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

US Route 199

I was planning on driving US Route 199 for the third time this weekend. However "external factors" have pushed my visit to US Route 199 back for the time being. While I can't do a driving log for US Route 199 at the moment I can still write about it's history.

This blog will be slightly different from the usual flair for Gribblenation. Generally I have a stockpile of my own road photos from which to draw from. In the case of US Route 199 I was far more focused on hiking photos during my first two visits in 2014 and 2016 than the actual highway. At some point I will add a series of modern driving log photos but for the time being I will draw from numerous other sources to illustrate US Route 199.

Part 1; the History of US Route 199

Present US Route 199 is a 80.05 mile highway which connects US Route 101 in Crescent City of Del Norte, California northeast to Interstate 5 in Grants Pass of Josephine County, Oregon. US Route 199 is one of the original US Routes and …

Trans-Sierra Highways; California State Route 108 over Sonora Pass

In the fall of 2016 and late summer of 2020 I took a series of drives over mountain passes in the Sierra Nevada Mountains. Both traps culminated by way of crossing over the Sierra Nevada Mountains westbound by way of the 9,624 foot Sonora Pass on California State Route 108.
California State Route 108 ("CA 108") is a 99 mile east/west State Highway which originates at US Route 395 in the eastern Sierra Nevada Mountains. CA 108 crosses the crest of the Sierra Nevada Mountains by way of the 9,624 foot Sonora Pass and terminates at CA 99 co-signed with CA 132 in downtown Modesto. CA 108 has a 21 mile unconstructed segment which would extend it to Interstate 5 near Crow's Landing if completed.
Part 1; the history of Sonora Pass and California State Route 108Much of the early history of Sonora Pass is described by way of two informational plaques at the actual Pass. The first documented crossing of Sonora Pass was in October of 1841 by way of a course slightly due nor…

The Tioga Pass Road

Last Summer the Tioga Pass Road over the Sierra Nevada Mountains in Yosemite National Park opened late due to the heavy snow pack from the previous winter. Approaching the start of July the Park Service finally had cleared the road to Tioga Pass. That being the case I headed up shortly after the 4th of July holiday during a lull in the tourist season.

The Tioga Pass Road runs from the Big Oak Flat Road at Crane Flat east to US Route 395 ("US 395"). The Tioga Pass Road is largely within the boundary of Yosemite National Park but is maintained by Caltrans as California State Route 120 ("CA 120") east of the Tioga Pass entry station to US 395. The National Park Service maintained portion of the Tioga Pass Road serve as a implied connection between the two segments of CA 120. The Tioga Pass Road is the highway mountain pass in California reaching Tioga Pass at 9,945 feet above sea level.

Part 1; the history of the Tioga Pass Road

Tioga Pass first obtained notewort…

Gribblenation

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