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The list of Claude Varn’s accomplishments reads like an entry in “Who’s Who.“ First attorney in the town of Bunnell, co-founder of the Flagler County Abstract Co., one of the men responsible for bringing the first Ford dealership to Flagler County and president of the Bunnell State Bank, to name a few. But perhaps one of his greatest legacies is the bridge over Matanzas Inlet, opened in 1927, which, along with the Bridge of Lions in St. Augustine, literally paved the way for construction of Ocean Shore Boulevard through Flagler County. “In order to have the road in Flagler County, they had to have the bridge,” said Sisco Deen, archival curator for the Flagler County Historical Society. “He is the father of A1A, I think. If it wasn’t for him, there wouldn’t be an A1A.“ Varn’s daughter, Helen Varn Holton, remembers when there was no smooth, paved State Road A1A running alongside the Atlantic Ocean through Flagler County. “We had a lot of back roads, which were dirt or brick,” she said. For travelers to Florida from the north headed to Daytona Beach and points south, Old Dixie Highway had been the main route. But that road was several miles inland in places and the construction of A1A, also touted as “the American Riviera” according to a Feb. 26, 1925 article in The Flagler Tribune, offered the opportunity to cut 22 miles off the route. With the formation of the St. Johns County Bridge Co., of which Varn was president, the plan to build a bridge over the Matanzas Inlet took off. In late October 1925, construction began on the bridge. Varn’s company received the franchise to construct the bridge on Feb. 12, 1924. The bridge officially opened on March 20, 1927. At the annual meeting of the St. Johns County Bridge Co. in January 1928, Varn spoke enthusiastically of the project. “Great numbers of people who have traveled over our bridge and the Ocean Shore Boulevard have spoken of the wonderful views and scenery, stating that this is undoubtedly one of the most beautiful and picturesque drives in America,” he said, according to the meeting minutes. Holton said the bridge, originally a toll bridge, was used “quite a lot” until the building of U.S. 1 through Flagler County. Holton said she remembers the day in March 1964 when the bridge was renamed in her father’s honor. “I’m very proud,” she said. “They had a nice big ceremony for my father when it was dedicated to him in 1964.“ Holton said she recently found several historical photos of her father and the bridge project and asked Deen if he wanted them for the historical society’s archives. The county also named Varn Park at 3665 Oceanshore Blvd. in Flagler Beach for her father. Holton’s sister, Marilyn Varn King, said her father was an entrepreneur in every sense of the word. King said he was also a gentleman and well liked by everyone who knew him. “He always wore a hat and he always tipped his hat,” she said. Looking back at all of the endeavors her father was involved in, Holton said he was a real visionary. “He was way before his time,” she said.
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