Editing Punta Rassa, Florida (section)

===Telegraph===
In 1866, the newly formed [[International Ocean Telegraph Company]] (IOTC) received from the U.S. government, the state of Florida and the government of Spain the exclusive right to operate an [[submarine communications cable|underseas telegraph cable]] between Florida and Cuba. In 1867, the IOTC constructed a telegraph line from [[Lake City, Florida|Lake City]], where it connected with the national telegraph network via [[Western Union]], to Punta Rassa, where the underwater cable would come ashore. The underwater cable was laid from Havana to Key West, and then on to Punta Rassa, and the line opened to public use on September 11, 1867. The U.S. Congress had, in 1866, authorized telegraph companies to run their lines across, take supplies from, and place stations on federal public domain lands without charge. The IOTC placed its office in one room of the now abandoned barracks at Fort Dulaney, while the station agent lived in another room.<ref name="Brown 1989">{{Cite journal|last=Brown|first=Canter Jr.|date=October 1989|title=The International Ocean Telegraph|journal=The Florida Historical Quarterly|volume=68|issue=2|pages=135–159|jstor=30148063}}</ref>