Liverpool is a

ghost town A ghost town, deserted city, extinct town, or abandoned city is an abandoned settlement, usually one that contains substantial visible remaining buildings and infrastructure such as roads. A town often becomes a ghost town because the economi ...

in DeSoto County,

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, United States on the

Peace River The Peace River () is a river in Canada that originates in the Rocky Mountains of northern British Columbia and flows to the northeast through northern Alberta. The Peace River joins the Athabasca River in the Peace-Athabasca Delta to form the ...

History

Liverpool was a phosphate mining town in Florida and was named for its founder, John Cross, from

Liverpool, England Liverpool is a port city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population of (in ), Liverpool is the administrative, c ...

. Liverpool was most likely chosen because it was on the

, which provided a way that mined phosphate could be transported to Charlotte Harbor. A second reason why it was chosen because it was at the Peace River Mining Company Railroad's southernmost tip and could be shipped down the river with barges. The town was founded in 1880 and was platted, after phosphate had been discovered in the region. Its founder had envisioned the town being a major center of commerce. He operated the town's general store and J. E. Riley oversaw the town's mining operations, served as its mayor and served as a local sheriff. The town in its heyday had docks along the river, post office, hotel, newspaper and a stage shop. After this, John Cross decided to buy and develop land in Charlotte County. The town's postal service was discontinued in 1895, in the same year a map was made of Charlotte County and showed the town on the Peace River. In 1905, the area started to run out of phosphate and the town began to decline. The railroad was soon extended further south to Punta Gorda and Boca Grande, making its decline much faster and commerce was starting to shift to Fort Ogden and by the 1920s it was completely gone.The phosphate mining railroads of Arcadia
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References

Ghost towns in Florida Geography of DeSoto County, Florida 1880 establishments in Florida {{DeSotoCountyFL-geo-stub

History

See also

References