The story of the Intracoastal and other thoughts on water, waterways, land, and ecology
Gregg Russell concert for young and old at the Oak Tree, Harbour Town Marina, Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, opening into Calibogue Sound (a section of the Intracoastal Waterway). Russell has brought his troubadour-style folk singing and story-telling to Harbour Town for over 25 years, attracting hundreds of residents and tourists, some of whom are the grandchildren of Russell’s first audiences. (Photo courtesy of the author).
The stern-wheeler “Courtenay” traveled up and down various stretches of the Florida East Coast Canal in the 1890s. Henry Flagler traveled aboard a steamer like the “Courtenay” when he made the first trip to Miami just weeks before making the first trip into Miami on his completed Florida East Coast Railway. Flagler was president of both the Florida canal company and the Florida railway when he made both trips. He resigned the presidency of the canal company when he realized its potential for lowering railway rates. Courtesy, Florida Photographic Archives, Tallahassee, Fla.
Attempting a prison breakout, Whiskers clawed her way to the top. But failed in her mission to escape to the outside. Still, Whiskers had made her way to her first view of the neighborhood. Weeks later, Whiskers finally escaped to the outdoors, sneaking out through an accidentally open front door. She now prefers the luxurious life of an inside cat. They say the grass is always greener on the other side. But the grass is always outside. And greener, too. Most of the time.
The Bromeliads are a family of monocot flowering plants comprising 3,170 species and found mainly in the tropical Americas. A pineapple is a bromeliad. By 1900, Florida grew more pineapples than any other place in the world, including Hawaii. By 1910, Hawaii became the number 1 place in the world for pineapple growing. Florida would continue its decline in prominence as land became more valuable for other uses.
Front cover of the Florida Coast Line Canal & Transportation Co. Report of 1885. Prospectus of the “Property and Prospects” of the company by St. Augustine civil engineer Robert E. O’Brien intended to induce new investors, many of whom had been early investors in the Bell Telephone enterprise. Large investors included George L. Bradley of Providence, Rhode Island, and Albert P. Sawyer of Newburyport, Massachusetts. (Courtesy, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society).
Our literate cat Whiskers peaks over the top of a book stand to view my award-winning book, “Florida’s Big Dig: the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway from Jacksonville to Miami, 1881 to 1935.” Winner of the Rembert Patrick Award in 2008, my book tells the story of how a privately built tollway barely five feet deep in some sections became a toll-free federally-controlled public waterway with minimum depths of from ten to twelve feet and minimum widths of from one hundred and twenty-five to one hundred and fifty feet.
Additional information on “Florida’s Big Dig” and how and where it may be purchased can be found on the website at http://www.FloridasBigDig.com.
In 1876, the Department of Treasury began constructing five Houses of Refuge for shipwrecked sailors every twenty-five miles along the Florida East Coast. The first House of Refuge in Fort Lauderdale was located along the beach about where Bonnet House and Gardens occupies a site as deep as the distance between the Intracoastal Waterway and A1A. Years later, the structure was moved south to the present-day strip of beach in front of Bahia Mar Yachting Center. This is the only known photograph of a Keeper and his family while in service. Courtesy, Fort Lauderdale Historical Society.
Sunset view from Harbortown across Calibogue Sound, part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway. Several stretches of the Waterway through South Carolina are so shallow many vessels run aground, unable to move until high tide.
Yacht harbor surrounded by a townhouse community, iconic lighthouse, retail shopping, and yacht club.
Harbortown Lighthouse, Sea Pines Plantation, Hilton Head, South Carolina. Harbor leads out into Calibogue Sound, a part of the Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway.
Florida’s Big Dig 