Skip to main content

Florida Friday; Cedar Key and the end of Florida State Road 24

By
Back in 2014 I took Florida State Route 24 to it's western terminus on the Gulf of Mexico at Cedar Key located in Levy County.






From Otter Creek at US 19/98 it is an approximately 21 mile drive west to the terminus of FL 24 at Cedar Key.





FL 24 has an unsigned terminus at D Street and 2nd Street.  The real only indication that FL 24 has ended is the quality of the asphalt drops considerably suddenly as maintenance drops from FDOT to the City of Cedar Key.  The terminus of FL 24 is easily located however since the Cedar Key Historical Museum is next to it.





There is also a local street sign displaying FL 24 at 2nd Street and D Street.  There is also an older FDOT Wayside sign still in use despite being heavily weathered.





The really interesting part of Cedar Key is along Dock Street.  Dock Street overlooks the original Cedar Key settlement on Atsena Otie Key and becomes very apparent that it was once end of the Florida Railroad.










The town site of Cedar Key dates back to 1839 when a Army Hospital was established on Astena Otie Key during the Second Seminole War.  Originally Astena Otie Key was known as Depot Key when it was inhabited by the Army.  Astena Otie Key was abandoned following a hurricane in 1842 but the community was resettled on Way Key and Scale Key in 1843.  Despite being known as "Cedar Key" as early as 1845 by the Post Office the City of Atsena Otie was chartered in 1859.

Cedar Key was the ultimate terminus of the Florida Railroad which was completed by 1861.  The Florida Railroad crossed the state westward from Fernandina Beach to Cedar Key and occupied much of what is now FL 24.  The Florida Railroad was used to serve Confederate Forces during the Civil War until it was captured by the Union in 1864.  In 1865 a large sawmill was constructed in Cedar Key which used the Florida Railroad to ship the lumber.  

After the heyday of the Florida Railroad Cedar Key was struck by Category 3 Hurricane in 1896.  The 1896 Hurricane destroyed much of what remained on Atsena Otie Key from the original settlement.  A small cemetery is all that really remains on Atsena Otie Key in modern times.

Cedar Key has a surprising amount of intact older structures, most are located along 2nd Street.









Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

2018 Mojave Road Trip Part 2; The deadly desert highway (California State Route 127 and Nevada State Route 373)

By
After leaving Barstow via Old Highway 58 my next destination was in Death Valley.  To access Death Valley from rural San Bernardino County required a trek on north on Interstate 15 to California State Route 127 which becomes Nevada State Route 373 at the state line. Along I-15 I encountered the road sign oddity that is Zzyzx Road about eight miles south of Baker.   Zzyzx Road is a four mile road that used to go to the Zzyzx Mineral Springs and Health Spa.   The spa was founded in the 1940s and the owner made up the name "Zzyzx" to claim it was the last word in the English Language.  The spa has been shut down since the 1970s and is now part of a Desert Studies Center for California State University. The southern terminus of CA 127 in Baker is located at I-15 exit 246.  CA 127 is a 91 mile north/south highway which runs to the Nevada State Line in Inyo County.  CA 127 is called Death Valley Road from I-15 northward.  South of CA 127 ...
4 comments
Read more

Finding the Pre-Emption Road of New York State

By
  The Pre-Emption Road (or rather a series of roads named Pre-Emption Road) follows a survey line called the Pre-Emption Line, drawn in the early days of the United States. The story begins with Massachusetts and New York having competing land claims to modern day Western New York State that have their roots in colonial charters granted by the British. After the Revolutionary War ended, this land became the frontier of the nation and its settlement became a priority for the new American government. During this era, there were a lot of competing land claims that needed to be settled. It was no different with the land claims between New York State and Massachusetts. On November 30, 1786, Massachusetts and New York sent representatives to Hartford, Connecticut to resolve their competing land claims. In less than three weeks, the representatives had reached a compromise. Massachusetts would receive pre-emption rights, meaning the right to sell the land after the Indian title ...
Post a Comment
Read more

What's In a Name?: When the Roads Really Do Tell a Story

By
  Our tagline on the Gribblenation blog is "because every road tells a story". Some roads tell different stories than others. Along our travels, we may see historic markers that tell us a little story about the roads we travel or the places we pass by. Some historic markers are more general, as to telling us who lived where or what old trail traversed between two towns. During my travels across New York State and other states or provinces, I pass by many historic markers, some with interesting or amusing references to roads. I wanted to highlight a few of the markers I've seen along my travels around the Empire State and help tell their stories. Those stories may be as specific as explaining the tales of a tree that was used to help measure a distance of eight miles from Bath to Avoca in Steuben County, as referenced on the Eight Mile Tree historical marker above. They may also help point the way along historical roads first used centuries ago, or may help tell a local l...
Post a Comment
Read more