Florida's railroads emerged in the 1830s amid Native American upheaval and territorial colonization. Many periods of development marked this fascinating heritage, but one era towers above the rest: the 1920s. It was then that Florida experienced a colossal land boom, one of the greatest migration and building stories in American history. People poured into the state as never before, real estate traded hands at breakneck speed, and the landscape added countless new homes, hotels, apartments, and commercial buildings. Florida's biggest railroads--the Atlantic Coast Line, Seaboard Air Line, and Florida East Coast--were unprepared for the tidal wave of traffic. Thus, the "Big Three" had to rapidly expand and increase capacity. Dozens of projects unfolded at great cost, by one estimate over $100 million. When the building frenzy ended, the railway map of the state stood at its greatest extent--some 5,700 miles. Further, the frequency of railway service within and to the Sunshine State reached an unprecedented level, never again to be repeated.
GREGG M. TURNER was born in New London, Connecticut and raised in nearby Waterford. He was educated at Mitchell College, Eastern Connecticut State University and completed his graduate studies at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute. Currently he is Program Manager of the Arts & Sciences department at Southwest Florida College in Fort Myers, Florida, where in 2008 he was named 'Educator of the Year.' He additionally serves on the business faculty of that institution.
Since childhood, Gregg has been keenly interested in trains and railroad history, To date he has authored numerous magazine articles and a dozen books. His 'Connecticut Railroads, an Illustrated History' (published 1986 by The Connecticut Historical Society) received a United States Congressional Certificate of Merit. His most recent book, 'A Journey into Florida Railroad History' (published by University Press of Florida) won the 2008 Florida Book-of-the-Year Award for non-fiction sponsored by Florida State University, the Florida Association of Libraries and The Florida Historical Society. His other railroad titles include: Railroads of Southwest Florida; A Milestone Celebration: The Seaboard Railway to Naples and Miami; A Short History of Florida Railroads; and, Florida Railroads in the 1920s. He has also authored works about historic Fort Myers,Florida; the creation of Venice, Florida in the 1920s; and, a biography of transportation tycoon Henry Bradley Plant. During the 1980s, Gregg served as a national director and curator of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society at Harvard Business School.
Prior to moving to Fort Myers permanently, Gregg was associated with the Allen Church Organ Company, having owned and operated that firm's Connecticut dealership located in Glastonbury. He is currently completing a new book on Florida's historic land boom of the 1920's.
