Port Leon, Florida

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Port Leon, Florida was a river port town located in southern Wakulla County, Florida established in the 1820s. Port Leon is classified as an "extinct city" by the State Library and Archives of Florida and only remnants can be found today.

1 History
2 Sources

[edit] History

[edit] 1820s

Port Leon was established in the 1820s and was located about 2 miles (3 km) south of St. Marks on the east bank of the St. Marks River. Like its sister town, Magnolia, it was an important port for goods leaving the cotton plantations of the Red Hills Region of Florida and Georgia. Wagon trains and the Tallahassee-St. Marks Railroad brought some 30,000 to 40,000 bales of cotton a year into the area ports. A bridge across the St. Marks River tied the port to the railroad and the docks for loading on ships, bound for the east coast. Port Leon had several hundred citizens at its peak with 8 to 10 businesses, some wharves, warehouses, a hotel, two taverns, a newspaper and an annual fair.

Government docks at Port Leon

[edit] 1840s

In 1840, the post office opened in Port Leon. On March 11, 1843 it was chosen as the seat of Wakulla County. In 1844, the post office closed. From 1841-1843 Port Leon was also known as Fort Port Leon and utilized during the Seminole Wars.

In 1841, the Port Leon area endured a severe yellow fever epidemic. On September 13, 1843, a very strong hurricane with 10-foot (3 m) storm surge hit the area and nearly destroyed the town as well as heavily damaging nearby Magnolia and St. Marks.

[edit] 1860s

During the Civil War Port Leon housed a Confederate gun battery.

[edit] 1940s

In September of 1943 Port Leon was devastated by a hurricane just as it was achieving stability and prosperity. After the storm, Port Leon was never rebuilt and now lies within the Saint Marks Wildlife Refuge.