Port Leon, Florida was a river port

Port

A port is a location on a coast or shore containing one or more harbors where ships can dock and transfer people or cargo to or from land....

 town located in what is now Wakulla County

Wakulla County, Florida

Wakulla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 22,863. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 28,212 people...

, Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, which existed for only about six years in the first half of the 19th century. Port Leon is classified as an "extinct city" by the State Library and Archives of Florida and only remnants can be found today.

Port Leon, established in 1837, in large measure by former inhabitants of Magnolia, was located about 3 miles (4.8 km) south of St. Marks

St. Marks, Florida

St. Marks is a city in Wakulla County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Tallahassee, Florida, Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 272 at the 2000 census. As of 2004, the population estimated by the U.S. Census Bureau is 299 .-Geography:...

 on the east bank of the St. Marks River

St. Marks River

The St. Marks River is a river in the Big Bend region of Florida. It has been classified by the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as an Outstanding Florida Water, and is the easternmost river within the Northwest Florida Water Management District....

. It, like neighboring St. Marks and Magnolia

Magnolia, Florida

Magnolia, Florida was a thriving river port town in southern Wakulla County, Florida, established in the 1820s and is classified as an "extinct city" by the State Library and Archives of Florida....

, was an important port for the cotton plantations of the Red Hills Region

Red Hills Region

The Red Hills Region is a unique 300,000-acre area of the southeastearn United States overlapping parts of southwestern Georgia and north Florida.-Location:...

 of Florida and Georgia

Georgia (U.S. state)

Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...

.

The Tallahassee Railroad reached Port Leon in 1839. By then freight wagons and the railroad were bringing some 30,000 to 40,000 bales of cotton

Cotton

Cotton is a soft, fluffy staple fiber that grows in a boll, or protective capsule, around the seeds of cotton plants of the genus Gossypium. The fiber is almost pure cellulose. The botanical purpose of cotton fiber is to aid in seed dispersal....

 a year into the area ports. A bridge across the St. Marks River tied the port to the railroad and the docks for loading on ships, bound for the east coast of the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

.

Port Leon received a post office in 1840, and was incorporated in 1841. In the same year Port Leon, along with the other communities in the area, endured a severe yellow fever

Yellow fever

Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....

 epidemic. On March 11, 1843, it was chosen as the seat of newly created Wakulla County

Wakulla County, Florida

Wakulla County is a county located in the U.S. state of Florida. As of 2000, the population was 22,863. The U.S. Census Bureau 2005 estimate for the county was 28,212 people...

. On September 13, 1843, a strong hurricane with a 10-foot (3 m) storm surge

Storm surge

A storm surge is an offshore rise of water associated with a low pressure weather system, typically tropical cyclones and strong extratropical cyclones. Storm surges are caused primarily by high winds pushing on the ocean's surface. The wind causes the water to pile up higher than the ordinary sea...

 hit the area and destroyed Port Leon as well as heavily damaging nearby Magnolia and St. Marks. Port Leon was abandoned and many of its residents moved inland to the new town of Newport.

Port Leon had several hundred citizens at its peak with 8 to 10 businesses, some wharves

Wharf

A wharf or quay is a structure on the shore of a harbor where ships may dock to load and unload cargo or passengers.Such a structure includes one or more berths , and may also include piers, warehouses, or other facilities necessary for handling the ships.A wharf commonly comprises a fixed...

, warehouses, a hotel

Hotel

A hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...

, two tavern

Tavern

A tavern is a place of business where people gather to drink alcoholic beverages and be served food, and in some cases, where travelers receive lodging....

s, a newspaper and an annual fair. One of the successful citizens was Daniel Ladd

Daniel Ladd

Daniel Ladd was born in Augusta, Maine and was an exporter, cotton broker and merchant in early Florida and active as a member of the Secession Convention of Florida.-Antebellum:...

who had married into the Hamlin family from Maine that established the town of Magnolia.

Sources

• Port Leon - Ghost Town - accessed February 9, 2008