King's Highway - Prince William County VA
N 38° 32.714 W 077° 20.532
18S E 295880 N 4268913
The first major wagon and stagecoach route that connected the first colonies of the New World together passed through Virginia.
Waymark Code: WM99JY
Location: Virginia, United States
Date Posted: 07/18/2010
Views: 4
The first intercolonial highway through America connected the colonies from Massachusetts to South Carolina during the 17th and 18th centuries. The King's Highway, named for King Charles II, started in Boston, MA which opened in 1673 and by 1735, it extended south to Charles Town, SC, opening communication between ten colonies. It was a major wagon, stagecoach, and postal route.
The section of the King's Highway that ran through Virginia was also known as the Potomac Path and much of it followed an old Indian road between the Rappahannock and Potomac Rivers. During the Revolutionary War, Gen. George Washington and Gen. Jean-Baptiste de Rochambeau used the Potomac Path to march to Yorktown where they won independence for America. Federal and Confederate armies also used the road during various campaigns of the Civil War.
Today, much of Rt. 1 and I-95 loosely follow the old Potomac Path or King's Highway through VA. A few portions of the old wagon road are preserved or commemorated including a section that ran through Prince William County marked by historical markers at the Marine Corps Heritage Center in Triangle. The posted GPS coordinates point to the Potomac Path marker. A nearby Road to Yorktown marker is found at:
- N 38° 32.779' W 077° 20.499'
. Both markers are a part of The King's Highway series.
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