Get on Board for the Celebration!
Yulee Railroad Days has been
celebrated the first weekend in June, beginning in 2004. The linear festival follows the route of the historic
cross-state Florida Railroad, and an
array of events showcases the rich historical, cultural, and natural attractions of the heart of North Florida.
Since 1995, Yulee Day had been celebrated
in the City of Archer. In 2004 the festival expanded into a three-day event involving historic towns in Alachua County and its environs that owe their existence to the railroads. Other cities
and towns along the Florida Railroad’s route also joined for a truly regional celebration, tracing
the Florida Railroad’s original route, stretching 155 miles from the Atlantic Ocean to the Gulf of Mexico.
Yulee Railroad Days gives us all a chance to indulge in railroad nostalgia, to learn a bit more about our
pioneer past, to have fun, and to share our fascinating Alachua County heritage and history. Please join us at the 2008 Yulee Railroad Days celebration from
Friday, May 30 - Saturday, June 7.
Our Florida Railroad Heritage
The Florida Railroad, built before the Civil War to provide a coast-to-coast rail shipping route, stretched 155 miles from Fernandina on the Atlantic to Cedar Key on the Gulf. The line opened
up the vast, sparsely settled interior of the State for development. Train stations popped up along the tracks, and towns began to flourish around them. By the 1880s the landscape was etched
with iron rails.Tourists arrived in style to enjoy Florida’s balmy breezes, and growers sent
carloads of oranges and fresh produce to northern markets. The timber, turpentine, and phosphate industries depended on the railroads to haul their products as well.
Railroads represented progress and boosted Florida’s economy. African-Americans provided much of the labor for building the railroads and found steady work maintaining the tracks and manning some of the shops.
David Levy Yulee
United States Senator David Levy Yulee (1810–1886) was the driving force behind The Florida Railroad, the state’s first trans-state line. Yulee was the visionary who unleashed the “iron dragon” and sent it rumbling through the swamps and pine forests from the ocean to the gulf. Yulee’s railroad opened up the center of the state and planted new towns in the wilderness. A brilliant statesman, a resolute organizer, and the first person of Jewish descent to serve in the U.S. Congress, this fascinating Floridian had a profound impact on the growth and development of Alachua County and North Central Florida. For more information, contact Yulee Railroad Days, PO Box 5143, Gainesville, FL 32627
or e-mail:
dentonph@bellsouth.net
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Copyright © 2006 Archer Historical Society, Inc.
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