In the late 19th century, Henry Flagler created the Florida East Coast Railway and the Florida East Coast Hotel Company, both of which significantly boosted development and tourism for Florida. By 1900, he had purchased the local Jacksonville and Atlantic Railway, which was expanded to create the Mayport Branch of the Florida East Coast Railway. Along this branch, he opened the luxury oceanfront Continental Hotel of Atlantic Beach in 1901. Though considered one of the smaller and less ornate of Flagler’s winter resorts, the hotel offered several attractions, including two of the area’s first golf courses and automobiling on the oceanfront. Atlantic Beach had previously been one of the most remote areas of the Jacksonville Beaches, but the arrival of the railway and the hotel sparked development in the community and created a new tourism destination for Florida. The hotel was sold in 1913 to the Atlantic Beach Corporation and renamed the Atlantic Beach Hotel. The original hotel burned down in 1919, and a second was built on the site in the mid-1920s. Both hotels remained a vital part of the Atlantic Beach community for several decades.