 Port Leon later suffered a devastating hurricane that destroyed the town and caused its inhabitants to move back up closer to the original town of Magnolia and settle the town of Newport.In 1829 a US customs house was established at Magnolia.Magnolia, St. Marks, and sister river port town Port Leon, thrived from the commerce from Tallahassee merchants and cotton plantations of the Red Hills Region of north Florida and south Georgia when their products were hauled south to Tallahassee and beyond.