U.S. Route 1-A History Lesson
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The south end of the longest north-south highway in the United States, US Route 1, is in Key West Florida. It runs 2,369 miles north and stops in the town of Fort Kent, Maine, just south of the Canadian border. Originally, the route ended as far south as Miami, but after the Overseas Railroad was damaged by the Labor Day Hurricane of 1935, the railroad track was converted to a motor vehicle highway extending Route 1 about 100 miles through the Florida keys stopping in Key West.
Laid along what was at one time known as the Atlantic Highway, the route passes through many major cities along the east coast– Miami, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Philadelphia, New York City and Boston. The Atlantic Highway fell along the Fall Line from New Jersey to Georgia. The fall line is the point at which water falls from upland rivers and reaches to the coastal plains. Colonial settlements which developed into major U.S. cities were situated at the most inland point at which colonists could arrive by boat.
Traveling through Route 1 can provide a lesson in history as it passes through nearly all of the Revolutionary battlefields and many of the battlefields of the Civil war. It also runs through Philadelphia, Baltimore and New York City, all of which were at one time the Capital of the United States, until Washington, D.C. became the chosen Capital in 1800.
So, why the history lesson today? We found Mile Marker 0 of U.S. Route 1 quite by accident as we were parking in Key West this week and this sparked my interest.
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| Joe & Suzy came for a visit |
I found these pictures below on the internet and had to share them.
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| Photo from the Northern Door Inn |
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| Photo from the Northern Door Inn |
Seems there might be a little competition going on between Key West and Fort Kent as to where U.S. Route NO. 1 begins or ends…
Joy