In 1838, a small town was founded below the confluence of the Wakulla and St. Marks rivers and the ports of St. Marks and Magnolia. Promoters of Port Leon boasted of its high elevation and the prosperity to come from the Tallahassee Railroad. A drawbridge built over the St. Marks River extended the train tracks to Port Leon, where mule-drawn rail cars moved cotton, tobacco, and other staples from Tallahassee and wagons carried the goods over raised roads to the wharves. The town expanded in 1840 as residents of nearby Magnolia relocated and a post office opened there. It was incorporated in 1841, the same year yellow fever struck and killed many citizens. When Wakulla County was formed in 1843, Port Leon was named the county seat. About 200 townspeople were served by a hotel, two taverns, general stores, a newspaper, the post office, and warehouses. Port Leon stood only a few feet above the St. Marks River, and on the morning of September 13, 1843, stormy weather pushed a high tide upstream. By midnight, strong winds whipped the trees and rising water flooded the town, and by daylight few buildings were left standing. Only one person was killed. The town's citizens chose to rebuild on higher ground upstream, and the post office reopened in 1844 under the name Newport. Today, all that remains of Port Leon are its road beds, eroded and hardly distinguishable from the surrounding forest.