Skip to main content

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

By
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
Labels:

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
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

New River Gorge National Park & Preserve - Thurmond

By
New River Gorge National Park and Preserve is best known for whitewater rafting and other forms of adventure tourism.  Yet, found in the hollows and isolated valleys are quiet farms and former coal mining towns.  Well off the beaten path and isolated from much of its surroundings, Thurmond provides a unique view into Central West Virginia's industrial past. Thurmond began as a railroad town in the late 1800s.  Sparked by the arrival of the Chesapeake & Ohio Railroad and the local coal industry, Thurmond quickly grew into a sizeable transportation and coal center.  When it incorporated as a town in 1903, Thurmond was a full-fledged community - home to two banks, two hotels, and many other services and stores. A CSX freight train passes the old coaling tower in Thurmond.  It was here that many steam locomotives would refill and refuel. Thurmond was home to a C&O railyard which serviced the numerous steam engines passing through the narrow valley.  Thu...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Tale of Tollhouse Road, western California State Route 168 and failed Piute Pass Highway

By
Western California State Route 168 is entirely located in Fresno County and is linked historically to the Tollhouse Road corridor.   Tollhouse Road is one of the oldest highways in the Sierra Nevada range of Fresno County. The corridor presently begins in at Clovis Avenue in downtown Clovis and extends northeast to Huntington Lake. In 1866 the Woods Brothers established mining claims on Pine Ridge. In 1867 Fresno County would grant the brothers a toll franchise to construct a roadway to the desirable logging areas atop Pine Ridge and near Dinkey Creek. The Woods would establish a tollhouse at the start of their franchise road and lumber mill. The lumber mill attracted settlers which led to the establishment of the mountain town of Tollhouse. Fresno County would purchase the Tollhouse Road in 1878 and make it a public highway. The county would remove the tolls and incorporate the corridor into the existing county road network. Prior to the establishment of Clovis in 1...
Post a Comment
Read more

Old Dunlap Road (former California State Route 180 in Yokuts Valley)

By
When California State Route 180 was commissioned in August 1934 the alignment in took in Sierra Nevada range was very different than from today.  The original highway alignment from Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) to east Grant Grove (then part of General Grant National Park) originally followed what is now Ruth Hill Road, Dunlap Road, Pinehurst Road (modern California State Route 245), Dark Canyon Road (partially now Forest Road 14S45).  After funding fell through for the planned Kings Canyon Road the was corridor eventually picked up as a 30-mile-long cooperative project between the Division of Highways and Federal Government.  Much of current alignment of California State Route 180 bypassing Squaw Valley (now Yokuts Valley) and Dunlap was complete by 1941.  The post-1941 alignment of California State Route 180 in Squaw Valley was shifted onto what was once Dunlap Road in Squaw Valley.  This alignment itself was later bypassed by modern California State Route...
Post a Comment
Read more