Carabelle in Franklin County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
Carabelle Town Center
Photographed By Tim Fillmon, December 8, 2021
1. Carabelle Town Center Marker
Inscription.
Carabelle Town Center. . The Carabelle Town Center was once part of the Franklin Lumber Company mill site owned by James Coombs, which operated along the north shore of the Carrabelle River from 1875 to 1928. Ships came from around the world seeking cypress timber, turpentine, and naval stores. At the time, Carrabelle was only accessible by railway and steamboat. In 1923, the new McIntyre Ferry, at the confluence of the Ochlockonee and Crooked rivers near Sopchoppy, opened and allowed travel from Tallahassee to Carrabelle. The old growth cypress was fully harvested by 1928, and the mill was shuttered. The next year, the former mill site was platted and surveyed into blocks and lots known as the Coombs Addition, which became Carrabelle Town Center. The brick building on this site, built in 1930, served as a Standard Oil filling station, a Western Union telegraph, and a small grocery. Owned by the Wathen family, it had the first electric-powered gas pumps in town. In 1931, the opening of the Davis Island Ferry across the Carrabelle River allowed for travel west to Eastpoint. Construction of the John Gorrie Bridge across Apalachicola Bay in 1935 completed the new Highway 98 for automobile travel along the gulf coast in Franklin County.
The Carabelle Town Center was once part of the Franklin Lumber Company mill site owned by James Coombs, which operated along the north shore of the Carrabelle River from 1875 to 1928. Ships came from around the world seeking cypress timber, turpentine, and naval stores. At the time, Carrabelle was only accessible by railway and steamboat. In 1923, the new McIntyre Ferry, at the confluence of the Ochlockonee and Crooked rivers near Sopchoppy, opened and allowed travel from Tallahassee to Carrabelle. The old growth cypress was fully harvested by 1928, and the mill was shuttered. The next year, the former mill site was platted and surveyed into blocks and lots known as the Coombs Addition, which became Carrabelle Town Center. The brick building on this site, built in 1930, served as a Standard Oil filling station, a Western Union telegraph, and a small grocery. Owned by the Wathen family, it had the first electric-powered gas pumps in town. In 1931, the opening of the Davis Island Ferry across the Carrabelle River allowed for travel west to Eastpoint. Construction of the John Gorrie Bridge across Apalachicola Bay in 1935 completed the new Highway 98 for automobile travel along the gulf coast in Franklin County.
Erected 2020 by Jack T. May, Carabelle Historical Preservation, and the Florida Department
Location. 29° 51.078′ N, 84° 39.894′ W. Marker is in Carabelle, Florida, in Franklin County. Marker is at the intersection of Northwest Avenue A (U.S. 98/319) and Tallahassee Street, on the right when traveling west on Northwest Avenue A. Touch for map. Marker is at or near this postal address: 102 Northwest Avenue A, Carrabelle FL 32322, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 17, 2022. It was originally submitted on January 17, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 219 times since then and 33 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on January 17, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.
