The Ocala evening star. [volume] (Ocala, Fla.) 1895-1943, 1912-01-24
AN EPOCH FOR 0cALA
VIII be Marked by the Opening of the
Rentz Railroad from This City
to PaIatka

Tomorrow viii mark new epoch in
the history Of Ocala, Palatka and the
fifty miles Of country between.
The first through passenger train
will be operated from Ocala to Palat-
ka over this road, leaving Ocala at
O'Clock in the morning, from the Sea-
board passenger station, and will ar
rive in Palatka about Il o'clock. In
stead of some scventy-five miles from
Ocala 10 Palatka via rail, as il has al
ways been, in the around-the- elbow
route of the Coast Line, it will be only
ffty-two miles by the Rentz line.
The train that will leave Ocala to-
morrow morning will be a first-class.
brand new passenger train, from the
locomotive Of the latest type, TO the
handsome chair car on the rear, and by
the way. this Is the only short line
road in the state operating a Pullman
car
While the train is an excursion train
and will carry several hundred pas
sengers. who will take advantage for
the first time Of the opportunity to see
the new country and visit Palatka to-
morrow on the dollar for the round
trip rate, the chair car will be reserv-
ed for President Rentz, his roads Of
of whom will accompany him to Palat
ka.
The officers OF the road and their
invited guests will be met at the de-
pot in Palatka by a delegation from
the board of trade and representative
business men of that thriving city.
The Palatka band will be there to well
come the visitors and supply music
for them. There will be autos and
carriages to carry the guests to the
Putnam House, where they will have
lunch.
After lunch the visitors will be
| shown the city in autos and will see
the motor boat races from the new
! county bridge across the st. Johns
river, which will be opened free, COM
| plimentary to the visitors on this day.
The guests will be given a trip up the
| st. Johns river on steamer and will
| also see a great automobile parade in
! the late afternoon.
| In the evening the road officials and
| their party will be given a grand ban
quet at the Putnam House, and after
the banquet a ball. in the spacious ball
room of that famous hotel.
a number of speakers will respond
to toasts at the banquet. Among the
speakers from Ocala will be Hon. II.
L. Anderson, Messrs. F. E. Harris. L.
w. Duval. r. r. Carroll, r. c. Nun
caster. H. NJ. Hampton, Rev. J. B.
Ley. and from Jacksonville, Mr.. Chas.
H Seig and Col. H L. Anderson.
The excursion train will return to
Ocala in the afternoon, reaching here
about 8 o'clock, but those who stay
for the banquet and ball will remain
! IN Do oioh nd
return on the regular. Ocala Northern
train Friday.
A portion Of the track OF the road
near Palatka is new and not thorough
ly finished for a few days and until
this work can be completed to the
satisfaction of the officials, only one
through passenger train each day will
! be operated. freight train will be
operated over the road each way every
lday and after a few days two through
passenger trains will be operated each
way daily.
The Ocala Northern IS a first class
road In every respect. II has ample
equipment OF its own. new and mod
ern. good heavy locomotives Of late
patterns for both passenger and
freight traffic, ample new coaches and
when the few finishing touches are
put on the roadbed it will have as good
trackage as any road in Florida. The
rails are all new and of heavy steel.
For the first time in its history the
great country, rich in natural re-
sources. lying between Palatka and
Ocala, has ample transportation facii-
Titles For the past twenty-five years
the Coast Line has given transporta-
ton facilities on the west side Of this
great tract of country and on the east
side the shallow. winding and uncer-
tain Oklawaha river has afforded slow
and Indifferent transportation along
that section, but many of the settlers
had to. haul their products great dis
tances to reach either of these routes
and the country naturally developed
very slowly.
OF late with transportation from this
end and halfway through the section.
and an assurance Of the same from the
other end in a short time. the country
has been settling up rapidly. New
homes, stores, sawmills, churches and
school houses have been built where
none were before and the population
all along the route of this road is in
!creasing and in few years will be as
numerous as many OF the localities
that have long enjoyed the advantages
only now offered this section.
It is only a few years since this
Georgia cracker, E. p. Rentz his
brother, George Rentz, and their fam
lilies came to Ocala. They had been
IN the sawmi1l, railroad and bankin e
business in Georgia and had made
good. They thought this new, unde-
Iveloped section offered better advant-
ages for their capital and energies
than the older section OF Georgia. so
they came here and looked the field
over. They bought the big sawmill
plant at Silver Springs and the loggin z
road that was connected with II. They
also bought a large tract Of land in
| that section. The land from the
Springs to and beyond Fort Mccoy was
gradually bought up by them as they
could acquire it. The plant at Silver
Springs was improved and the log road
rebuilt and extended towards Fort
Mccoy At Fort Mccoy they after
wards built another sawmill. one of
the largest and most modern in the
state and shipped the product Of both
mills via their own road to Silver
Springs, where il was delivered TO the
/ Seaboard.
/ Afterwards the Ocala Northern made
a traffic arrangement with the Sea
board which gave that road the same
rights over the six miles of line to
Ocala as the Seaboard enjoys In the
meantime the road was quietly but
persistently pushed forward into the