The Cattle Crossing, Lighthouse, Jungle Den and Old Ice House ~ St. Johns River, Astor, FL

The St Johns River and Lake George, Astor, FL

THE "CATTLE CROSSING" AND OLD LIGHTHOUSE / POST OFFICE

Located at the South end of Lake George, at the mouth of the St Johns River, is what we locals call the "Cattle Crossing". It's where the channel is located and was used by the Paddlewheel Boats of the late 1800s that brought goods to and from Central Florida. The old Tug Boats that brought oil to the DeBary Power Plant, before it was powered by natural gas, used it until the mid 1990s.

To the West of the Cattle Crossing is what's left of the old Post Office. It was also a lighthouse to show boaters the way to the channel.

THE OLD ICE HOUSE, FISH CAMP AND DANCE HALL

This is the old Fish House in Astor, FL. It's where the Crabbers and Fishermen brought their fresh catches of the day to be iced down and shipped back out by boat. We think it was possibly built in the 1930's or 40's. It was also called the Astor Ice House, Fish Camp and Dance Hall.

December 1949 

August 9th, 2020

July 30, 2022

September 5, 2022

 September 5, 2022, it's starting to look a bit rough.

JUNGLE DEN 

This is Jungle Den in Astor, FL. It had a thriving restaurant until 2004 when Hurricanes Charlie, Francis, Ivan and Jeanne hit. The St Johns River flooded into the restaurant and it never reopened. The hotel and boat ramp continued to be used for several years after that though.

August 9, 2020

April 2021

July 30, 2022 and all that is left are the trees!