1924 Poole Brothers Map of the Florida Southern Railway System

This is a 1924 Poole Brothers railroad map of Florida published by the Southern Railway System. This is one of the few maps to illustrate the ephemeral full operating route of the Florida East Coast Railroad extending through the Keys to Key West. Routes owned by Southern Railway and its subsidiaries in northern Florida are emphasized with thick black lines. Additional competing railroad networks are depicted using thinner lines. The Peninsular and Occidental Steamship Company, which connected Tampa with Key West and Havana, Cuba, is marked by a dotted line running through the Gulf of Mexico. An inset map along the left border highlights the Southern Railway System from Cincinnati and Memphis to Miami, along with other rail lines in the American Southeast. A second inset map of Cuba is situated in the lower right corner that illustrates Cuban railways.

Southern Railway

Southern Railway was formed in 1894 by the merger of three railroads: the Memphis and Charleston Railroad, the Richmond and Danville System, and the East Tennessee, Virginia and Georgia Railroad. Over the course of the 20th century, Southern Railway obtained controlling interests in numerous railroads throughout the south, including the Alabama Great Southern and the Georgia Southern and Florida. By 1916, Southern operated on an 8,000-mile, thirteen-state railroad system that lasted until 1980, when Southern merged with the Norfolk and Western Railway and formed the Norfolk Southern Corporation.

FEC to Key West

The Florida East Coast Railroad extension to Key West, although not the focus of this map, is noted. The FEC Key Wet Extension, possibly the greatest Railroad achievement of the era, was planned from about 1895, but not completed until 1912. It operated for little more than 20 years, heralding a golden age for the Florida Keys and Key West in general. Business magnates, presidents, and dignitaries rode the rails to Miami or Key West before embarking on Flagler’s Peninsular and Occidental Steamship Company to Havana, Cuba, and the Bahamas. Long after Flagler’s death, the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935 destroyed some of the railroad bridges leading to Key West (the remains of which can still be seen) and the FEC, then insolvent, was unable to finance the repairs. The tracks were donated to the state, who used the infrastructure to construct the Overseas Highway (U.S. 1).

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Poole Brothers and published by the Southern Railway System in 1924. Both the inset maps are dated September 18, 1924, while the central map of Florida was originally published by Poole Brothers in 1915. Several editions and states of this map exist. Specific editions are uncommon on the market, with one example of the present edition being held at the Touchton Map Library, in Tampa.