Abandoned Beaty Bridge, Jennings, Florida

This pony truss bridge over the Alapahoochee River is known as the Beaty Bridge and was built for George Washington Beatty & J.A. Hodges in 1911 and abandoned in the 1970s. The bridge replaced the nearby Knight Toll Ferry. One source says the bridge was built at a cost of $2200.00 and another source states it cost $4650.00 to build. The bridge sits close to the Florida/Georgia border. According to Ken Sulak a friend of mine friend living in Florida, George Washington Beatty was an enterprising cotton planter with cotton fields in Florida & Georgia and needed a crossing for his cotton bales.  Seems he conned Hamilton County, Florida into financing this bridge. This is one of the older one lane highway bridges still standing in Florida.

The bridge was constructed by the Roanoke Bridge Company in Roanoke, Virginia and is a bit unusual. Notice the vertical members which have an unusual tapered design. Most pony truss bridges have vertical members that are straight.

This once public bridge is now on private property and gated off about 1/4 mile in both directions so the only way I could view it is from the air with my drone. If anyone out there has personally visited this bridge, please leave a comment below.

GPS  Location:  30º36’57.9″N 83º04’47.0″W