Update 2022-12-23: Videos: Troupville Nature Park and River Camp, Trash, Cleanups –Helen Tapp & Suwannee Riverkeeper @ Scott James Radio 2022-12-15.
Landowner Helen Tapp spoke a week ago at the Lowndes County Commission about their historic purchase of her 71+ acres to add to 49 VLPRA acres to make a Troupville Nature Park and River Camp.
Below are videos and transcript of what she said about her vision and hopes for the site. For the entire meeting, see the Continue reading
Phillip Williams found this 1914 plat map showing Steep Hill Branch.
![[Plat and maps: Steep Hill Branch]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1914-06-08--steep-hill-branch/many.jpg)
Plat and maps: Steep Hill Branch
USGS did not know a name for it, but now its Steep Hill Branch in the WWALS map of the Withlacoochee and Little River Water Trail (WLRWT). Phillip says it’s been known by that name since at least the 1860s.
Evidently either the Little River was much straighter there back then, or they just didn’t bother to try to draw it more accurately. Nonetheless, it is clear this is the right place by the land lot and land district numbers, and the old property owner names. Continue reading
Ken Sulak has more about Peoples Bridge on the Suwannee River, including the church the bridge was built for, and when an alligator ate a man in 1880.
Apparently this was a little-known peril of deer hunting. Of course, alligator attacks on humans are very rare: that’s why this one was news.
![[Alligator story, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Peoples Bridge]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1880-07-13--alligator-peoples-bridge/many.jpg)
Alligator story, Oak Grove Baptist Church, Peoples Bridge
Continue readingI have contacted the Oak Grove Baptist Church, still in existence continuously from the 1870s. The contact person knew nothing about the long gone People’s Bridge 1.2 mi due West from the church. She referred my inquiry to the pastor, unfortunately very new and from up north. So, he knows nothing about the old history. I was hoping the church maintained an archive, or a birth-death-burial log, or an annotated master bible. No luck on that so far.
Update 2022-12-13: Alligator, Church, Peoples Bridge, Suwannee River –Ken Sulak 1880-07-13.
Ken Sulak remarked, “I also want to visit the ‘Peoples Bridge’ site on the Suwannee a few miles downstream of the Cone Bridge. This was a wooden foot and wagon bridge possibly built by the congregation of the Oak Grove Church around 1870 so folks on the Hamilton side could attend church on the Columbia side.
“The double row of old cutoff timber pilings emerges at low water.”
The pilings are supposed to be visible when the White Springs Gauge is below 51.0 feet.
![[Emerged tops of cutoff pilings of the People's Bridge. --Ken Sulak]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-27--peoples-bridge-suwannee-river/1669569958222blob.jpg)
Emerged tops of cutoff pilings of the People’s Bridge. –Ken Sulak
Does anybody know the whereabouts or history of this Oak Grove Church?
Continue readingBack in 1923, Georgia and Florida looked about the same in this Atlas, until you notice, where’s I-75 and I-10? Where are all the roads? Nowhere: those lines are railroads.
Many railroad towns such as Ellaville and Genoa in Florida and Dupont and Haylow in Georgia are depicted, when they aren’t anymore on maps of this scale. Troupville is long gone, because it moved to Valdosta where the railroad was coming: the Atlantic Coast Line, labeled “A.C.L.”, later plus two others, “G.S.”, presumably Georgia Southern, and “G.S.F.”, presumably Georgia Southern and Florida.
![[South Georgia and North Florida]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/1923-01-01--atlas/big/gafl.jpg)
South Georgia and North Florida
Amusingly, the Florida map names and draws “Okefinokee Swamp” in Georgia, but the Georgia map does not. The Georgia map shows a couple of lakes instead. Continue reading
Phillip Williams sent some pictures of the old wood pilings he found in and at the Little River just downstream (south) from Troup Bridge, which carries GA 133 (St. Augustine Road) over the Little River, just west of Valdosta past Val Tech Road.
This is relevant to his pretty well documented idea of where the streets and buildings of old Troupville really were located, and my slightly different idea. More on that later.
![[Old wood pilings just below Troup Bridge, GA 133 @ Little River --Phillip Williams]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-23--old-troup-bridge-pilings/many.jpg)
Old wood pilings just below Troup Bridge, GA 133 @ Little River –Phillip Williams
He wrote, “These are three of the wooden pilings. My theodolite app on my phone has them being about 6′ apart from one another, given 3° of separation and about 106′ from where I was standing on the east bank.” Continue reading
More old bridge history from Ken Sulak, retired from USGS: Ellaville County Bridge, the ferry before that, the log boom, and Hillman Bridge, plus the Ellaville Gauge turns out to be one of the oldest, all on the Suwannee River near the Withlacoochee River Confluence.
You can see these sights on the WWALS paddle, Allen Ramp to SRSP, Withlacoochee River, 2023-02-04.
![[Abutment, Piling of Ellaville County Bridge, Suwannee River]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-26--county-bridge-hillman-bridge-suwannee-river/many.jpg)
Abutment, Piling of Ellaville County Bridge, Suwannee River
Ken wrote,
The Ellaville ‘County Bridge’ over the Suwannee was built in 1908. The ‘County Bridge’ was parallel to and just upstream of the RR trestle. Continue reading
Previously I promised an update on the lack of trash cans in the parking lot on St. Augustine Road at Hightower Creek that resulted in litter.
The short version is in https://seeclickfix.com/issues/13703334: Continue reading
Ken Sulak, retired from USGS, is a bubbling spring of information about old bridges and ferries in Florida. Here’s what he sent recently about three Withlacoochee River bridges: a railroad bridge and two road bridges.
![[EWJ RR Pillar and Lee Bowstring Bridge Lally column; Photos: Ken Sulak]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-26--ewj-rr-bridge/many.jpg)
EWJ RR Pillar and Lee Bowstring Bridge Lally column; Photos: Ken Sulak
You can see two of them on the WWALS paddle from Allen Ramp on the Withlacoochee River to Suwannee River State Park, 2023-02-04. Continue reading
Update 2022-11-30: Parking lot litter Click ‘n’ Fix closed without cleanup 2022-11-21.
This happened at the bottom of the parking lot on St. Augustine Road next to Hightower Creek. The same parking lot we previously reported as a good example, upstream from Sugar Creek and the Withlacoochee River.
Yet they never put out trash cans, and this is what results.
Bobby Mckenzie sent these pictures August 30, 2022, with this explanation:
Obviously there is no excuse for this woman’s actions. But she walk to look for a trash can and didn’t find one. Then she threw it in the mess that was already there.
Initially the litter bug looked for a trash can.
Just as guilty of allowing this to happen are the business/property owners, the Public Works Director, Assistant City Manager and City Marshalls for failing to do their part.
The business not complying with the existing City Ordinance, the City Marshalls REFUSING to enforce that very City Ordinance
Continue reading
![[Pictures and Actions]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-11-21--stafford-litter/many.jpg)
![[Litter, litterers]](https://www.wwals.net/pictures/2022-08-30--trash-hightower-creek/many.jpg)