Skip to main content

Florida Friday; Abandonment on the Brooksville Ridge

The Brooksville Ridge is a small plateau in Hernando and Pasco Counties which ranges approximately from Brooksville southeast to Dade City.  The Brooksville Ridge has several high points over 200 feet in elevation which are among the highest in peninsular Florida.  The Brooksville Ridge has various former State Road alignments and communities that have largely disappeared to time.



Ayers is located at the corner of US Route 41 and Hernando County Route 576/Ayers Road near Masaryktown.  The first reference to Ayers I could find is from a 1936 Hernando County Map where it appears as a siding of the Seaboard Air Line Railroad at the corner of US 19/41 and Ayers Road.

1936 Hernando County Road Map 

Given rail sidings have had a reduced purpose to exist since the rise of diesel locomotives suffice to say there is quite a bit of abandoned commercial/industrial structures to be found in Ayers.






Interestingly when Hernando County Route 576 original used Old Ayers Road. Comparing topographical maps on historic aerials it seems that Old Ayers Road was in use as a through route at least until 1988.





To the south at the intersection of Pasco County Routes 577 Lake Lola Road and Pasco County Route 578/St Joe Road is location of what was St. Joesph.  St. Joesph was plotted in the early 1890s and had a post office from 1893 to 1918.  According to aerial and topographical maps of the area it seems CR 578 used to traverse through St. Joseph via Old St. Joe Road until at least the mid-1950s.

'

Originally FL 41 which would become Pasco County Route 41 traversed through Jessamine in addition to Blanton.  Jessamine is located at the intersection of James Road and Blanton Road on the south shore of Jessamine Lake.  According to topographical maps on historicaerials.com FL 41/CR 41 was shifted north out of Jessamine onto Blanton Road sometime between 1988 to 2012.





According to Fivay.org Jessamine was settled in 1888 and was centered around Jessamine Gardens.  The last recorded reference to the community seems to have come from the Tampa Bay Tribune in 1919.

Fivay.org on Jessamine

East of Jessamine FL 41/CR 41 would have traversed through Blanton on what is now Spring Valley Road.  The last time I see the Spring Valley Road alignment of FL 41 is on a 1962 topographical map.

Blanton unlike many of the communities I listed above still appears much like a late 19th Florida community. 



Blanton was settled on the west side Blanton Lake in 1883.  Blanton was moved to the present site in 1887 when the Orange Belt Railroad was built in the area according to fivay.org.  The last recorded reference to Blanton I could find on Fivay.org was from 1932 when a store burned down.

Fivay.org on Blanton

Both Blanton and Jessamine appear along FL 41 on the 1956 State Highway Map below.

1956 Florida State Highway Map


Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Dillon Road

Dillon Road is a 34.2-mile highway located in northern Coachella Valley of Riverside County, California.  Dillon Road begins at Avenue 48 on the outskirts of Indio and ends to the west at California State Route 62 near San Gorgonio Pass.  Dillon Road was developed the 1930s as a construction road for the Colorado River Aqueduct.  Dillon Road serves as a northern bypass to much of the development of Coachella Valley.  Dillon Road is known for it's frequent dips and spectacular views of San Gorgonio Pass.   Part 1; the history of Dillon Road Dillon Road was constructed as a haul road for the Colorado River Aqueduct through Coachella Valley.  The Colorado River Aqueduct spans 242 miles from Parker Dam on the Colorado River west to Lake Mathews near Corona.  Construction of the Colorado River Aqueduct began during January 1933 near Thousand Palms and was made functional on January 7, 1939.  West of Berdoo Canyon Road the alignment of Dillon Road is largely concurrent with the Colorado

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road

Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road is an approximately 21-mile highway located in southeast Kern County.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road begins at Tehachapi Boulevard (former US Route 466) in Tehachapi and crosses the Tehachapi Mountains via the 4,820-foot-high Oak Creek Pass.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road enters Antelope Valley of the wider Mojave Desert and passes by the historic stage station of Willow Springs to a southern terminus at Rosamond Boulevard.  Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road has historic ties to the Havilah-Los Angeles Road and Stockton-Los Angeles Road due to the once reliable presence of water at Willow Springs. Part 1; the history of Tehachapi-Willow Springs Road Oak Creek Pass and Willow Springs were known to the local tribes of the Tehachapi Mountains for generations.  The first documented European crossing of Oak Creek Pass was during 1776 as part of an expedition by Francisco Garces.  Oak Creek Pass is as used again by John C. Fremont during an 1844-1845 expedition to e

Oldtown Toll Bridge - Maryland and West Virginia

  The Oldtown Toll Bridge linking Oldtown, Maryland over the Potomac River with neighboring Green Spring, West Virginia is only one of a few truly privately owned toll bridges located in the United States. It's a simple bridge by design, as the 318 foot long Oldtown Toll Bridge is a low water bridge. Low water bridges are designed to allow water to safely and efficiently flow over the bridge deck. Additionally, a dozen concrete pedestals have been secured in the Potomac River in order to support the bridge and wooden deck. The bridge was constructed in 1937 when a gentleman by the name of Mr. Carpenter obtained the proper permits to build the Bridge through an Act of Congress. This was a blessing for residents, especially on the West Virginia side of the Potomac River, as it saved motorists commuting to Cumberland an hour in travel time. Using Mr. Carpenter's blueprints, the Army Corp of Engineers and a number of local laborers constructed the bridge and it remained under the