Ghost Town Tuesday; Cumpressco, FL and the wooden Lanier Bridge

Back in 2015 I went to the central region of the Green Swamp in Pasco County looking for the town site of Cumpressco just to the east of Florida State Road 471.

Cumpressco was a company logging town located in the Green Swamp and was created at some point during the 1920s. The name Cumpressco was an amalgamation of the "Cummer Cypress Company" which honestly hasn't weathered the test of time in regards to modern humorous sensibilities. Cumpresco operated on two rail grades running west to Dade City and the other northwest to Lacoochee. Logging operations in Cumpressco ended in 1939 and both rail lines were abandoned. The rail line west to Dade City is now known as Cumpressco Grade Road to the Withlacoochee River while the line to Lacoochee is now Main Line Road. The town site of Cumpressco is now part of a hiking trail in the Green Swamp Wilderness Preserve.

Interestingly when the Cumpressco Grade Road reaches the Withlacoochee it becomes Summer Lake Road at a community which was once known as Ashley. Westward Summer Lake Road becomes River Road and crosses the wooden Lanier Bridge. At some point also in 2015 I set out to find the Lanier Bridge while traveling to Hernando County.

The site of the Lanier Bridge has had a crossing of the Withlacoochee River since the first structure was completed in 1850s. The Lanier Bridge has been replaced numerous times with the modern structure coming into place in the last couple decades. The wooden deck is actually pretty smooth to drive on and is one of the few wooden deck automotive bridges I'm aware of that still is in service within in Central Florida.

Fivay.org has an excellent article on the history of the Lanier Bridge crossing along with photos of the historic markers at the Withlacoochee River.

Fivay.org on the the Lanier Bridge

Fivay.org Lanier Bridge Historic Markers

Comments

Kevin said…

The Carpetbaggers from up north came to Florida and plundered our natural resources.

8:07 PM

Anonymous said…

Kevin, as a native Florida resident I can honestly say, with all sincerity, "Who cares?". That was like, 100 years ago.

12:57 PM

Unknown said…

You wouldn't want to off ridden that bridge in 1970.Scary.Even on a schoolbus.Poor construction.Today? It's beautiful and safe.

9:32 PM

Trimmer Springs Road (Fresno County)

Trimmer Springs Road is an approximately forty-mile rural highway located in Fresno County. The corridor begins near in California State Route 180 in Centerville and extends to Blackrock Road at the Kings River in the Sierra Nevada range near the Pacific Gas & Electric Company town of Balch Camp. The roadway is named after the former Trimmer Springs Resort and was originally constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. Trimmer Springs Road was heavily modified and elongated after construction of Pine Flat Dam broke ground in 1947. Part 1; the history of Trimmer Springs Road Much of the original alignment of Trimmer Springs Road was constructed to facilitate access to the Sanger Log Flume. The Kings River Lumber Company had been established in 1888 in the form of a 30,000-acre purchase of forest lands in Converse Basin. This purchase lied immediately west of Grant Grove and came to be known as "Millwood." The co...

When was Ventura Avenue east of downtown Fresno renamed to Kings Canyon Road? (California State Route 180)

California State Route 180 was one of the original Sign State Routes designated in August 1934. The highway east of Fresno originally utilized what was Ventura Avenue and Dunlap Road to reach what was then General Grant National Park. By late year 1939 the highway was extended through the Kings River Canyon to Cedar Grove. In 1940 General Grant National Park would be expanded and rebranded as Kings Canyon National Park. The Kings Canyon Road designation first appeared in publications circa 1941 when the California State Route 180 bypass of Dunlap was completed. Kings Canyon Road ultimately would replace the designation of Dunlap Road from Dunlap to Centerville and Ventura Avenue west to 1st Street in Fresno. The Kings Canyon Road would remain largely intact until March 2023 when the Fresno Council designated Cesar Chavez Boulevard. Cesar Chavez Boulevard was designated over a ten-mile corridor over what was Kings Canyon Road, remaini...

Interstate 99 at 30

When it comes to the entirety of the Interstate Highway System, Interstate 99, when fully completed, is nothing more than 161 miles of a roughly 48,000-mile system (0.3% of total length). Yet, to more than just a handful of people, the number '99' rubs them the wrong way. Interstate 99 follows the path of two US Highway Routes - US 220 from the Pennsylvania Turnpike in Bedford north to Interstate 80 and then to US 15/Interstate 180 in Williamsport. It then follows US 15 from Williamsport north to Interstate 86 in Corning, New York. Interstate 99 runs with US 220 through much of Central Pennsylvania. (Doug Kerr) US 220 from Cumberland, Maryland to Interstate 80 and US 15 north of Williamsport were designated part of the Appalachian Highway System in 1965. Construction to upgrade both corridors progressed steadily but slowly. In 1991, the two corridors were included as a National High Priority Corridor. The route from Cumberland to Corning consisted of High P...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog