Inscription: (On plaque on sculpture, raised:) (Seal)/OLD/SPANISH TRAIL/ZERO MILESTONE/(...transcription illegible)
Description: A large sphere with an inscribed plaque on it, in a planted setting.
Remarks: This sculpture marking the beginning of the Old Spanish Trail, was installed in recognition of the early Spanish explorers, missionaries and colonists who moved westward between the 16th and 18th centuries. St. Augustine was at the eastern beginning of their trail and San Diego was at the western end. In 1923 a similar marker was dedicated in San Antonio to mark the half-way point of the trail and in 1924 another marker was dedicated in San Diego to mark the end. The St. Augustine Zero Milestone was erected by The Exchange Club.
The idea for highlighting the Old Spanish Trail began in 1915, in Mobile, Alabama when a group of businessmen decided to promote a new highway that would link New Orleans with Florida's west coast. When other cities along the trail asked to join the project, it was decided to highlight the entire east-west route of Spanish explorers. In 1962 road construction plans along St. Augustine's bayfront made it necessary for the sculpture to be moved to its present location. For related information about the dedication, see: The St. Augustine Evening Record, April 2, 1929. IAS files contain a related article from the St. Augustine Record, March 13, 1994, pg. 1A-2A.
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Old Spanish Trail (auto trail) - From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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The Old Spanish Trail auto highway (the OST) once spanned the country with a full 3,000 miles (4,800 km) of roadway from ocean to ocean crossing 67 counties and eight states along the Southern border of the United States. Work on the auto highway began in 1915 and, by the 1920s, the trail linked St. Augustine, Florida, to San Diego, California, with its center and headquarters in San Antonio, Texas. The cities in between boasted a shared heritage of Spanish missions, forts and Spanish colonization.
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A history of the route can be found here (http://www.drivetheost.com/history.html)