Source

State Archives of Florida, Collection M81-7

Description

Letter from the Tolchester Steamboat Company of Baltimore, Maryland, to Colonel Hubbard L. Hart requesting Hart provide steamboat rates for an excursion party of 5 to 15 who would travel from Palatka, Florida, along the Ocklawaha River to Silver Springs and return. Hart operated a steamship line along this route.

Date

1887-11-14

Creator

Tolchester Steamboat Company (Baltimore, Md.)

Format

Letters (correspondence)

Coverage

Late 19th-Century Florida (1877-1900)

Topic

Business And Industry

Subjects

Hart Line Steamers
Hart, Hubbard L.
Tourist trade
Transportation

Geographic Term

Baltimore (Md.)
Palatka
Putnam County
Saint Augustine
Saint Johns County
Jacksonville
Duval County
Oklawaha River
Silver Springs
Marion County

General Note

Hubbard L. Hart was a native of Guildford, Vermont who was born on May 4, 1827. In 1852 he moved to Savannah, Georgia, and opened a stagecoach line that carried U.S. mail. Three years later he moved to Florida and opened a similar line linking Palatka and Tampa. By 1860 he had built a wharf at Palatka and operated a general store. That same year he purchased the steamboat James Burt and shortly thereafter the Silver Spring. During the Civil War, Hart carried supplies for the Confederacy. After the war he purchased additional vessels, cleared obstructions from the Ocklawaha River, and began transporting goods and passengers along the river. By the late 1860s, northern visitors began to flock to Florida, and Silver Springs became a popular destination. During the late 1800s, Hart's steamboat line prospered, and he also became involved in the citrus industry, the hotel business, and railroad and canal development. By the early 1890s, competition from railroads began to affect Hart's steamboat operations, but they still remained profitable during the winter months. In December 1895, Hart died as a result of a fall from a trolley car in Atlanta, Georgia. Hart's successors, however, continued to ply the Ocklawaha on steamboats into the 1920s.