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

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1934 State Highway Map

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1936 State Highway Map

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