Florida is known nationally and internationally for many features and locations. Beaches, big cities, theme parks, military bases, specialty agriculture and many more facets make up the Sunshine State.
As such, these all require an effective transportation system so workers, customers and visitors can reach their desired location. Today, in the first half of the 21st century, paved corridors thread across the state, weaving a network of heavily used byways for commercial and personal vehicles.
Step back a century and travelling on roads was very different. Many vehicle passengers in 2022 would be frustrated to the point of hysteria by the lack of smooth, level pavement so common today.
The distinctive red bricks form a stable and distinctive appearance. Laying the thousands required for the first six-mile stretch took two years.
Most roads were unpaved and plagued by ruts and mud holes. While the American automotive industry was moving into its second decade, cars were relatively rare, with many residents still using horse or mule drawn conveyances.
An early attempt at “civilizing” panhandle Florida’s roadways was undertaken in Santa Rosa County with State Road 1. Construction began in 1919 with the first section of this red brick road, it being completed in 1921.
The initial section was six miles long. It was also about nine feet wide and very suitable for one-way traffic of the day, be it horse and wagon or an automobile. It was widened in 1926 to more easily accommodate two-way traffic.
First completed in 1921, State Road 1 was widened in 1926 to better accommodate two-way traffic. It would be renamed to U.S. Highway 90 in 1929.
Even Ford’s Model T, the economy car of the day, was 66 inches wide, and one would risk being stuck in the red clay mud on rainy days if a traveler from the opposite direction was encountered. Legend has it that drivers meeting head on would flip a coin to see who would proceed on the hardtop and who would edge into the mud with their narrow tires.
With an expanding road system and automotive innovations, the road was renamed U.S. Highway 90 in 1929. In 1955, during the Eisenhower Administration’s highway infrastructure program, the present-day asphalt road was place parallel to the aging brick roadbed.
Today the centenarian roadway is used by hikers and bicyclist who want to avoid the speeding traffic a few yards away. No doubt the slower pace of travel is enjoyed, at least until the 21st century returns with a cellphone call.
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