Transportation (continued - 3)
Many of the sailing vessels which came into the port of Pensacola carried both cargo and passengers.
New York to Mobile by boat. On July 12, 1851 The following fares were reported in the Pensacola Gazette for travel to Mobile, Alabama: Mail line $ 12.00 After several false starts, a railroad of 161 miles was completed in 1883 by William D. Chipley. Mr. Chipley accomplished what others had failed to do. His railroad provided service from Pensacola to the Apalachicola River.
The street car was welcomed because of the conditions of the streets. As late as 1899 only one street, Palafox from Main to Garden, was paved. The sidewalks were mostly made of wood. Anyone walking in a Southern town of the period either waded in mud or suffocated from dust. There are stories of young ladies carrying their shoes to parties, washing their feet and putting their shoes on after their arrival. |
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Communications between sections of Florida was almost non-existent because of the extremely hazardous method of travel. Cart paths stretched from Pensacola and Mobile but were very poor roads. Most travel was done by boat. 
Traveling around 1850 could be a real experience. This is the travel record of one such trip:
The mass transit system of the era was welcomed to Pensacola in 1883. A horse drawn street car company was established with a line extending from Friscotti at the eastern end of Gregory Street to Kupfrian's Park just outside of the northwest limits of the city. Horses and mules provided the power.