad of about
twentv or thirty miles in length, running
from the river to the town. l thought at
tbe time the attempt would fail and the
town would come TO grief
"The only advantage St. Joseph had over
Apalachicola in the strife for business
was that ST. Joseph had better harbor,
but the advantage was more thah over
balanced by the disadvantage of the delay,
expense and Inconvenience OF transshlp-
ming all the cotton to or went from IT
over the railroad. Besides, Apalachicola
had got already a good start. This city
had already plenty of warehouses money
and men 20 do the business of the river,
and II was the natural depot for the river
trade
after the final adjournment of the con-
yention a number OF the members, in
Gliding myself, went over this road TO Is
end. where the most of us took steam
boat 20 Apalachicola. l remember very
well that the road seemed to be new, much
of which was built on piles, and seemed
to me unsafe for passengers. / do not
remember whether it extended at that time
to lola. on the river, or stopped at some
point on the lake short of it,
It's Day Was a short One.
Judge Marvins forecast of the failure
Of st. Joseph was soon justified. Tho
holding of the constitutional convention
was the GROWING event of its brief life.
In the year 1S37-1s3S ST. Joseph claimed
to have shipped about 1900 bales of cot
ton There were about seventeen feet of
water on the bar, but much more was
claimed; even as much as thirty feet The
rivalry between Apalachicola and st. Jo-
seph was animated and the people of st.
Joseph were called by the Apalachians
.'The Saints" probably because of the
sanity prefix to the name of their town.
II was losing ground when the yellow few
err Of 1871 broke out, and this practically
ended it's career Some people fingered
on. but it passed out of existence even
more rapidly than 1t had come into life.
Some of the buildings were taken and
moved to Apalachicola. The railroad iron
was taken up and removed, and only the
roadbed remains to mark the line of one
of the earliest, II not the earliest, railroad
in Florida.
The lone traveller who now looks out
upon the sparkling waters Of st. Joseph
bay sees only solitude and waste where
once stood a thriving commercial town,
claiming at one time 10 have had a popu-
lation Of upward OF 1000 people. It's peo-
pie. its commerce, its stately vessels. are
all gone and only the canoe of the fisher
man lands upon its shores. OF that splen-
did body Of men who formed the first con-
stitution Of Florida at st. Joseph one only