Rural Missouri - September 2023 - 32

COURTHOUSE
Cruise
Jack Snelling drove 4,347 Missouri miles
to see all 115 courthouses in 10 days
by Sara Schafer | sschafer@ruralmissouri.coop
I
n May, Jack Snelling hit two milestones. First, he graduated
from the University of Missouri with a bachelor's
degree of music in composition. Second, he completed
an epic road trip that combined his love of history,
geography and the open highway.
" Ever since I was a kid, I've always loved roads, highways
and maps, " says Jack, who grew up in St. Louis
suburb Webster Groves and has spent the past fi ve years
in Columbia. " As a kid, I would spend hours on my mom's
computer on Google Maps, just looking at different places
and imagining what the roads were like. "
At 16, armed with a hand-me-down car from his father,
Jack began exploring the St. Louis area. He quickly
became a wanderer, always opting for the road less taken.
Once a Mizzou Tiger, Jack challenged himself to avoid
Interstate 70 and fi nd scenic routes on his trips between
St. Louis and Columbia.
While music was his focus at Mizzou, Jack also earned
a minor in geography. " I became really interested in the
historical highway system, " he says. " I made a class project
out of fi guring out where all those old highways went. "
Through this research, Jack learned the original purpose
of the Missouri highway system was to connect the
county seats. Essentially every county seat is about 30
minutes away from another county seat and so on. The
calculations began for Jack: 114 counties + one historic
courthouse in St. Louis = 115 county seat courthouses
that are about 30 minutes apart. If he drove for 6 hours,
he could visit nearly 12 of these notable buildings each
day. In 10 days, he could check them all off his list. Who's
ready for a road trip?
Of course, Jack wanted to use the original road system
for his travels. That may seem as easy as plotting a
32 RURAL MISSOURI | SEPTEMBER 2023
route on Google Maps or pulling out an atlas. Not so. The
1920s-era historical highway system in Missouri predated
the federal highway system. Roads have been replaced and
renamed. So, Jack went about recreating the original 1922
Missouri highway map.
" I was able to fi nd some maps and records of the actual
laws or plans that were passed for roads, " he says. " So, I
was able to go through all that information to see where
the roads were. For example, if you see a road called Old
State Road, chances are that's the original. Also, if you're
on a random road that has a suspicious number of old tire
and auto repair places, that's a good indicator you're on an
original highway. "
Once his map was complete, Jack decided the most effi -
cient path would be to start in St. Louis and spiral around
the outside of the state to eventually end in Columbia (see
map). Plan in hand, Jack hit the road. At each stop, he'd
admire the courthouse and town square and snap a selfi e.
Then it was back on the road.
" The scenic route takes you through the middle of every
town, so I really did get a chance to experience the town,
even if I didn't stay long, " Jack says. " I made a conscious
choice at the very beginning to be OK with delays and not
being as effi cient as possible. I wanted to appreciate the
drive and the places I saw. "
Each of the 115 courthouses Jack visited were unique,
but he was surprised by how similar the town squares
were in each city. " All of them virtually look the same
across the entire state, and they have the same kind of
businesses - there's nearly an H&R Block in every single
county seat, usually right by the courthouse, " he says.
After traveling 4,347 miles in 10 days, Jack can now
confi dently debunk the " if you've seen one, you've seen
them all " saying - at least where Missouri county courthouses
are involved.
Rural Missouri - September 2023

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