River north of Orlando, Florida, in an area now called Lake County, Florida. There he and two partners used 12,000 acres (49 km2) to build an entire town that he named Manhattan but was later changed to Astor in his honor. His project, which would come to include several hotels, began with the construction of wharves on the river to accommodate steamboats. These steamboats attracted a steamship agency that could bring in the necessary materials and supplies. Astor enjoyed his development and purchased a railroad that connected the town to the "Great Lakes Region" of Florida. He donated the town's first church and the land for the local non-denominational cemetery, and he also helped build a schoolhouse, both of which are still standing today. In 1875, one of the many nearby lakes was named Lake Schermerhorn after his wife, Lina Schermerhorn. The town of Manhattan, Florida, boomed, and Astor, with an eye on the large New York market, expanded his interests to a grapefruit grove, a fruit that at the time was only available on a very limited basis in other parts of the United States. He did not live long enough to see the orchard grow to production. Following his death on April 25, 1892, the property fell to his son Jack. By then though, rapid changes were taking place throughout Florida. New railroads had been built in 1885 through the central and western part of the state, and in the late 1890s, Henry Flagler built a railroad line running down Florida's east coast from Daytona Beach. All this expansion left the town of Astor isolated and it was all but abandoned after train service to Astor was discontinued. Personal life On September 23, 1853, he married the socially ambitious Caroline Webster "Lina" Schermerhorn (1830–1908) at Trinity Church in Manhattan. Her parents were Abraham Schermerhorn, a wealthy New York City merchant, and Helen Van Courtlandt (née White) Schermerhorn. Lina would go on to reign over New York and Newport society known simply as "the Mrs. Astor." William Jr. had little interest in society parties, and reportedly, Lina would try to keep him at his club late to prevent him coming home and sending the orchestra out and his children to bed. Together, William Jr. and Lina had five children: Emily Astor (1854–1881), who married sportsman/politician James John Van Alen (1848–1923) and had three children. Helen Schermerhorn Astor (1855–1893), who