West Melbourne in Brevard County, Florida — The American South (South Atlantic)

Union Cypress Railway

1912-1932

Photographed by Jamie Cox, February 9, 2012

1. Union Cypress Railway Marker

Inscription. This 18.5-mile standard-gauge railway was built to carry logs from the large cypress/pine holdings of George W. Hopkins, at Deer Park, to the Union Cypress sawmill just south of Melbourne. Two new and seven used steam locomotives would eventually ride the 50-lb. rails, crossing the St. Johns River on a 2,850-foot wooden trestle south of Lake Sawgrass. This was the first direct route across the St. Johns for 80 miles south of Enterprise, preceding the Kissimmee Highway (U.S. 192) by 6 years. Melbourne to Kissimmee travel was now only 53 miles, compared to a previous 128 miles by rail or 153 miles by road. The railway opened up the vast prairie lands along the St. Johns for settlement and carried much of the regional commerce: cut timber, naval stores, livestock, and farm produce as well as people and the materiel of their daily lives. Trains ferried automobiles across the marsh on flat cars when floods closed the Kissimmee Highway. Logging and railway operations ceased after Hopkins died in January, 1925. Foshee Manufacturing Co. took over in March, 1928, and operated until forced to quit in late 1932 due to a declining lumber market in the Great Depression. Only the skeletal St. Johns River trestle remains today. A Florida Heritage Site

Erected 2008 by The Brevard County Historical Commission, the Brevard County Tourist Development Council and the Florida Department of State. (Marker Number F-619.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: Railroads & Streetcars. A significant historical month for this entry is January 1925.

Location. 28° 4.086′ N, 80° 39.228′ W. Marker is in West Melbourne, Florida, in Brevard County. It is on Hollywood Boulevard, on the right when traveling south. Marker is located in Tallwood Park. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Melbourne FL 32904,

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United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in Florida’s Space Coast.

It is also in the American South

and on the Eastern Seaboard. 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.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Hernandez-Capron Trail (approx. 0.9 miles away); Original Melbourne Village Hall (approx. 1.3 miles away); Lincoln Hotel (approx. 1.8 miles away); Florida Institute of Technology (approx. 1.8 miles away); Little Red Schoolhouse (approx. 1.9 miles away); Holy Trinity (approx. 2.1 miles away); Land Yacht Port-O-Call (approx. 2.1 miles away); Naval Air Station Melbourne (approx. 2.2 miles away).

Another marker is no longer nearby. Holy Trinity Episcopal Church (was approx. 2 miles away but has been confirmed missing).

Additional

Tallwood Park Sign image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Jamie Cox, February 9, 2012

2. Tallwood Park Sign

The marker can be seen in the distance, slightly right of center in this view.

keywords. railroad

Credits. This page was last revised on July 28, 2017. It was originally submitted on February 9, 2012, by Jamie Cox of Melbourne, Florida. This page has been viewed 2,457 times since then and 133 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on February 9, 2012, by Jamie Cox of Melbourne, Florida. • Craig Swain was the editor who published this page.