Old Plank Road, Tallahassee to Newport, FL
Posted by: 
doughert0
N 30° 17.204 W 084° 09.551
16R E 773254 N 3353976
A plank road built in 1851 from then bustling Newport to Tallahassee, and still in use, paved part way and all weather crushed rock part way.
Waymark Code: WMBBE
Location: Florida, United States
Date Posted: 04/26/2006
Views: 114
The Old Plank Road
From Leon County near Tallahassee to Newport on U.S. 98 in Wakulla County
Begun in 1851 to provide a route from a bustling Newport to Thomasville Georgia, this road, still called Plank Road, was only completed to Leon County about 6 miles east of Tallahassee, where it intersected with the St. Augustine Road. It is about 14 miles long, and roughly parallels the St. Marks river. It passes close by many natural springs and sinkholes, including the Civil War battle site of Natural Bridge, where the St. Marks briefly passes underground.
During the latter half of the 19th century, and into the first decades of the 20th, the road was used to carry tourists from Tallahassee to the villages Newport and St. Marks, where they could enjoy natural springs and decent hotel accommodations. The route itself, however, was anything but enjoyable. Travelers were seated on hard benches in wooden wheeled carriages pulled by one or two mules. Traffic was one way, so when two mule carriages met, one had to be lifted off the planks onto the sandy terrain to allow the other to pass by.
The road still exists. It is paved for about 8 miles, and the last six is all weather graded road. For most of its length, it passes through true wilderness, with few human structures. The ecology varies from cypress swamp to hardwood hammock to pine sand flatwoods, and abounds in wildlife.
Type: Plank Road
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