At one time, the town of Port Leon was a very busy cotton-shipping hub. It had a railroad that carried over 50,000 tons of cotton a year. This cotton was sent to ship which mostly went to Europe. Port Leon was the sixth-largest town in Florida. 1,500 people lived there. A hurricane and its storm surge destroyed the town. New Port (today known as Newport) was built two miles (3 km) up river. It never did as well as Port Leon.