Skip to main content

Hernando/Citrus County 491 in the Lecanto Sand Hills and the return to Mannfield ghost town

By
This past week I made a return trip to Central Florida.  That being the case I wanted to revisit some of the places I enjoyed when I was a Florida resident.  I made my way up US Route 98 in Brooksville towards Hernando/Citrus County Road 491 in the Lecanto Sand Hills.  The first stop I had in mind was Withacoochee State Forest and the ghost town Mannfield.


Hernando/Citrus County Road 491 is an approximately 36.5 mile County Highway.  Hernando County Road 491 begins at Hernando County Road 484 near the Spring Hill Cemetery at Fort Dade Avenue and travels generally northward terminating at Florida State Road 200 in Citrus County.

As stated above I turned onto CR 491 northward from US 98 near a small community in Hernando County known as Ringgold.



CR 491 from US 98 13 miles north to FL 44 is known as the Lecanto Highway.  Most of the land east of CR 491 between US 98 and FL 44 is part of the Citrus Wildlife Management Area of Withlacoochee State Forest.



The Lecanto Sand Hills has a relatively high elevation (for Florida) which means CR 491 northward has several large hills.  Approaching Stage Coach Trail CR 491 northbound enters Citrus County.








CR 491 intersects CR 480 upon entering Citrus County.  CR 480 is carried by Stage Coach Trail east of CR 491 and Oak Park Boulevard west of it.


As CR 491 meets a cross street with Lone Court there is parking for Trail #22 on the east side of the highway.


 

Trail #22 is an easy route eastward to the Dames Cave.













The Dames Cave essentially is a collapsed sink hole that appeared to be approximately 15 feet deep.  There was a way down into the Dames Cave but there was a steel cable in the way which insinuated that it probably wasn't something that was meant for access.




Continuing northward from Trail #22 the route of CR 491 intersects CR 482 at Cardinal Street.




North of CR 482 the route of CR 491 intersects Mansfield Street which is the only remaining evidence that the former Citrus County Seat of Mannfield was once directly to the east.


At Noble Street CR 491 has parking for Trail #17 which is part of the route to Mannfield.




Immediately east of Trail #17 there is an unnumbered trail heading directly eastward to the Florida Trail.









At the fork below I headed southward on the Florida Trail towards Mannfield.


The Florida Trail southward is fairly filled with sand and termite mounds but it wasn't long before I found myself in the remains of Mannfield.






My last visit to Mannfield was back in 2015.  In a previous Ghost Town Tuesday I wrote a blog about the history of the community.

Ghost Town Tuesday; Mannfield, FL and the stairway to Hell

Not much in Mannfield had changed since 2015, some of the remaining building foundations were within sight of the Florida Trail.



Mannfield Pond was still high and dry despite many of the local waterways being close to flooding over.




I had a difficult time finding "the stairway to Hell" given it was largely obscured by plant growth from the Florida Trail.


Returning to CR 491 I continued northward into Lecanto.







At FL 44 in Lecanto I turned west towards Homosassa.



On a historic note CR 491 was previously a State Road of the same number.  I'm unsure of when FL 491 was relinquished to County Level maintenance but it does appear under State control as late as 1988 on local topographical maps of Lecanto.  The 1964 State Road map below shows FL 491 when it was under state maintenance.

1964 Florida State Road Map


Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

By
Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...
Post a Comment
Read more

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

By
The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old NC 10 - The Central Highway: Old Fort to Black Mountain through the Royal Gorge

By
A unique way of tracing the remnants of the Central Highway is through the mountainous terrain of Eastern Buncombe and Western McDowell Counties.  From the east on US 70, you reach the base of Blue Ridge Mountains at the town of Old Fort.  Old Fort is a tiny rail town that the old Central Highway and now US 70 goes through.  The Central Highway can be followed via a right onto Mill Creek Road from US 70.  Follow the highway as it takes you closer to the mountains.  When Mill Creek Road bears right to head towards Andrews Geyser stay straight until the road ends at a gate.  The nearby Piney Grove Church can be used for parking.  At this point, the old Central Highway began a 3.5 mile climb of the mountain to Swannanoa Gap.  NC 10 and later US 70 travelers followed this road for over 30 years until a new and modern four lane US 70 was built to the south.  This same four lane road would eventually become Interstate 40.    The Centra...
Post a Comment
Read more