Page 135 - lake-city-florida-a-sesquicentennial-tribute-(h-morris-williams-kevin-mccarthy)-2009

Lake City, Florida: A Sesquicentennial Tribute (2009) H. Morris Williams, Dr. Kevin M. McCarthy

Chapter Twelve: 1920 - 1929

Local roads

In 1923, State Road 1, the first paved state road in the state,
was opened and allowed automobiles, more and more of which were
appearing in Lake City, to make the trip to Jacksonville in relative

ease.

The first paved streets in Lake City, according to long-time
resident James Keaton, were DeSoto, Marion, Duval, and Railroad
- all done in 1925. Three of those streets (DeSoto, Marion, and Duval)
represent an onomastic trait of the day: naming streets after Florida
counties.

Lake City Tombs

A local legend dating
back to the 1920s tells about a
man drilling for oil just south of
Lake City and accidentally
finding the petrified remains of
prehistoric men, women, and
children 65 feet under the

ground. Local people came to
call this site “The Lake City
Tombs.” The man’s name was
Edmund Du Mazuel, and the
location of his dig was just north
of the S & S store on US 41/
441 South near Columbia High
School. A book, pictured to the
left- with arrows pointing to the
Lake City, Florida, 1927 source, supposedly presents evidence about
the people.

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