Osteen Bridge Turner

The Osteen Bridge crossed the St. Johns River on Highway 415 east of Sanford from 1926 to 1977, and its turning mechanism sat just below the floor, with a crank that made 47 turns to open or shut the turntable section. John Lankford and Eston Allen were the last two bridge tenders, and the bridge tender’s house stood on the Seminole County side of the bridge. Before the bridge was built, a ferry crossed the river, guided by a submerged fixed wire cable and propelled by ferry operators using hand-held poles grooved to slide and grip the cable when pulling pressure was applied. A motorized ferry briefly replaced the hand-operated unit before the Osteen Bridge opened in 1926.

Sanford, Florida · United States