Croom, also known by its previous name of Pemberton Ferry,A Short History of Florida Railroads
by Gregg Turner pages 59, 62 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 Central Florida near

Brooksville, Florida Brooksville is a city in and the county seat of Hernando County, Florida, Hernando County, Florida, in the United States. At the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census it had a population of 7,719, up from 7,264 at the 2000 census. Brooksville is ...

, and Ridge Manor, Florida. A rail line came to Pemberton Ferry in 1884. It was a rail stop by the Withlacoochee River just north of where the I-75 bridge over Croom-Rital Road and Withlacoochee State Trail is today. The Croom Tract is part of the

Withlacoochee State Forest The Withlacoochee State Forest is in the western central part in the US state of Florida, near Lecanto, Inverness, Floral City, Brooksville, Ridge Manor, and Dade City. The forest was named for the Withlacoochee River, which passes thro ...

, and is located just north of another ghost town called Oriole. There is also a 20,000 acre Croom Wildlife Management Area. Ruins in the area include 1900 Thomas House, old foundations, a brick vat, the remains of an iron railroad bridge, family cemeteries and pits from phosphate mining. The area once included a

turpentine Turpentine (which is also called spirit of turpentine, oil of turpentine, terebenthine, terebenthene, terebinthine and, colloquially, turps) is a fluid obtainable by the distillation of resin harvested from living trees, mainly pines. Principall ...

still,

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

, sugar mill, railroad switch out, railroad bridge and ferry. The area is now popular for turkey hunting and single track mountain biking. Another settlement in the area south of the community was known as Oriole and an abandoned Oriole cemetery remains in existence.

History

In 1886 a project to clear the Withlacoochee River for navigation went as far as Pemberton Ferry. A post office was located in the area from 1902 until 1935. Croom was on the west coast route of the

Atlantic Coast Line Railroad The Atlantic Coast Line Railroad was a United States Class I railroad formed in 1900, though predecessor railroads had used the ACL brand since 1871. In 1967, it merged with long-time rival Seaboard Air Line Railroad to form the Seaboard Coast ...

to Tampa. A station and a branch line extended to Brooksville. The iron bridge was a trestle for logging trains. The

South Florida Railroad The South Florida Railroad was a railroad from Sanford, Florida, to Tampa, Florida, becoming part of the Plant System in 1893 and the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in 1902. It served as the southernmost segment of the Atlantic Coast Line's ma ...

finished the construction of the 57-mile Pemberton’s Ferry Branch in May 1886. It ran from Bartow to Lakeland, where it crossed the South Florida mainline, north to Pemberton’s Ferry, where it interchanged with the Florida Southern Railway.Tapline

References

External links

Withlacoochee River survey
from Morrison's Shoal to Pemberton's Ferry (far left). Survey made March 18, to May 22, 1897, under the direction of Lieut. Col. Wm. H. H. Benyaurd, Corps of Engineers, U. S. Army.
Photos of Iron bridge railroad ruins
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Hernando County, Florida Ghost towns in Florida Unincorporated communities in Florida

History

See also

References

External links