PART I.

SOUTHERN ROUTES.

1. STEAMSHIP LINES.

In visiting the South Atlantic States the tourist from the North has a choice of a number of routes.

Steamers leave New York for Charleston, Savannah, Fernandina, and Key West, advertisements of which, giving days of sailing can be seen in the principal daily papers. Philadelphia has regular steamship lines to Charleston, Savannah, and Key West. From Charleston and Savannah boats run every other day to Fernandina, Jacksonville, and Palatka on the St. John river. The whole or a portion of a journey to Florida can be accomplished by water, and the steamships are decidedly preferable to the cars for those who do not suffer much from sea sickness.

The most direct route by railroad is the “Atlantic Coast Line,” by way of Washington, Acquia Creek, Richmond, Petersburg, Weldon, Wilmington, and Charleston. From Philadelphia to Wilmington the time is 28 hours, fare $21.90; to Charleston 40 hours, fare $24.00; to Savannah, fare $33.00; to Jacksonville, fare $38.65. Through tickets and full information can be obtained in New York at 193 Broadway; Philadelphia 828 Chestnut Street.

It is proposed to establish a direct line of steamers from New York to Jacksonville. It is to be hoped that this will be done promptly, as it will greatly increase trade and travel.

2. WASHINGTON TO RICHMOND.

Distance, 130 miles; time 7.30 hours.

Until the tourist leaves Washington, he is on the beaten track of travel, and needs no hints for his guidance; or, if he does, can find them in abundance. Turning his face southward, he may leave our capital either in the cars from the Baltimore depot to Alexandria and Acquia Creek, or, what is to be recommended as the more pleasant alternative, he may go by steamboat to this station, a distance of 55 miles. The banks of the Potomac present an attractive diversity of highland and meadow. A glimpse is caught of Mt. Vernon, and those who desire it can stop and visit those scenes once so dear to him whose memory is dear to us all. The reminiscences, however, which one acquires by a visit to Mount Vernon are rarely satisfactory.

From Acquia Creek landing the railroad passes through a country still betraying the sears and scars of conflict, though, happily, it is recovering in some measure from those sad experiences. _Fredericksburg_ (15 miles; hotel, the Planter’s House, poor,) may have enough of interest to induce some one to “lay over” a train. It is an unattractive spot, except for its historical associations. These are so fresh in the memory of most that it is unnecessary to mention them.

Beyond Fredericksburg a number of stations are passed--none of any size. The distance to Richmond is 60 miles.

RICHMOND.

_Hotels._--Ballard House ($4.00 per day); Spottswood, Exchange (each $2 per day); Ford’s Hotel on Capitol Square ($2.50 per day); St. Charles ($2.00.)

_Boarding Houses._--Arlington House, corner Main and 6th street; Valentine House, on Capitol Square; Richmond House, corner Governor and Ross streets; Mrs. Bidgood’s, 61 East Main street; Mrs. Brander, 107 E. Franklin street, (all about $12.00 per week).

_Telegraph Offices_ in Spottswood and Exchange Hotels.

_Reading Rooms_ at the Y.M.C.A. The Virginia State Library was pillaged in 1865, and the Virginia Historical Library burned.

_Theatre._--The Richmond Theatre has a respectable stock company, and is visited by most of the stars of the stage.

_Booksellers._--West & Johnson, 1006 Main St., (Brinton’s _Guide-Book_.)

_Churches_ of all denominations.

* * * * *

Richmond derives it name from the ancient burgh of the same name on the Thames. The word is supposed to be a corruption of _rotre mont_, and applies very well to the modern namesake. Like Rome, it is seated upon seven hills, and if it has never commanded the world, it will be forever famous as the seat of the government of the whilom Confederacy. It is situated at the Great Falls of the James river, on the Richmond and Shoccoe hills, between which flows the Shoccoe creek.

In the early maps of the colony, the site of the present city is marked as “Byrd’s Warehouse,” an ancient trading post, we can imagine, said to have stood where the Exchange hotel is now built. In 1742 the city was established, and has ever since been the chief center of Virginian life.

