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 Boldenow said…

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

8:07 PM

Ghost Town Tuesday; Ben Hur Road/Road 613 to Raymond

While returning from the Mariposa Area this month I decided that I wanted to visit the quasi-ghost town of Raymond and take a "off the beaten path" roadway to get there. I found just what I was looking for in Ben Hur Road in Mariposa County which reaches Raymond as Road 613 in Madera County.

Ben Hur Road begins on the outskirts of Mariposa near Mormon Bar at CA 49. From CA 49 the route to Raymond is signed as being 23 miles to the south.

Interestingly Ben Hur Road isn't named after the famous 1959 movie but rather a ghost town along the roadway. The community of Ben Hur has records showing it had a Post Office by said name in 1890 which obviously implies the community was named after the 1880 novel. Unlike most roads of this kind the story of Ben Hur Road has been told previously by several newspapers in the 20th Century.

Oakland Tribune (September 1950) Trip to Mariposa via Ben Hur Road

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The Oakland Tribu…

"Governor Hunt Cuts Ribbon on Doomsday" - The drawnout legal battle to build the I-95 Fayetteville Bypass

It is Monday, December 15, 1980. North Carolina Governor Jim Hunt and many other dignitaries take part in a ribbon cutting ceremony opening a new 17 mile stretch of Interstate 95 in Cumberland County. The new road bypasses Fayetteville to the east and completes Interstate 95 in North Carolina - closing a significant gap in what many consider the backbone highway of the East Coast. The new road moved Interstate traffic from an at-grade, four lane US 301 lined with numerous motels and restaurants onto a fully controlled and traffic light-free limited access freeway.

Meanwhile at a Quality Inn along US 301 in Fayetteville, a billboard read "Governor Hunt Cuts Ribbon on Doomsday."(1)

The ribbon cutting put an end to over a decade long heated battle over the routing of Interstate 95 around Fayetteville. One that made it all the way to the steps of the United States Supreme Court.

Interstate 95 in North Carolina History:

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Where the hell is Hill Valley? (US Route 8 south/US Route 395 east)

Recently I made a visit to Universal Studios near Los Angeles. While on the back lot tour I came across a piece of infamous movie-borne fictional highway infamy; the location of town square of Hill Valley, California on US Route 8/US Route 395.

The above photo is part of the intro scene to the first Back-to-the-Future movie which was set in 1985. To anyone who follows roadways the signage error of US 8 meeting US 395 in California is an immediately notable error. For one; US 8 doesn't even exist anywhere near California with present alignment being signed as an east/west highway between Norway, Michigan and Forest Lake, Minnesota. To make matters worse US 8 is signed as a southbound route and US 395 (a north/south highway) is signed as an eastbound route. At minimum the cut-out US 8 and US 395 shields somewhat resemble what Caltrans used in the 1980s.

Assuming Hill Valley is located on what would have been US 395 by 1985 what locales would be a viable real world analog? US 39…

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