Editing Astor, Florida (section)

==History==
The Astor area and much of the land along the [[St. Johns River]] was inhabited by [[Timucua]] natives prior to settlement by Europeans. Early attempts at settlement included an English trading post in 1763, and in 1822 a plantation growing sugar cane and oranges was established by Jewish immigrant [[Moses Elias Levy]]. By 1838 the [[Seminole Wars]] had begun and the [[United States]] government established [[Fort Butler (Astor, Florida)|Fort Butler]] to defend the river as the primary route of transportation inside Florida. These earliest efforts at settlement all met with failure due to war or disease, and until the 1870s the area was largely deserted.<ref name="Wass de Czege">Wass de Czege, A.: ''The History of Astor on the St. Johns, Astor Park, and the Surrounding Area'', Third, Extended Edition, pages 11, 14-18. Danubian Press, 1996</ref>{{rp|11, 14–18}}

In 1874, [[William Backhouse Astor Jr.]] from [[New York City]]'s wealthy [[Astor family]] purchased over {{convert|12000|acre|km2}} of land, upon which he began to establish a town he called "Manhattan". New settlers arrived by steamboat to the town which Astor had endowed with a church, schoolhouse, botanical garden, and free cemetery. William Astor also built a hotel, saw mill, and eventually a railroad, the [[St. Johns and Lake Eustis Railway]], which headed southwest towards the communities of [[Eustis, Florida|Eustis]] and [[Leesburg, Florida|Leesburg]]. A few miles to the west of town, a satellite community called [[Astor Park, Florida|Astor Park]] grew up along the shore of Lake Schimmerhorn (named for Astor's wife, [[Caroline Schermerhorn Astor]]). Over the next twenty years Astor saw his town grow, but the Manhattan name never caught on. When William Astor died in 1892, the town was officially renamed "Astor" in his honor.<ref name="Wass de Czege"/>{{rp|23–28}}

[[John Jacob Astor IV]] inherited his father William's estate and continued to promote the town and their business interests in Florida. Following his demise in the sinking of the [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']] in 1912, the estate passed to his son, Vincent. [[Vincent Astor|William Vincent Astor]] was not interested in his grandfather's Florida enterprises, and so the Astor family's interests in the area were sold.<ref name="Wass de Czege"/>{{rp|28}} This, combined with a severe decline in steamboat travel on the St. Johns due to increased availability of rail travel, signaled the end of the town's prosperity and prominence.<ref>[http://www.astorflorida.com/history.htm Astor Florida History]</ref> The first [[Astor Bridge]] was built in 1926;<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=WMxPAAAAIBAJ&sjid=flQDAAAAIBAJ&pg=4531,5865054&dq=astor-bridge&hl=en|title=Two Volusia-Lake County Bridges Scheduled to Be Free of Charge|date=May 29, 1926|work=[[Evening Independent]]|page=12A|location=St. Petersburg, FL|access-date=2012-09-02}}</ref> by 1928, Astor's hotel had burned down and the railroad was abandoned, leaving Astor without telephone or telegraph service for the next few decades.<ref name="Wass de Czege"/>{{rp|33, 35}}

Today the community of Astor is largely reliant upon tourism, and is a popular spot for winter visitors from the north and for fishing, hunting, and boating enthusiasts.