The capitol is a showy edifice, on Shoccoe hill. The plan was taken from the Maison Quarre, of Nismes, with some modifications, among others the Doric pillars. It stands in the midst of a square of eight acres. In this building the Confederate Congress held its sessions. It contains, among other objects, a well cut statue of Washington, dating from the last century, “_fait par Houdin, citoyen Francais_,” as we learn from the inscription, and a bust of Lafayette. Two relics of the old colonial times are exhibited--the one a carved chair which once belonged to the house of Burgesses, of Norfolk--the other a huge stove, of singular shape, bearing the colonial arms of Virginia in relief. This latter is the product of a certain Buzaglo. It is eight or ten feet high, and slopes from base to summit. A letter of the inventor is extant, addressed to Lord Botetourt, in which he speaks of it as “excelled anything ever seen of the kind, and a masterpiece not to be excelled in all Europe.”

In the square around the capitol is an* equestrian statue of Gen. George Washington, constructed by Crawford, and erected February 22, 1858. Its total height is sixty feet. Around its base are six pedestals, upon which are figures of Thomas Jefferson, Patrick Henry, Marshall, Gov. Nelson, George Mason and Andrew Lewis, the latter an Indian fighter, once of celebrity in Western Virginia.

To the left of this is a small statue of Henry Clay, erected by the ladies of Virginia, made by Hart, and inaugurated in 1860.

On the eastern side of the square is the residence of the Governor, and on another side the City Hall, a handsome edifice with Doric columns.

St. John’s Church, on Richmond Hill, is the oldest church edifice in the city. The tower and belfry are, however, a modern addition. From its church-yard, dotted with ancient tombs, one of the most charming views of the city can be obtained. In this church, in 1775, the young and brilliant orator, Patrick Henry, delivered his famous oration before the Virginia Convention, which concludes with the famous words, “Give me liberty, or give me death.”

The Tredegar Iron Works, Libby Prison, at the corner of Thirty-fifth and Main streets, Belle Isle, and Castle Thunder, will be visited by most tourists as objects of interest. *Hollywood cemetery, near the city is a quiet and beautiful spot, well deserving a visit.

In the fire of April 2, 1865, about one thousand buildings were destroyed, but the ravages of that disastrous epoch are now nearly concealed by new and handsome structures.

The Falls of the James are properly rapids, the bed of the river making a descent of only eighty feet in two miles. They furnish a valuable water-power.

*Hollywood Cemetery, one mile from the city, is a spot of great natural beauty. Here lie the remains of Presidents Monroe and Tyler, and other distinguished men, as well as of many thousand Confederate soldiers. A rough granite monument has recently been erected in memory of the latter.

Butler’s Dutch Gap and Drewy’s Bluff, and the famous battle fields near the city, will be visited with interest by many.

Those who would visit the mineral springs of Virginia, will find ample information in Dr. Moorhead’s volume on them, or in that by Mr. Burke. Both can be obtained of West & Johnson, booksellers, Main street.

The Natural Bridge, one of the most remarkable curiosities in the State, is best approached by way of Lynchburg, from which place it is distant 35 miles, by canal.

3. RICHMOND TO CHARLESTON.

From Richmond to Petersburg is 32 miles on the Richmond and Petersburg railway. The earthworks and fortifications around the latter town, memorials of our recent conflict, are well worth a visit from those who have not already seen too many such curiosities to care for more.

64 miles beyond Petersburg the train reaches Weldon, on the Roanoke river, a few miles within the boundary of North Carolina (_Gouch’s Hotel_.)

From Weldon to Goldsboro, the next stopping place of importance, is 78 miles, 7.30 hours. It is a place of about 5000 inhabitants, half white and half colored.

_Hotels._--Griswold Hotel, Gregory’s Hotel, both $3 per day.

_Boarding House_ by Mrs Tompkins, $2 per day.

The road here intersects the North Carolina, and Atlantic and North Carolina railways, the latter running to Morehead city and Beaufort, on the coast, (95 miles) and the former to Raleigh, the capitol of the State, (48 miles) and interior towns. From Goldsboro to Wilmington is 84 miles.

_Hotels._--Purcell House, $4 per day; Fulton House, $3 per day.

_Boarding Houses._--McRea House, Brock’s Exchange, about $2 per day, $40.00 per month.

_Newspapers._--_Post_, republican, _Journal_, democratic.

_Steamboat Line_ to Fayetteville, N. C., (130 miles, fare $5.00); to Smithville, at the mouth of Cape Fear, (30 miles, fare $1.50.)

