The City of Dayton is proud to be an official Old Spanish Trail City. To commemorate the project, the City of Dayton is planning a motorcade of antique and classic vehicles on Saturday, Nov. 7.
Military veterans will be the honored guests in this special parade that will begin at the Dayton Community Center, 801 S. Cleveland St., Dayton, at 10 a.m., travel to the Liberty County Courthouse, and then return to the community center where the vehicles will be on display. Food trucks and music will make it a family-friendly event.
Anyone with a pre-1985 antique, classic or muscle car that wants to attend is welcome. Each entrant will be asked to chauffeur a veteran along the parade route. There will be a 100-car and veteran limit, so early registration is encouraged. Entrants should arrive by 9:30 a.m. in order to get lined up in the motorcade and matched with a veteran.
Free T-shirts will be given to veterans and drivers who register by going online to https://daytontx.org/community/play/official_old_spanish_trail_city.php. Registration is free.
For more information on the motorcade, contact Tom Capps at cappst_66@yahoo.com or call 713-205-6107, call the City at 936-258-6630 or send email to communitycenter@daytontx.org.
About the Old Spanish Trail City Program
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The centennial celebration, which began in 2015, will last until 2029 and commemorates the construction of the first paved automobile highway connecting the nations’ southern states from San Augustine, Florida to San Diego, California.
Planning meetings for this monumental highway project began in 1915 with its construction taking place during the 1920s and its completion in 1929. In April 1929, the first motorcade ran from San Diego to St. Augustine and in October 1929, a return motorcade ran from St. Augustine back to San Diego.
Construction began on Dayton’s portion of the OST Highway in 1923 with horses hitched to graders that were used to level the ground. Dayton’s portion was finished in April 1927. The Old Spanish Trail was officially designated State Highway 3 and changed to US. Highway 90 between 1931 and 1940.
