the ocala northern railroad, a new railroad company, leased the seaboard air line railroad spur to silver springs on december 14, 1909, and obtained trackage rights over four miles (6 km) of the seaboard air line railroad to downtown ocala. the onrr was owned by e. p. rentz, who owned a saw mill at silver springs. he soon built his railroad north to fort mccoy and built a series of logging railroads into the forest. he continued to build the onrr, and it reached palatka, florida by 1912, with of track stretching from silver springs to palatka.