The History of Northeast Florida

Most residents of and visitors to Fernandina Beach are aware of David Yulee and The Florida Railroad.   Yulee holds a special esteem in the town and most people know his story.   A statue of David Yulee stands outside the historic railroad depot in downtown.   However, like most visionaries, Yulee was an idea man, visionary, and entrepreneur. He chartered the railroad and raised capital but subcontracted most of the actual planning and construction to experts. David Yulee, a prominent figure in Florida 's history, was born in St. Thomas , U.S. Virgin Islands , in 1810. In the early 1830s, he relocated to Florida and eventually established himself as an ambitious entrepreneur. Yulee secured a seat in the U.S. Senate in 1845, just a few months after Florida became a state. His passion for transportation led him to propose a plan for a railroad connecting Fernandina Beach , on Amelia Island , to Cedar Key on the Gulf Coast . Yulee, driven by the desire to improve...

Nearly everyone in North East Florida is familiar with David Levy Yulee.  At least they think they are.  He is well known as the father of the first cross-Florida railroad connecting Fernandina Beach to Cedar Key.  There is a statue of Yulee in front of the historic Fernandina Beach railroad station.  Just across the bridge, on the mainland, there is even a town, Yulee, named after him. So who was David Levy Yulee?  Was he the enterprising visionary who built the Florida Railroad, connecting the Atlantic Ocean with the Gulf of Mexico ?  Was he the savvy political leader who became the first Jewish person elected as a United States Senator?  Or, was Yulee a scoundrel and slave owner who used his political ties to gain personal wealth?  Was he a forceful voice for the secession of the Southern States who did not take up arms himself in the Civil War?  Was David Yulee a traitor? David Levy Yulee may have been all of these things and mor...