> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.longleaffl.com/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Iola, the Northwest Florida town abandoned even by the river - URL: https://www.longleaffl.com/iola-the-town-abando/ - Published: 2026-09-16T01:21:18.000Z - Updated: 2026-09-16T01:28:27.000Z - Description: The once-thriving town of Iola, Florida, on the Apalachicola River, was completely abandoned. Learn why: - Author: Bob Hurst Letters from the Samuel Hamilton Walker collection in the Texas State Archives tell much of the story of the fate of Iola. "I am \[of the\] opinion \[that\] we shall make something handsome by our own undertaking through time...nothing more than paradise." Samuel Hamilton Walker, Iola, Calhoun County, West Florida, Feb. 16, 1837. Revisiting the site of the now abandoned town of Iola, I thought how symbolic that even the Apalachicola River has altered its course and left the old place. Actually, on my first visit some 56 years ago, all that remained of the river was a small pond in the ancient bed. Today it appears that the river may be attempting to retrace its old course and once again flow by the banks of this fateful site, now nothing more than a marshy floodplain inhabited by cypress knees, trees, mosquitoes, and mocassins. There is only one visible sign that this was once an enterprise of man. Four beds, spurs of the terminus of the St. Joseph and Iola Railroad, have miraculously survived the numerous floods that must have inundated this site over the past 179 years. The railroad was an attempt by "The Saints", citizens of old St. Joseph, to siphon off the river the cotton trade that flowed down to their rival port of Apalachicola. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/00/2500a768-e345-4549-914f-60eb5c31e59e/content/images/2026/09/iola-1838-map---Robert-Hurst.jpg) A map where the town of Iola once stood. Provided by local historian Bob Hurst. It was the third railroad established in Florida and was a replacement for the failed Lake Wimico and St. Joseph Railroad (Florida's first) that didn't offer direct berthing on the river. Something is known about the structures that existed at Iola. In the above quote from a letter from Sam Walker, he mentions the construction of a steam sawmill, a grist mill, and a hotel. Walker was the proprietor of the hotel. The sawmill may have been connected to Stone's Wood Yard up the river. This was owned by Col. Henry D. Stone, progenitor of 16 children, whose descendants are to be found over much of this part of Florida. Along with the railroad, there were 2 warehouses and a wharf. In 1838, a post office was established. "...Nathan \[Walker's brother\] has had a long spell of it \[bilious fever, a general term for malaria, typhoid fever, colic, etc.\] and has not been at work more than ten days and my other partners and all my hands have been sick with the Ague \[malaria\] and fever for several months past so that I have not made out as well as I anticipated. Our new town has proved unhealthy this summer..." S.H Walker, Iola, Oct. 21, 1838. ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/00/2500a768-e345-4549-914f-60eb5c31e59e/content/images/2026/09/digital7076.jpg) Iola and St. Joseph railroad engine circa 1839\. Photo courtesy of the Bay County Public Library, Local History Department. The above lament is an ominous sign of things to come. Walker, in his letter to his brother Charles, further speaks of deaths in Iola where the "population is about one hundred." Do you suppose Walker is becoming disillusioned wth his "paradise"? "...it is impossible for me to come home unless I could sell my property which I can not do at the present without sacrificing it as the currency of the county is in a deplorable situation at present and property will not bring its value..." S. H. Walker, Iola, Dec. 29, 1839. The above quote is indicative of the banking crisis of the nation that affected Florida, which defaulted on its loans to the Federal government. This only complicated the "very sickly fall" that Walker also mentions. His brother died this year of malaria. He does remain optimistic as he speaks of a busy season with 16 steamboats arriving at port and roads from Tallahassee, Marianna, and Mt. Vernon being constructed. "The business at this place and St. Joseph is broken up for the present by the treachery and valiancy of the President and three or four men of the railroad