BREWSTER
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BREWSTER |
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NAME: Brewster COUNTY: Polk ROADS: 2WD GRID: 3 CLIMATE: Hot in Summer BEST TIME TO VISIT: Winter/Fall/Spring |
COMMENTS:
No Residents. The site can be found at the corner of SR 37 and CR 630 just south of the hamlet of Bradley Junction. Check out the Historical Museum in Ft. Meade along with touring old Ft. Meade. Many 1800 sites and homes can be found there. REMAINS: Remains of the old power plant and smoke stack, some tracks remain, old bar and gas station on SR 37, phosphate pits. UPDATE: Visited Brewster on 2-20-2008. The stack and surrounding buildings will be fenced in with barbed wire shortly. The company that owns the land, Mosaic, was in the process of fencing it in. The rail car and tracks should still be accessible, unless they move an old fence line. Unless someone wants to trespass into a field of skittish cows and deal with barbed wire, the site is closed to the public. Another town lost. Corey McKay UPDATE:My son and I visited there and I am sorry to say there is nothing there. Everything is fenced in by Mosaic and there was nothing but bulldozers and trucks. |
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Brewster was one of the phosphate towns built around the Brewster Phosphate industry at the turn of the century. The, very visible, smokestack was the first thing built. Getting into Ft. Meade was a problem because of the distance, so all the residents needs were met by the company village. There was a doctor's office, drug store, commissary, filling station, swimming pool, school, post office, and later a recreation center. The company expected all the workers to live at Brewster. There was the white section to the south of the mine and a black section to the east. Around the 1960's the townspeople learned of the closing of the village and they were either to buy their home and move or it would be demolished. Many bought their houses for bargain prices and moved to Ft. Meade, Bradley Junction, Bartow, or Mulberry. An air view of the town still barely reveals the streets and the home plots. The drying plant, shops, main office, and chemical plant remained for awhile but the plant was permanently shut down in the 70's. In 1976 the Fort Lonesome mine was built and all of the facilities at Brewster were moved their. Submitted by: Mike Woodfin Just wanted to provide an update to the situation in Brewster. I went there today with a friend of mine, the stack and surrounding concrete structures are still there. Mosaic has "fenced" it in but it only barbed wire and there are absolutely no, no trespassing signs anywhere. The rail car is still there as well. The dirt road getting out there is pretty rough but you can make it in an SUV. Really nothing of any importance remains but its still cool to look around. |
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