Rusted and Broken

In my quest to rediscover Florida I've come across some interesting finds. At the top of that list is ghost towns. Now, I'm not talking about Wild West-era saloons and banks. No, most of these communities were old plantations and factories long lost to the wet, humid Florida climate.

This weekend I visited Bean City and Byant. Both towns are located in Central Florida near Clewiston. There wasn't much to see at Bean City. Only two houses remained on what looked like private farmland. The houses there are circa 1930s, one still looks to be inhabited while the other has been abandoned for years. Here's a shot of the abandoned shack:



The real prize for the weekend was waiting in Byant. It was newer, but still made for some great pictures. I'm talking about the old U.S. Sugar factory that now serves as a parking lot for oversized John Deere tractors. Lucky for me someone left the gate unlocked. I was able to sneak in and take a closer look at the factory. Built in 1972, the site was recently abandoned in 2007.





Here are some pictures from outside:







And lets not forget all the pictures I took on and off US-27 on my way to the sites:









All-in-all a great weekend. I think I'm going to continue on this ghost town kick. There's still a few more to visit in South and Central Florida. After that, I'm going to have to travel North to Jacksonville where many of the other sites are located.