Background Information
The Old Florida Heritage Highway was designated as a Florida Scenic Highway by the Florida Department of Transportation in 2001. “These new additions to the Florida Scenic Highway family contain historic, cultural, archaeological, recreational, natural and scenic qualities that are of great value to the state of Florida,” said FDOT Secretary Tom Barry in a 2001 press release.
Corridor Solutions has been working with Sustainable Alachua County, Inc. and the Town of Micanopy Design and Guidelines Committee for a couple of years to help preserve the historic road and spark interest from the local communities. Together they created a plan called the Corridor Management Plan that would preserve the road by linking the road and the people who use it. With the help of Corridor Solutions, the Old Florida Heritage Highway made steps toward becoming what it is today.
One of the major reasons why the historic road landed in Florida’s program of scenic highways is because of the road’s rich history. The 45 mile stretch of asphalt has three main attractions: the historic downtown Micanopy, Fla., Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park and the University of Florida’s Lake Wauburg.
The city of Micanopy is known as the oldest inland town in Florida. The town was established in 1821, but its history dates even farther back to 1774, when explorer William Bartram discovered a Seminole village called Cuscowilla at the present Micanopy location. The present day Micanopy is occupied with dozens of historic buildings that bring in a number of visitors each year.
The Paynes Prairie Preserve State Park is located on the north end of the Old Florida Heritage Highway. According to the Prairie Friends Web site, the park is home to a wide variety of wildlife including: bison, cracker horses and cattle, alligators, sandhill cranes and over 270 bird species. Paynes Prairie was the first preserve in the Florida Park System in 1971, and was nominated to the National Register of Natural Landmarks in 1974.
The University of Florida’s Lake Wauburg is located along the center of the historic highway. Lake Wauburg offers many recreational opportunities to University of Florida students and facility. The UF Recreational Sports Web site lists several outdoor activities including boating, volleyball, a ropes course, a climbing wall and an 18-hole “frolf” (Frisbee Golf) course.
The history of U.S. 441 dates back to the beginning of automobile travel in America. In 1925 the highway originally traveled from Orlando to Ocala, but today the highway stretches from Miami to Lake City, Tenn. The 45 mile section of the road that is considered the Old Florida Heritage Highway is maintained by the Florida Department of Transportation. The road’s loops and spurs that branch off of the highway are all maintained by Alachua County. Before the construction of Interstate 75, the original U.S. 441 was the main traveling route in north central Florida.
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