As the 1912 deadline approached for the completion of the Florida waterway, George Francis Miles became increasingly disenchanted with his role as general manager of dredging operations. In 1911, Miles and others organized the Florida Coastal Inland Navigation Company to run steamboats on the completed portions of the inland waterway (Florida East Coast Canal).
Shown here is the toll schedule of the new steamer company running the old “Swan,” a light draft flat-bottom sternwheeler that once ran cotton on the Mississippi River. The “Swan” now transported cargoes of winter vegetables and citrus or passengers with their automobiles stowed in the open on the first level. Courtesy, Florida State Archives, Tallahassee, Fla.
Florida’s Big Dig 