Wilmington (16,000 inhabitants) is on Cape Fear river, 25 miles from the sea. It is well built. The staples are turpentine and resinous products. The vicinity is flat and sandy. At this point the railroad changes from the New York guage, 5 feet, to the Charleston guage, 4 feet 8 inches.

The journey from Richmond to Charleston can also be made by way of Greensboro, Charlotte and Columbia. This route leads through the interior of the country, and, though longer, offers a more diversified scene to the eye.

To Greensboro, on the Richmond & Danville and Piedmont Railways, is 189 miles; thence on the North Carolina Railway to Charlotte, 93 miles; then on the Charlotte & S. Carolina railway to Columbia, S. C., 107 miles (Nickerson’s hotel, $3.00 per day, newly fitted up); thence by the Columbia Branch of the South Carolina Railway to Charleston, 130 miles.

Salisbury, N. C., 150 miles south of Greensboro, is the most convenient point to enter the celebrated mountain regions of North Carolina. A railway runs thence to Morgantown, in the midst of the sublime scenery of the Black mountains, and in close proximity to the beautiful falls of the Catawba. Charlotte (_hotel_, the Mansion House), is in the center of the gold region of North Carolina, and the site of a United States Branch Mint. It is also the scene of the battle of Guilford Court House, during the revolutionary war.

The capitol, in Columbia, is considered a very handsome building.

CHARLESTON.

_Hotels._--*Charleston Hotel, Mills House (newly furnished), both on Meeting Street. Charges, $4.00 per day. *Pavilion Hotel. Mr. Butterfield, proprietor, $3.00 per day, also on Meeting Street. Planter’s Hotel, Church Street, Victoria House, King Street, both $2.50 per day.

_Telegraph Office_, on Broad near Church Street; branch office in Charleston Hotel.

_Post Office_, on Hazel Street, near Meeting.

_Churches._--Roman Catholic, Episcopal, Huguenot, Methodist, &c.

_Theatre_, at the corner of King and Market Streets.

_Bathing Houses._--One of salt water near the battery; two, with water of the artesian well, one at the well, the other in the Charleston Hotel.

_Livery Stable_, 21 Pinckney Street, connected with the Charleston Hotel.

_Street Cars_ run on several of the streets; fare, 10 cts., 15 tickets for $1.00. All the hotels have omnibuses waiting at the depots.

_Physician._--Dr. Geo. Caulier, 158 Meeting Street.

_Newspapers._--The Daily _Courier_, the Daily _News_.

_Depots._--The depot of the Northeastern R. R. from Wilmington to the north, is at the corner of Chapel and Washington Sts.; that of the road to Savannah is at the foot of Mill street; and that of the S. C. R. R. to Aikin, Augusta, Atlanta, etc., is in Line street, between King and Meeting streets.

_Bookseller._--John Russell, 288 King street. (Brinton’s _Guide-Book_.)

_Libraries._--Charleston library, 30,000 vols.; Apprentices’ library, 12,000 vols.

* * * * *

Charleston claims 40,000 inhabitants, the whites and blacks being about equal in number. It is curious that since the war the mortality of the latter has been twice as great as of the whites.

The city is seven miles from the ocean at the junction of the Ashley and Cooper rivers, and has an excellent harbor, surrounded by works of defence. On the sea line is Fort Moultrie; Castle Pinkney stands at the entrance to the city; south of the latter is Fort Ripley, built of palmetto logs; while in the midst of the harbor stands the famous Fort Sumter.

The ravages caused by the terrible events of the late war have yet been only very partially repaired in Charleston. The greater part of the burnt district is deserted and waste.

The history of Charleston, previous to that event, is not of conspicuous interest. The city was first commenced by English settlers, in 1672, and for a long time had a struggling existence. Many of its early inhabitants were Huguenots, who fled thither to escape the persecutions which followed the revocation of the edict of Nantes. A church is still maintained in which their ancient worship is celebrated.

Of public buildings, the ancient church of St. Michael’s, built about 1750, has some claim to architectural beauty.

The fashionable quarter of the city is the Battery. *Magnolia cemetery, on the Cooper river, is well worth a visit. It is one of the most beautiful in the South. It was laid out in 1850, and contains some handsome monuments.

The Custom House is a fine building, of white marble.

Those who wish to visit Fort Sumter, and review the scenes of 1861, can be accommodated by a small sailing vessel, which leaves the wharf every morning at 10.30 o’clock.

