The Oldest Road In America, The King’s Highway, Begins In South Carolina
Not many people realize the oldest road in America was created to connect Charleston and Boston by way of a 1,300-mile simple roadway closely following the coast in the American colonies. It was laid out and constructed between 1650 and 1735 and parts of it still exist today, at least in South Carolina. Other sections, particularly on the more northern end, have been incorporated into major highways.
Seen here in a Library of Congress image taken in 1865, the streets at Market and King are lined with cobblestones used as ballast on ships; the smooth crosswalks were laid with Welsh slate. Today, underneath layers of asphalt, most of those cobblestones are likely just as you see them here.
You can read about all seven of them in this article.
The colonial governors, on order from Charles the II of England, would eventually succeed in creating a successful highway that connected most of the colonies.
But it would appear that during his period of exile, the orders for building the road were still carried out in the colonies.
Of course, the surface is now paved and has been widened to accommodate more traffic and vehicles larger than a carriage or a horse, but it's believed that most of the South Carolina portion of the King's Highway is still in the same place as the original road.
And now you know why. The King's Highway still exists here in South Carolina, a noble reminder of the state's transportation history.
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Address: South Carolina, USA
