10/30/2023
A great historical post from the wonderful Boca Raton Historical Society in their
Tales from the Archives:
Street Names
By Susan Gillis, Curator
Palmetto Park Road (see below ) looking east towards what is now Federal ca. late 1910s
Clint Moore Road
Clint Moore is one of the true heroes of Boca Raton’s history. He came to Florida with his family to build roads in 1925 at the height of the Boom. He paved most of the roads in the young town, but due to the Depression, which began here in 1926, didn’t get paid the amount due him. Moore returned to his original occupation, farming, and eventually he owned 4500 acres adjacent to Delray and was the major vegetable grower in the area, and in the 1930s, the largest employer. He also eradicated the pesky sandfly (no-see-ums) as a pest in the area through the dredging and drainage of the area. In 1945, the county officially named Clint Moore Road in his honor, at the time a wide dirt path, because of the sandfly solution. Mr. Moore died in 1947.
Palmetto Park Road
Named for the Palmetto Park Plantation, the home of Harley and Harriette Gates which stood on the west bank of the Intracoastal on the north side of the PPK bridge, built about 1914. (Now known as Wildflower Park.)
Yamato Road (pronounced YAM-a –TO)
Yamato was the name of the colony of Japanese settlers founded ca. 1905 who lived just west of Dixie Highway and either side of today’s Yamato Road. It was really a separate town from Boca Raton and consisted of Japanese, Japanese-American, white and black settlers—as many as 50 people-- at its peak in the 1920s
Crawford Blvd
Was named for Lt. Saxton Crawford who served at the Boca Raton Army Air Field during WW II and was later a resident who assisted the scouts in building the scout hut which still stands near city hall. Street named in his honor when he was killed ejecting from a plane while in the reserves in the 40s or 50s.
Military Trail
Is named for the route (approximate route) –probably an old Indian trail—taken by Major William Lauderdale and his troops from Fort Jupiter to establish Fort Lauderdale in 1838.
Federal Highway (aka U.S. One aka State Road 5)
Originally named the King’s Highway by developer Addison Mizner, South Floridians refer to U.S. One as Federal Highway because it was completed with Federal aid and was called the Federal Aid Highway. Construction on Federal began in 1927 in the Boca Raton area.
Dixie Highway
Was the original interstate for Floridians. It was completed in 1915 as a crushed rock and shell road and connected Miami to Sault St Marie Michigan. It was actually a network of existing roads and constructed roads (like ours) and had an eastern and western route. The latter connected Miami via Naples and Orlando all the way to Chicago. It serves as the north south axis for our street numbering system as it does in many of the east coast towns of South Florida (Pompano for instance).
Glades Road
Was a minor road on the Boca Raton Army Air Field base and extended from the current airport to Dixie Highway. The origin of its name is pretty self evident. It only became really important when it was extended to Federal and became the main entrance for FAU ca. 1980.
Butts Road
Is named for August H Butts, a major bean farm owner from the 1930s to 1950s. The Butts owned much of what is “West Boca” including Town Center Mall and Boca West.
Mizner Boulevard (etc etc)
Named for famous 1920s Palm Beach architect Addison Mizner who came to the small farming town of Boca Ratone in the 1920s to establish “the world’s most beautiful resort.” Mizner was only here two years but really put little Boca Raton on the map. That is why we still name everything after him.
Camino Real
Was Addison Mizner’s planned major east-west route through the Boca Raton development. The Royal Road was named after the old mission road in California and was also the name of the colonial road between Pensacola and St. Augustine.