In the church-yard of St. Philip’s is the tomb of John C. Calhoun. A slab, bearing the single word “Calhoun,” marks the spot.

The museum of the Medical College is considered one of the finest in the United States.

4. AIKEN, S. C., AND THE SOUTHERN HIGHLANDS.

Within the past ten years the advantages for invalids of a residence in the highlands of the Carolinas, Georgia and Tennessee have been repeatedly urged on the public. The climate in these localities is dry and mild, exceedingly well adapted, therefore, for such cases as find the severe cold of Minnesota irritating, and the moist warmth of Florida enervating. Aiken, S. C., Atlanta, Ga., Lookout Mountain, near Chattanooga, East Tennessee, and other localities offer good accommodations, and have almost equal advantages in point of climate. Like other resorts, they do not agree with all invalids, but they are suitable for a large class.

One of the best known and most eligible is

AIKEN, SOUTH CAROLINA.

Distance from Charleston, by the South Carolina Railroad, 120 miles. Time 8 hours. Two trains daily. Fare $6.

_Hotels._--The Aiken Hotel, H. Smyser, proprietor. Engage rooms a week ahead. Fare, $3.00 per day. A Sanitarium is in process of construction on a beautiful eminence west of the town.

_Boarding_ can be obtained in a number of private families.

_Telegraph_ station at the depot.

_Livery Stables_, two. Horse and buggy, $4.00 per day; saddle horse, $2.50 per day.

_Churches._--Episcopal, Presbyterian, Methodist and Baptist.

The town has about 1,500 inhabitants, though the passing traveler would not think so, as the railroad passes through a deep cut, which conceals most of the houses. Whites and blacks are about equal in number. The streets are wide, sandy, and not very neat.

The site is on the ridge which divides the valleys of the Edisto and Savannah rivers. At this point the elevation is 600 feet above sea level. The loose soil of siliceous sand and red clay, and the rapid declivities, insure an excellent drainage. The water is clear, and contains some traces of iron and magnesia, rather beneficial than otherwise.

The climate is agreeable in both winter and summer. The mean temperature of the year is 62 degrees Fahrenheit; of the three winter months 46.5, 45 and 50 degrees. The thermometer rarely registers under 20 degrees. Rain falls to the depth of 37 inches annually, the wettest season being in summer. Frosts commence about the middle of November, and cease about the last of March. The prevailing winds are southerly in summer, easterly and northerly in winter. The dew point is always low, indicating a dry atmosphere. Malarial diseases are asserted to be entirely unknown.

The soil is lauded, and with justness, for its fitness for fruit culture. Orchards, vineyards and garden plots are exceedingly productive, but the more staple crops do not correspond in excellence. The wines of Aiken have long been known in commerce. Though not high flavored, with none of the _bouquet_ which lends such value to the vintages of the Upper Rhine, they are a pure and healthy beverage. It must be remembered that agriculture, in the sense of the word in Pennsylvania and New York, is almost an unknown art in this part of the South.

Except its advantages in connection with health, Aiken offers little to attract the tourist. In the stone quarries near the railroad the geologist can collect some very good specimens of fossil shells and corals from the tertiary limestone. The buhr mill-stone abounds in this region, and has been successfully tried in mills. Prof. Tuomey in a report on the geology of the State pronounces these equal to the best French stones. They have, however, never been put in the market with energy.

The wine cellars, especially that of Mr. Walker, will have attractions for those who delight to please the pallet with the juice of the grape. And the porcelain works near by, where stone ware is manufactured from the kaolin clay, may form the objective point of a pleasant excursion. If one’s inclinations are to sport, a ride of a few miles from town in any direction will bring one to good partridge cover, while the numerous streams in the vicinity are fairly stocked with trout, jack, bream and perch. Pic-nics in the pine woods, and excursions over the hills always supply ladies with means of inhaling the healthful air and enjoying invigorating exercise.

ATLANTA.

From Aiken to Augusta, 16 miles, $1.00. From Augusta to Atlanta by the Georgia railway, 171 miles, $8.50; 11 hours.

_Hotels._--The National, on Peach Tree Street, $4.00 per day; the United States and the American, opposite the depot, $3.00 per day.

_Telegraph Office_ in Kimball’s Opera House. Post Office, corner of Alabama and Broad streets.

_Bathing House_ on Alabama street, near U. S. Hotel.

