Sometime in the early 20th century or late 19th century, Carmi went from dirt street to brick. Brick streets provide more of a visceral experience than asphalt – there’s not only the look, but the sound and the slightly jittery feeling as your tires move over the brick. Asphalt is of course, easier and cheaper to maintain however, and at some point our city fathers decided that maintaining the bricks was no longer worth the cost.
They’re still under there however, along with the brick sidewalks if a person wants to dig around in their yard. Occasionally when the streets crack and chunks of asphalt break away, the old brick streets shine through. As far as I’m aware, this is the last bit of brick street still above ground in Carmi. Can you guess where it is?
