In 1865 the Savannah, Florida, and Western railway was completed, and a depot was built about a mile north of the town center. Businesses and homes migrated toward the railroad, and eventually the current town was established along that line. The town grew in earnest between 1890 and 1930 with a rich trade in turpentine, tobacco, cotton, and pine lumber. Jasper reached its pinnacle in the 1920s with a booming population of over 2,000. Most of Jasper's present buildings were built during this 40-year period.