_Circulating Library_ at the Young Men’s Library Association on Broad street.

* * * * *

Atlanta has about 20,000 inhabitants. The water is pure, the air bracing, and the climate resembles that of Northern Italy. The Walton Springs are in the city, furnishing a strongly chalybeate water, much used, and with great success, as a tonic. The fall and spring months are peculiarly delightful, and the vicinity offers many pleasant excursions.

Communication by rail either to Chattanooga and East Tennessee, or south to Macon, etc., is convenient.

5.--FROM CHARLESTON TO SAVANNAH.

The tourist has the choice of the railway via Coosawhatchie, or via Augusta, Georgia, or the steamers. The first mentioned road was destroyed during the war, and is not yet in running order.

Steamboats also leave Charleston every Thursday and Saturday, direct for Fernandina, Jacksonville and Palatka, and should be chosen by those who do not suffer from seasickness. They are roomy, and the table well supplied.

SAVANNAH.

_Hotels._--*Screven House, Pulaski House, both $4.00 a day. *Marshall House, $3.00 per day, $15.00 per week, an excellent table. *Pavilion Hotel, Mr. Noe. Proprietor; a quiet, pleasant house for invalids, $3.00 per day.

_Boarding Houses._--Mrs. McAlpin, South Broad street; Mrs. Kollock, South Broad street; Mrs. Savage, Barnard Street; all $3.00 per day, $14.00 per week.

_Post Office and Telegraph Office_ on Bay street, near the Pulaski House.

_Street Cars_ start from the post office to various parts of the city. Fare, 10 cents; 14 tickets for $1.00. Omnibuses meet the various trains, and steamboats will deliver passengers anywhere in the city for 75 cents each.

_Livery Stables_ are connected with all the hotels.

_Restaurants._--The best is the Restaurant Francais, in Whitaker Street, between Bay and Bryan Streets.

_Newspapers._--Daily _Savannah News_, Daily _Morning News_.

_Bookstores._--J. Schreiner & Co., near the Pulaski House. (Brinton’s _Guide-Book_, _Historical Record of Savannah_.)

_Depots._--The Central Railroad depot is in the southwestern part of the city, corner of Liberty and E. Broad Streets. The railroad from Charleston has its terminus here. The Atlantic and Gulf Railroad is in the south-eastern part of the city, corner of Liberty and E. Broad Streets.

* * * * *

Savannah is situated in Chatham county, Ga., on a bluff, about forty feet high, seven miles above the mouth of the river of the same name, on its right bank. Its present population is estimated at 40,000.

The city was founded by Gov. James Oglethorpe, in 1733. It played a conspicuous part during the Revolution. With characteristic loyalty to the cause of freedom the Council of Safety passed a resolution in 1776 to burn the town rather than have it fall into the hands of the British. Nevertheless, two years afterwards the royal troops obtained possession of it by a strategic movement. In the autumn of 1779 the American forces under General Lincoln, and the distinguished Polish patriot, Count Casimir Pulaski, with their French allies under Count d’Estaing, made a desperate but fruitless attempt to regain it by assault. Both the foreign noblemen were wounded in a night assault on the works. Count Pulaski mortally. The spot where he fell is where the Central Railroad depot now stands.

The chief objects of interest are the monuments. The *finest is to the memory of Pulaski. It is in Chipewa square, and is a handsome shaft of marble, surmounted by a statue of Liberty, and supported on a base of granite. Its height is 55 feet; its date of erection 1853.

An older and plainer monument, some fifty feet high, without inscription, stands in Johnson square. It was erected in 1829, and is known as the Greene and Pulaski monument.

The city is beautifully laid out, diversified with numerous small squares, with wide and shady streets. Broad Street and Bay Street have each four rows of those popular southern shade trees known as the Pride of India, or China trees (_Melia Azedarach_).

A praiseworthy energy has supplied the city with excellent water from public water works; and, in Forsyth Park, at the head of Bull Street, is a fountain of quite elaborate workmanship.

Some of the public buildings are well worth visiting. The Georgia Historical Society has an excellent edifice, on Bryan Street, with a library of 7,500 volumes, among which are said to be a number of valuable manuscripts.

The *Museum, on the northeast corner of Bull and Taylor streets, contains a number of local curiosities.

The Custom House is a handsome fire-proof structure of Quincy granite.

The Exchange building, now used as the Mayor’s office, etc., offers, from its top, the best view of the city.

