The Pensacola journal. (Pensacola, Fla.) 1898-1985, 1911-07-11
VOX POPULI.
sTILLMAN WANTS BRIDGE
LOCATED AT MOLiNC
Pensacola Fla July 10.


| Editor Pensacola Journal
I am prompted to say a few words
| in regard to the proposed bridge
across the Escambia river, that long
needed connecting link with the
| greater part of West Florida, and with
your permission will proceed to do So
| Aside from the necessity of this
! bridge to place US on the proposed
national highway, from a commercial
aspect it would soon repay the cost
! necessary to build it. We are con-
| fronted, however, with a very prac-
! teal feature when we consider what
! the cost may be. This county is now
! committed to a very large expense,
and one which has made a bond is
| sue necessary for the purpose of con-
| structing the Jail edifice now being
| built. 1t is Of interest to the tax pay
! ers that the same judgment should
| be exercised in such expenditures as
would be involved in building a bridge
| across the Escambia, as any business
man would exercise in making neces-
| sary improvements on his own prop
| erty.
! For such reasons as these. I am not
! favorably impressed with the plan sug-
| gested of building this bridge at Ferry
Pass, because it would take more
money either to build it across the
! bay or to build it across the delta of
/
| of swamp above the bay at Ferry
Pass than is justified.
| There are one or two logical points
! on the Escambia river, in my judg-
ment, for a bridge and where a bridge
! can be built at q very reasona BILE eX-
! penseS One of them is at Molino,
| where a bridge Of two hundred feet in
! length will span the EsCambia river
| from Escambia county to Santa Rosa
| county. The Santa Rosa county end
/ of the bridge would rest On Parker
! Island, which is not a swamp by any
| means, but an island that before the
war was cultivated extensively by
| such people as Colonel Parker and Mr..
! McKinnon, father of the McKinnons
now living in Muscogee and McKinon-
| vile, in this county. This island is
! 1 Is mile wide and a good road
could be thrown UP with culverts to
permit of drainage at high water pc
| RODS at very little more expense than
| it costs to build our hard roads. A
! short bridge across the creek on the
east side of the island which would
be an Inexpensive proposition, as no
| draw would be required, would con-
meet the two counties from mainland
! to mainland and would strike each
county about its center, north and
south.
I recently talked with Mr. Bird
| Cooper and Capt. w. II. Trimmer, old
| and well-known residents of MOlinO,
| who told me OF incidents connected
with the operations on Parker'S Island
before the war. They mentioned the
fact that Mr.. o. NJ. Avery, an uncle
of the Averys of this area, and who
built the railroad that now runs from
| Pensacola to F'lOmaton, contemplated
building a plank road across Parker
Island before the war and have same
| ID 20 Icr
they told me of a large herd of cattle
being brought over from Washington
! county, Florida, and were taken to
Baldwin county, Alabama. The cattle
escaped from where they were cor
rallied and came back through Molino,
swan the river and took up their
abode on Parker's Island. The owners
followed them on horse back and
crossed the river on a raft with their
horses and rode the horses all over
the island, gathering up the cattle,
which goes to show that the land is
not a swamp, and in fact large part
of it never overfows in high water
and it has a clay foundation.
The splendid road that now runs
from Molino to Pensacola would be
connected without additional expense.
While it might be preferable to Pensa =
cola to have this connection made
across the delta of the ESCambia and
Escambia bay, besides the expense it
is hardly fair to the county at large
in my judgment, to ignore it for the
benefit Of Pensacola. The connection
of the two counties at about a CEN
trail point and at a point that would
reach the best agricultural sections of
both counties, would be a very great
factor in the agricultural development
OF both counties and the time has GER
tainly come when Pensacola should
recognize the Importance of the agri-
cultural possibilities of Escambia
county and should not overlook the
opportunity to stimulate by any means
possible such a development. We have
hundreds of thousands of acres of the
best farming lands to be found in the
United States in EsCambia and Santa
Rosa counties Florida, lying idle. With
a bridge built as suggested, Santa
Rosa county will be as much a tribu-
tary to Pensacola as is Escambia
county and every new farm opened up
in either county will be an asset that
will directly or indirectly pay a GER
tain commercial tribute to the business
life of Pensacola.
l venture to say that in regard to
the matter of expense the connection
at Moline can be made for less than
ne-quater of what it would cost to
build at Ferry Pass. The great ad-