Wabasso in Indian River County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)
A.B. Michael (Wabasso) Bridge
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 14, 2022
1. A.B. Michael (Wabasso) Bridge Marker
Inscription.
A.B. Michael (Wabasso) Bridge. . Two Dollar Bluff, prominently featured on the U.S. Geodetic Map of 1887, was considered a navigational aid for ships on the Indian River. Located on property owned by settler and citrus grower A.B. Michael, this bluff was an Ais Indian midden and became the site for the Michael Family dock. By 1927, archeological materials in the midden, including shell, pottery shards, and bones, were almost gone, taken for use as road material. The dock was replaced with a narrow, wooden bridge with a metal swing span that crossed to the community of Orchid. This bridge allowed the Indian River citrus to travel from the Orchid Island groves to the railroad, and it opened up the northern part of Indian River County to tourism and land development. During World War II, the bridge was limited to those who lived on the island, and the bridge tender was tasked with checking the credentials of those who crossed. In 1970, the old bridge was replaced with a causeway, a high-arch bridge over the main channel, and named the Wabasso Bridge. In 2020, it was renamed the A.B. Michael Bridge. This bridge leads directly to the beaches of the Treasure Coast where remnants of the 1715 Spanish Silver Fleet are still found. , A Florida Heritage Site
Two Dollar Bluff, prominently featured on the U.S. Geodetic Map of 1887, was considered a navigational aid for ships on the Indian River. Located on property owned by settler and citrus grower A.B. Michael, this bluff was an Ais Indian midden and became the site for the Michael Family dock. By 1927, archeological materials in the midden, including shell, pottery shards, and bones, were almost gone, taken for use as road material. The dock was replaced with a narrow, wooden bridge with a metal swing span that crossed to the community of Orchid. This bridge allowed the Indian River citrus to travel from the Orchid Island groves to the railroad, and it opened up the northern part of Indian River County to tourism and land development. During World War II, the bridge was limited to those who lived on the island, and the bridge tender was tasked with checking the credentials of those who crossed. In 1970, the old bridge was replaced with a causeway, a high-arch bridge over the main channel, and named the Wabasso Bridge. In 2020, it was renamed the A.B. Michael Bridge. This bridge leads directly to the beaches of the Treasure Coast where remnants of the 1715 Spanish Silver Fleet are still found.
A Florida Heritage Site
Erected 2020 by The Indian River County Historical Society, Tourist Development
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County of Indian River, and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-1137.)
Location. 27° 45.229′ N, 80° 25.694′ W. Marker is in Wabasso, Florida, in Indian River County. It is on Florida Route 510 0.1 miles Shore Lane, on the left when traveling east. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Wabasso FL 32970, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s Space Coast. It is also in the American South. Globally, it is in the North Atlantic Region, North America, a Gulf of Mexico state, the Western Hemisphere, the Western World, and the Anglosphere. Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain, the territory of the Mississippian Culture, one of the Confederate States of America, and the Antebellum South.
More about this marker. Marker is being repaired after it was snapped in two. TF 9-23-24
Returned 11-14-24 TF
Also see . . . Old Wabasso Bridge. (Submitted on December 25, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida.)
Photographed by Tim Fillmon, December 14, 2022
2. A.B. Michael (Wabasso) Bridge Marker
Photographed by Diane Murphy, September 21, 2024
3. A.B. Michael (Wabasso) Bridge Marker
Missing.
Credits. This page was last revised on January 14, 2025. It was originally submitted on December 25, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. This page has been viewed 1,212 times since then and 98 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on December 25, 2022, by Tim Fillmon of Webster, Florida. 3. submitted on September 21, 2024, by Diane Murphy of Saint Cloud, Florida.
