Florida State Road 50 - History

History

Prior to the 1945 renumbering, the route that became SR 50 had the following numbers:

• SR 15 from Weeki Wachee to Brooksville
• SR 34 from Brooksville to Rolling Acres
• SR 51 from Brooksville to Tildenville
• SR 210 from east of Ridge Manor to east of Mabel
• SR 22 from east of Mabel to Tildenville
• SR 2 from Mascotte to Groveland
• SR 208 from Tildenville south 1/4 mile
• SR 434 from south of Tildenville to Minorville
• SR 22 from Minorville to Indian River City
• SR 51 from Minorville to Orlando
• SR 322 from near Gotha to Orlando

SR 50 was defined in the 1945 renumbering as:

• From Weekiwachee Springs on SR 55 Northeasterly via Wiscon and Spring Hill to a junction with SR 45 in Brooksville and East along SR 45 to intersection with Main St. then South on Main St. to a point near the South City Limits of Brooksville. Then East and Southeasterly via Rita to Richloam thence Northeasterly via Riverland - Tarrytown and Mable to a junction with SR 33 in Mascotte and along SR 33 to intersection with SR 459 at Groveland. Thence in an Easterly direction via Minneola - Oakland - Minorville and Orlovista to a junction with SR 500 in Orlando and North along SR 500 to Colonial Drive then East along Colonial Drive and Easterly via Bithlo - Ft. Christmas to junction with SR 5 at Indian River City in Brevard County.
• Also from intersection of SR 50 and Massachusetts St. in Mascotte North along Massachusetts St. to intersection with SR 33.

Since then, the following changes have been made:

• SR 50 was extended west from its west end to Bayport, on the Gulf of Mexico. Later it was given back to Hernando County as CR 50 (now CR 550).
• A new alignment for SR 50 was built east of Brooksville, removing the section on Main Street (which may have become SR 581) and a part east of Main Street.
• Later, SR 50 was realigned around Brooksville, and the old road through downtown became SR 50A.
• Near the Withlacoochee River a higher four-lane bridge was built on a short realigned section. The old road, which only exists on the east side of the river is now called Paul N. Steckle Lane, and can be found behind a Hernando County Firehouse.
• Three dirt roads inside Withlacoochee State Forest were once part of SR 50. They include Richloam-Clay Sink Road, Riverland Road, and Ham Road.
• The spur in Mascotte is no longer state-maintained.
• A whole new alignment was built from east of Groveland to south of Tildenville, via Clermont. The old road became, in order from west to east, SR 565A (now CR 565A), SR 561A (now CR 561), SR 561 (now partly abandoned and partly maintained by Clermont), an unknown number (now CR Old 50), and SR 438 (now CR 438). The short north–south connector at Tildenville became an extension of SR 545 (now CR 545).
• A whole new alignment was built from Minorville to west of downtown Orlando. The old road became an extension of SR 526 (now CR 526), and the concurrency with SR 500/SR 600 was removed.
• Several minor realignments were built in 1948 (at least the eastern two) at SR 436 and west of and at Bithlo. The old roads are now Old Cheney Highway.