company residing in Columbus, Georgia, by selling their interest and influence to the Apalachicola land company for the bribe of about one hundred thousand dollars in cash and about an equal amount in town property in Apalachicola City, and thus the citizens of Iola and St. Joseph are ruined for the present by the valiancy and faithfulness of men who have heretofore been considered among the first men of Georgia..." ![](https://storage.ghost.io/c/25/00/2500a768-e345-4549-914f-60eb5c31e59e/content/images/2026/09/FL-37.jpg) Map of the road from Apalachicola in Florida through Marianna to the Alabama state line. 1837-1838\. Photo courtesy of the Bay County Public Library/ Local History Department. "The last of our property now if sold at auction would not bring 12 1/2 cents on the dollar of the original cost...Florida money is forty percent below par and some of it much more. The new bank that was built in St. Joseph has suspended operations...I shall leave here tomorrow....Please direct the next \[letter\] to Tallahassee." S. H. Walker, Iola, Jan. 17, 1840." It became clear that by 1840, Iola was in decay. The railroad and banks were failing. "No doubt you have heard of the murder of Harlin's (sic) wife and two children by Indians". J. C. Taylor, Iola, Mar. 15, 1840. "\[The Indians\] have taken Indian Key and murdered a good many families near Monticello in the east, and when the soldiers finds (sic) them they were afraid to attack them and rebounded back to camp and left them. The people of Iola are very much frightened. They hear guns every night over the river. Ann M. Walker (sister-in-law), Iola, Sept. 3, 1840." As if the citizens of Iola didn't have enough problems with the economy and disease, the Second Seminole Indian War was underway (1838-42). Not meaning to ignore the sufferings of the Seminoles, but the worst incident in Iola was the massacre of Harmon G. Harlan's family. On January 29, 1840, Mr. Harlan arrived with 21 armed men and found his settlement on the Apalachicola River burned and his family killed. Probably as a result, Lt. Col. William J. Bailey was ordered to send troops to protect Iola. A rumor was reported to Tallahassee on October 13 that Iola was entirely destroyed by Indians. The following year, St. Joseph, like most of the South, was seriously hit by a yellow fever epidemic. The city may also have been hit by a series of hurricanes. These tragic events were too much for the settlers to sustain. By 1842, the railroad was sold and scrapped. In 1845, the Iola Post Office was discontinued. Iola faded completely from history that year. As I stood there looking at an often flooded river plain, Sam Walker's "paradise", I wondered what possessed people to settle in such a place. Was it sheer vanity or the desire of disaffected citizens for revenge against the competition in Apalachicola that blinded them to this apparently hopeless venture? What's up with the Gulf Coast skate scene? [Learn more ](https://www.longleaffl.com/regions-skateboarders-compete-in-panama-city-aim-to-spread-skating-gospel-across-the-gulf-coast/) Beyond this silent, overgrown jungle land where Mother Nature reigns supreme, the slow and steady river flowed on its eternal journey, ignoring what man had tried to make. *To understand the past, it is as important to understand the feelings and perspectives of the people who experienced those events as it is to understand our present feelings and perspective of that history. Hence my use, whenever possible, of quotes from the past supplemented by the modern interpretation.* *The inspiration for writing this article is due to the recent research and discoveries of Tom Godwin and Stuart Resmondo, both of Wewahitchka, Florida.* [\[Iola, the Northwest Florida town abandoned even by the river\]]([https://www.longleaffl.com/iola-the-town-abando/])by [\[Bob Hurst\]]([https://www.longleaffl.com/author/bob/]), published by [The Longleaf](https://longleaffl.com/?ref=longleaffl.com), is licensed under [CC BY 4.0 ![](https://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/icons/cc.svg) ![](https://mirrors.creativecommons.org/presskit/icons/by.svg) ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/?ref=longleaffl.com) **Republish this story:** You're free to share and adapt it, including commercially, as long as you credit the author and The Longleaf and link back to the original. Photos and artwork may carry separate rights; please ask first.