ORMOND BEACH, FL - - After posting my previous blog on our weekend trip to the Ocala National Forest, I did a Google search on the Fort Gates Ferry. It has quite an interesting background and the following information was gleaned from some of the entries including an April 18, 2006, article by Gary White of the (Lakeland) Ledger.
As noted in my blog there are bridges across the St. Johns both north and south of the ferry. It's about 50 miles to the other side if you head north and about 70 using the southern crossing. It wasn't mentioned, but the ferry captain showed us eagles nesting in some trees in the distance.
The ferry, in service since 1856, takes its name from a Federal Army installation which was located nearby. In addition to the heat, humidity, sand, snakes, ants, mosquitos, poor food and domineering officers, the conscripts at the fort were to lend a hand in the Third Seminole War and needed a way to get across the river. There were no engines to help these guys.
Other highlights include the Confederate Army utilizing the ferry during the Civil War and, during the 1998 wildfires, the State took over the ferry to get fire fighters across the river.
For the mechanical-minded the present day ferry (according the Ledger article) contains some/most of a 1946 barge and parts from a 1918 Sharpie sailboat. It weights one-ton and is diesel powered. The combination makes an ugly looking ferry-tugboat combo which is perfectly suited to the job.
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