Map of the Savannah, Florida, & Western Railway

An important component of Henry B. Plant’s railroad empire in the early 1880s.

This scarce railroad map of southern Georgia and Florida outlines an expanding regional rail network under the direction of Henry B. Plant. In 1879, Plant acquired the Atlantic & Gulf Railroad at a foreclosure sale, reorganizing it the same year as the Savannah, Florida & Western Railway. From this initial acquisition, he developed a transportation network that would ultimately extend to Tampa and southern Florida. The principal routes are shown in bold red, linking Savannah with Jacksonville, New Branford, Thomasville, Chattahoochee, and Albany. Several shorter lines are also noted, including the South Florida Railroad, the St. Johns and Lake Eustis Railway, and the Florida Transit Railroad.

The map was designed by Rand Avery & Company of Boston and published by Leve & Alden, a New York-based travel agency and printing firm. A list of more than 75 domestic and international agents appears on the verso. The work is undated, but the absence of a railroad connection to Tampa, which was completed in 1883, together with the depiction of the aforementioned independent short lines, suggests a probable publication date of 1882. As of September 2026, WorldCat records only two institutional copies, at the Jacksonville Public Library and the University of South Florida.

Sources: RailGA, University of South Florida, OCLC# 55655731