THE LOPIN GOPHER RAILROAD

George M. Cole and John E. Ladson III
Aucilla Research Institute

The area around the lower Aucilla was isolated and remote during the early days of statehood. U.S. Highway 98 was not built until the early 1950s, the closest city of any size was 23 miles away, and the few connecting roads were hardly more than poorly maintained trails. By the 1930’s some dependable access was provided by the Live Oak, Perry and Gulf Railroad which crossed the Aucilla River at Mandalay and was interconnected with logging trams.
The railroad was the product of the Great Timber Boom in the Aucilla and Wacissa River area. The railroad began in the mid 1890 as a logging road of the R.L. Dowling & Sons Lumber Company of Live Oak, Florida. It provided a means of transporting timber to their mill in Live Oak. As the timber supply was depleted in an area, the railroad was gradually built westward to the town of Hudson on the Suwannee River. There, Dowling built a sawmill which resulted in the town changing its name to Dowling Park.
After the timber in the area was depleted, the railroad was extended across the Suwannee to Day, Florida. In 1903, Dowling was approached by Seaboard Airline. This resulted in the incorporation of the Live Oak and Perry Railroad (LO&P) and the line being extended across the Suwannee and as far west as 13 miles east of Perry, Florida.
In 1918 the railroad was sold to Atlantic Coastline, and by 1921, the tracks had been extended across the Aucilla River at Mandalay. From there, it continued on to the town of Flint Rock near the Pinhook River and south of present-day U.S. Highway 98.
At that time, Flint Rock was reportedly a thriving logging town with a population of 2000. Spur lines from Flint Rock were also extended to the community of Fanlew near the Leon County line and to logging operations near the Western Sloughs, west of the Aucilla. Those extensions allowed the harvesting of the rich supply of long-leaf pine and cypress along the gulf coast of Taylor and Jefferson Counties.
At the time the bridge over the Aucilla was constructed, there were no roads into that area. As a result, the material for the bridge had to be brought in by rail. The bridge is believed to have been removed by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers about 1945 in a navigation project in the Aucilla. Remnants of the bridge still may be seen today along the banks of the river.
A few pilings sticking above the water represent the only remnants of the Aucilla River Bridge at Mandalay today.
Although currently a privately-owned corridor, the 120 foot wide right-of-way immediately west of the Aucilla now is surrounded by the remote, wild and undeveloped St. Marks Wildlife Refuge. It crosses several creeks and the Pinhook River. Portions of the Florida Trail now pass along the corridor. The original bridge over the Pinhook has been replaced by a bridge for Florida Trail purposes.
With the expansion to the west, the railroad system was renamed the Live Oak, Perry and Gulf (LOP&G). Due to the jerky ride caused by the uneven tracks that reminded locals of the uneven gate of a gopher turtle, it became commonly called the “Lopin Gopher”. Although, some of the low paid employees of the railroad reportedly called it the “Living on Peas and Grits” line.
The construction of the railroad bridge over the Aucilla resulted in development of the previous inaccessible area. As an example, the east side of the river near the new bridge became the site of a private gathering place for sportsmen when a lodge, named. The Mandalay Lodge due to the builder’s fascination with mysterious center of Buddhism was constructed. That lodge rapidly became known as a recreation destination for prominent politicians. The lodge building was reportedly originally part of a building at the Hotel Hampton resort in nearby Hampton Springs, with the material being hauled in by railroad in 1934 for its construction. Reportedly, guests of the lodge would come via railroad hand car from nearby Scanlon. In addition to the lodge, a fish house was constructed in the area just south of the current location of Williams Landing. It served as a site for the sale of seafood for local fishermen. At one time, it was operated by long-time river resident Eff Williams and later by his sons, Lawson and Bill.
Despite the importance of the railroad to local residents, as the boom days of the twentieth century wound down, the profitability of the rail line diminished. To economize, a “doodlebug” was substituted for the daily passenger train. That vehicle was a self-propelled rail car configured for both passenger and freight compartments. The first of those vehicles was purchased as a used vehicle from the Tampa and Jacksonville Railway Company for $513, FOB. Live Oak. Despite such innovations, as more roads were built into the remote area and the timber boom diminished, the demand for passenger, mail, lumber and farm products service for the railroad disappeared. As a result, the railroad line across the Aucilla was abandoned. Nevertheless, the line represented an interesting era in history that had made significant changes in the lower Aucilla River area.