In 1883, a river rail between Jacksonville, St. Augustine and Halifax made arrival to the St. Augustine Lighthouse easier. The St. Augustine Lighthouse was built from 1871-74, the second lighthouse in St. Augustine, Florida. The first tower fell into the ocean by 1880. Moreover, in the winter of 1884, a wealthy visitor named Henry Flagler, a partner with John D. Rockefeller in Standard Oil, came to St. Augustine and decided to transform it. Flagler developed St. Augustine into a major resort town for wealthy patrons from northern climates, heralding Florida as paradise. He also provided a means for tourists to arrive at and check into his new hotels safely, investing in both rail lines and steamships. St. Augustine quickly flourished with increased tourism. Flagler extended his railroads and hotels south into Florida developing Palm Beach and eventually even building a railroad into Key West, a move that some called Flagler’s Folly. In the late 1880s, Victorian tourists from Henry...