1900 Matthews Northrup Map of Florida and Georgia w/ Plant System Railroad

A striking c. 1900 map of Florida and Georgia illustrating and promoting the Plant Railroad network. The map represents the Plant System at the height of its development, with coverage extending throughout Florida, Georgia, and Alabama.

A Closer Look

The map covers from Charleston, South Carolina, to Havana, Cuba, and from Choctawhatchee Bay to West Palm Beach, Florida. The focus is clearly the railroad and steamer network, which is highlighted in red. An inset in the lower left details the Plant System's connections to broader national networks. Vignettes illustrate grand hotels operated by the Plant System in Kissimmee, Ocala, Tampa, Belleview, Punta Gorda, and Winter Park - each with the manger's name noted.

The Plant System

The Plant System, named after its owner, Henry B. Plant, was a network of railroads and steamboats in the U.S. Southeast. The system was based upon the Savannah, Florida and Western Railway, running across southern Georgia. The Plant Investment Company was formed in 1882. It grew coverage by leasing or buying other railroads, among them the Charleston Railroad and the Brunswick and Western Railroad. It also began acquiring steamship lines, extending converage from Tampa to Cuba, Key West, and other points. The Plant system was competition to Henry Flagler's Florida East Coast Railroad. It was taken over by the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902.

Manuscript Annotation

The map features a letter hand-written in pencil describing a voyage by one 'Herbert' from Charleston to Tampa. The text is difficult to read, but seems focused on mundane travel details. The author is distinctly unimpressed with Florida, calling the voyage 'barren', the weather 'hot', and Florida somewhere he 'would not want to live'.

Publication History and Census

This map was issued by the Buffalo firm Matthews Northrup on behalf of the Plant System. Although undated, we can loosely assign a date of c. 1900 based upon the high level of development the Plant System exhibits. It cannot be later than 1902, when the Plant System became the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad. The Plant System commissioned numerous maps with roughly the same title between 1890 and 1901, but most are very different in terms of scope, design, and content. We can trace no other examples of this particularly graphic edition.