The Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad is a railroad subsumed in 1899 into Florida East Coast Railway. The company was incorporated under the general incorporation laws of

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

for the purpose of constructing, maintaining and operating a railroad for public use in the conveyance of persons and property, from the south bank of the river St. Johns opposite the city of

Jacksonville Jacksonville is a city located on the Atlantic coast of northeast Florida, the most populous city proper in the state and is the List of United States cities by area, largest city by area in the contiguous United States as of 2020. It is the co ...

, Duval County, Florida, to a point on the

Atlantic The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe an ...

, at or near section 33, township 2, south, range 29, east. Florida state law chapter 3640, approved January 29, 1885, gave the company enlarged powers, including running boats across the St. Johns River. The company was organized by John Q. Burbridge, J. J. Daniel, James M. Schumacher, H. S. Ely, F. F. L'engle, S. B. Hubbard, M. M. Drew, P. McQuaid, W. T. Forbes and W. A. McDuff. The

narrow gauge A narrow-gauge railway (narrow-gauge railroad in the US) is a railway with a track gauge narrower than standard . Most narrow-gauge railways are between and . Since narrow-gauge railways are usually built with tighter curves, smaller structu ...

line was built with 35 pound rail and ran 16.25 miles from South Jacksonville to Pablo Beach. The J&A was sold at foreclosure on December 5, 1892, and reorganized as the Jacksonville and Atlantic Railroad Company. In 1897, the new company's officers and directors were: J. W, Archibald, President and General Manager; B. P. Hazeltine, Vice-President; W. A. McDuff, Secretary and Treasurer; and W. B. Barnett, all of Jacksonville. The road owned two locomotives, five passenger coaches, one baggage car, and twelve freight cars.Poor's Manual of the Railroads of the United States, 1897 Edition, Poor's Railroad Manual Co., New York, N. Y., p. 164 In 1899 the J&A was bought by Henry Flagler, whose Florida East Coast Railway converted the line to and extended the line north to Mayport.

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