Construction and Early Years

Station in Haile

The railroad was built by Wellington W. Cummer from his sawmill at Milldale, on the St. Johns River north of the then city limits of Jacksonville, Florida, to access timber lands near Newberry, Florida.^[1] Chartered on March 11, 1899,^[2] by November 1899 it was complete to Lake Butler, where connection was made with the Georgia Southern & Florida Railway (GS&F), and the terminus of Newberry was reached a month later. The company was closely held by the Cummer family at first: The original officers were W. W. Cummer of Jacksonville, President; Jacob Cummer, of Cadillac, Michigan, Vice-President; Arthur G. Cummer, Treasurer; and Waldo E. Cummer, Secretary. General manager of construction was George L. Davis.^[3] An agreement with the new Atlantic, Valdosta & Western Railway (AV&W) allowed the use of their line from the junction at Grand Crossing near the Jacksonville city limits to a station adjacent to the AV&W depot at Catherine and East Bay streets. Excursions were run for Jacksonville's Gala Week in November, regular daily service began a month later. By then the president was James M. Barnett of Grand Rapids; Jacob Cummer as First Vice-President; W. W. Cummer Second Vice-President; Harvey Hollister of Grand Rapids, Michigan, Treasurer; Arthur G. Cummer, Secretary. Waldo E. Cummer was named Superintendent, and George L. Davis remained as Superintendent of construction.^[4]

The road operated a round trip daily, leaving Newberry around 6 a.m. and arriving in Jacksonville four and a half hours later; the return left around 5 p.m. for a late evening arrival in Newberry. A close connection was made with GS&F trains at Lake Butler and package cars ran through via Lake Butler to Lake City and Gainesville.^[5] The J&SW had many connections: In addition to the AV&W and the GS&F, it connected with the Florida Central & Peninsular Railroad at Jacksonville, Baldwin and Deep Creek Junction; the Plant System's Savannah, Florida & Western Railway at Grand Crossing; and the Atlantic, Suwannee River & Gulf Railway at Hainesworth.

The J&SW was built primarily to serve the Cummer mills, and though it crossed some valuable phosphate lands, the Cummers did little to develop that traffic. On July 1, 1903, C. W. Chase, President of the H. F. Dutton & Co., a Gainesville-based phosphate mining company, bought the J&SW and became its president. E. S. Spencer, the road's traffic manager, was named general manager.^[6] Within a month Chase announced that construction was to begin on a large phosphate port at Milldale. The road was extended a few miles west of Newberry to reach the Dutton mine.^[7]

Atlantic Coast Line ownership

Jacksonville—Wilcox Line
Overview
Status	Some segments are still operating
Owner	Atlantic Coast Line Railroad
Technical
Track gauge	1,435 mm (4 ft 8+1⁄2 in) standard gauge
Electrification	No

The Atlantic Coast Line (ACL) expressed interest in the J&SW, and bought the railroad outright as soon as the Florida Railroad Commission approved the purchase on July 28, 1904.^[8] The daily train continued to use the Catherine Street station for several months before being switched over to the Jacksonville Union Terminal on West Bay Street. The ACL extended the line west to Wilcox in 1907 and beyond to Cross City and Perry by 1909, where it would eventually connect with ACL's historic Perry Cutoff.^[9] By then, the line was designated at the Jacksonville–Wilcox Line (SG Line).^[10]

Eventually, the line became the main route for the Atlantic Coast Line's passenger trains running from Jacksonville to St. Petersburg. By 1949, the West Coast Champion and a local passenger train were running the line daily between Jacksonville and Burnett's Lake, where they turned south to St. Petersburg. At the same time, mixed train service (consisting of both passengers and freight) ran six days a week from Burnett's Lake to Newberry and Wilcox.^[10]

Later years

In 1967, the Atlantic Coast Line merged with its rival, the Seaboard Air Line Railroad. The merged company was named the Seaboard Coast Line Railroad. After the merger, a daily local passenger train and a local freight train that ran six days a week were still using the line.^[11] However, passenger service ended on May 1, 1971, with the advent of Amtrak.

By 1972, the line was abandoned between Mattox and a point just west of Grand Crossing in Jacksonville. The line from Mattox south to Hainesworth remained until the mid to late 1980s and operated as Seaboard Coast Line Railroad's Ocala, Gainesville, and Wilcox Subdivisions.^[12][13]