1.

Record Nr.

UNINA9910502916603321

Titolo

The Palatka news and advertiser

Pubbl/distr/stampa

Palatka, Florida : , : Russell & Vickers

Descrizione fisica

1 online resource

Disciplina

071

Soggetti

Newspapers.

Palatka (Fla.) Newspapers

Putnam County (Fla.) Newspapers

Florida Palatka

Florida Putnam County

Lingua di pubblicazione

Inglese

Formato

Materiale a stampa

Livello bibliografico

Periodico

Note generali

Wm. A. Russell, editor.

Sommario/riassunto

In 1885, Alex Wattles founded the Palatka (FL) Weekly Advertiser [LCCN: sn95047296], also referred to as the Palatka Advertiser, as an unaffiliated newspaper. There is evidence of a sibling title, the Palatka (FL) Daily Advertiser [LCCN sn95047295], in 1894. Little is known of the publishing history or patterns of either title. The Palatka Weekly Advertiser, in any case, was published until January 2, 1902 when, Wattles sold it to William Russell of Crescent City (FL) and M.M. Vickers. The newspaper then merged with the Crescent City (FL) News [LCCN: sn95026089] to form the Palatka (FL) News and Advertiser [LCCN: sn95047297]. The Palatka News and Advertiser, which describes itself as "Democratic", was also commonly referred to as the Palatka (FL) News [LCCN: sn95047298], which became the actual title in March 1905, then reverted back to the Palatka News and Advertiser [LCCN: sn95047299] in November 1908 and ceased publication sometime after December 3, 1920. William A.-

Russell remained the editor, and the paper was published by Russell & Vickers. Palatka is located along the upper St. Johns River and now (ca. 2008) serves as the county seat of Putnam County, Florida. Florida's great railroad lines, the Florida Southern Railroad; the Georgia Southern



and Florida Railroad; the Jacksonville, Tampa and Key West Railroad; and the St. Augustine and Palatka Railway used Palatka as a junction for routes continuing on to the west and south. Palatka was a major shipping point for citrus, timber, and other agricultural produce, as well as a stopping point for tourists to Florida. Routes connecting east joined the cities of Gainesville, in north central Florida, and Cedar Key and eventually Tampa, both on Florida's Gulf Coast, to Jacksonville, Florida's economic hub in the years following the Civil War. Routes connecting south continued to Miami and eventually to Key West. Fire devastated Palatka on November 7, 1884.-

Tourists arriving there by train, finding no accommodations, continued south. Palatka's citrus industries were devastated the following year with the freeze of 1895 that destroyed most of the region's orange groves. These events marked the southward slip of both tourism and transportation. And, Jacksonville's rise as an economic center with an excellent seaport and railroad junctions of its own further weakened Palatka. Crescent City, Florida, is located south of Palatka also in Putnam County near the St. Johns River and not far from the south bound railroad lines out of Palatka. Crescent City had a prosperous downtown at one time. Its star faded, however, along with that of Palatka and might have suffered as the result of Palatka's transportation strengths. --E. Kesse, University of Florida Digital Library Center.