_Excursions._--Several days can be passed extremely pleasantly in short excursions from the city. One of the most interesting of these will be to

*_Bonaventure Cemetery._--This is situated 3 miles from the city, on the Warsaw river. A stately grove of live oaks, draped in the sombre weeds by the Spanish moss, cast an appropriate air of pensiveness around this resting place of past generations. A cab holding four persons to this locality costs $8.00.

_Thunderbolt_, a small town, (two hotels), 4½ miles south-east of the city, on a creek of the same name, is worth visiting, chiefly for the beautiful drive which leads to it. Cab fare for the trip, $8.00.

_White Bluff_, on the Vernon river, 10 miles from the city has two unpretending hotels, and is a favorite resort of the citizens on account of the excellent shell road which connects it with the city. Cab fare for the trip, $10.00.

_Bethesda Orphan House_, also 10 miles distant, is erected on the site chosen by the Rev. Mr. Whitfield, very early in the history of the colony. Selina, the pious Countess of Huntington, took a deep interest in its welfare as long as she lived, and it is pleasant to think that now it is established on a permanent footing.

_Jasper Spring_, 2 miles from the city, is pointed out as the spot where the bold Sergeant Jasper, with one assistant, during the revolutionary war, surprised and captured eight Britishers, and forced them to release a prisoner. The thoughtless guard had stacked arms and proceeded to the spring to drink, when the shrewd Sergeant who, anticipating this very move, was hidden in the bushes near by, rushed forward, seized the muskets, and brought the enemy to instant terms.

6. SAVANNAH TO JACKSONVILLE.

The tourist has the choice of three routes for this part of his journey. He can take a sea steamer, and passing out the Savannah river, see no more land until the low shores at the mouth of the St. John River come in sight. Or he can choose one of several small steamboats which ply in the narrow channels between the sea-islands and the main, touching at Brunswick, Darien, St. Catharine, Fernandina, etc., (fare $10.00). Or lastly he has the option of the railroad, which will carry him through to Jacksonville in twelve hours and a half, in a first class sleeping car.

The channel along the coast lies through extensive salt marshes, intersected by numerous brackish creeks and lagoons. The boats are small, or they could not thread the mazes of this net-work of narrow water-courses. The sea-islands, famous all over the world for their long-staple cotton, have a sandy, thin soil, rising in hillocks and covered with a growth of live-oak, water-oak, bay, gum and pine. Between the islands and the main land the grassy marshes extend for several miles. In the distance the western horizon is hedged by a low wall of short-leaved pine. The sea islands are moderately healthy, but the main land is wet, flat and sterile, and its few inhabitants are exposed to the most malignant forms of malarial fever and pneumonia.

On St. Catharine island is the plantation formerly owned by Mr. Pierce Butler, and the scene of Mrs. Francis Kemble Butler’s well-known work, “Life on a Georgia Plantation.” On Cumberland island, the most southern of the sea-islands belonging to Georgia, is the Dungerness estate, 6000 acres in extent, once owned by Gen. Nat. Greene, of Revolutionary fame, and recently bought by Senator Sprague, of Rhode Island, for $10 per acre. With proper cultivation it would yield magnificent crops of sea-island cotton.

_Fernandina_ on Amelia Island, the terminus of the Fernandina and Cedar Keys Railroad, is a town of growing importance (pop. about 2,000; hotels, Virginia House, containing the telegraph office; the Whitfield House, both $3.00 per day; newspaper, the _Island City Weekly_.) This is one of the old Spanish settlements, and the traces of the indigo fields are still visible over a great part of the island. Fernandina-Oldtown is about a mile north of the present site.

The sub-tropical vegetation is quite marked on the island. Magnificent oleanders, large live oaks, and dense growths of myrtle and palmettos conceal the rather unpromising soil. The olive has been cultivated with success, and there is no reason why a large supply of the best table oil should not be produced here.

A low shell mound covers the beach at Fernandina, and in the interior of the island are several large Indian burial mounds. Several earthworks thrown up during the late war overlook the town and harbor. Fernandina harbor is one of the best in the South Atlantic Coast, landlocked and safe. Its depth is 6½ fathoms, and the water on the bar at low tide is 14 feet. The tide rises from 6 to 7 feet. In spite of what seems its more convenient situation, Fernandina does not seem destined to be a rival of Jacksonville.