Zero Milestone of the Old Spanish Trail

Zero milestone of the Old Spanish Trail

Back in early March 2013, I embarked on a road trip where I visited some of the historic coastal cities of the Southeastern United States. Norfolk, Virginia, Charleston, South Carolina, Savannah, Georgia and St. Augustine, Florida were the cities that I had stopped in along my way down south. Upon arriving in the main historic district of St. Augustine, I had parked my car and started heading to the historic Castillo de San Marcos National Monument, which is the site of a historic fort that was originally constructed by the colonial era Spanish. During my walk to the fort, I had walked past an old stone sphere, just a few blocks north of the historic downtown area. Upon further investigation, I had found that it was the Zero Milestone of the Old Spanish Trail, which was a highway through the southern tier of states in the United States of America, stretching from St. Augustine all the way to San Diego, California.

The Old Spanish Trail was originally developed in 1915 as a touring route for automobiles through Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, Texas, New Mexico, Arizona and California. It has since been superseded nationally mostly by US 80, US 90 and US 290, and later, I-8 and I-10. However, there is still plenty to see and explore along the old road.

Sources and Links:
"Old Spanish Trail Zero Milestone" --- Atlas Obscura
"The Old Spanish Trail" --- Drive the Old Spanish Trail

Comments

Interstate 40's Tumultuous Ride Through the Pigeon River Gorge

In the nearly 60 years Interstate 40 has been open to traffic through the Pigeon River Gorge in the mountains of Western North Carolina, it has been troubled by frequent rockslides and damaging flooding, which has seen the over 30-mile stretch through North Carolina and Tennessee closed for months at a time. Most recently, excessive rainfall from Hurricane Helene in September 2024 saw sections of Interstate 40 wash away into a raging Pigeon River. While the physical troubles of Interstate 40 are well known, how I-40 came to be through the area is a tale of its own. Interstate 40 West through Haywood County near mile marker 10. I-40's route through the Pigeon River Gorge dates to local political squabbles in the 1940s and a state highway law written in 1921. A small note appeared in the July 28, 1945, Asheville Times. It read that the North Carolina State Highway Commission had authorized a feasibility study of a "...water-level road down [the] Pigeon River to the Tennessee l...

Massena Center Suspension Bridge

The Massena Center Bridge, also known as the Holton D. Robinson Bridge, has had quite the tumultuous history. Situated on the Grasse River just east of Massena, New York in the hamlet of Massena Center, the Massena Center Bridge is a reminder of the efforts the community has made in order to connect over the river. The first and only other known bridge to be built at Massena Center was built in 1832, but that bridge was never long for this world. During the spring of 1833, the Grasse River dammed itself due to an ice dam, flooded and lifted the bridge off its foundation, destroying the bridge in the process. The floods were frequent in the river during the spring, often backing up the river from Hogansburg and past Massena Center, but not to nearby Massena. After the first bridge disappeared, local residents had to resort to traveling seven miles west to Massena to cross the next closest bridge, and that was no easy task for a horse and buggy. However, it was many decades befo...

The Dead Man's Curve of Interstate 90 and Innerbelt Freeway in Cleveland

"Dead Man's Curve" refers to the transition ramp Interstate 90 takes between Cleveland Memorial Shoreway onto the Innerbelt Freeway in downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Said curve includes a sharp transition between the two freeways which is known for a high rate of accidents. Currently the curve (not officially named) has a 35 MPH advisory speed and numerous safety features intended to mitigate crashes. When the Interstate System was first conceived during 1956, Interstate 90 was intended to use the entirety Cleveland Memorial Shoreway and connect to the Northwest Freeway through Lakewood. The Innerbelt Freeway was initially planned as the northernmost segment of Interstate 71. The extension of Cleveland Memorial Shoreway west of Edgewater Park was never constructed which led to Interstate 90 being routed through the Innerbelt Freeway. Part 1; the history of Cleveland's Innerbelt Freeway and Deadman's Curve The Federal Aid Highway Act of 1956 was signe...

Gribblenation

Search This Blog