Going down an Old Town Road does not necessarily mean meeting Lil Nas X, and Billy Ray Cyrus somewhere on that journey. But it does entail a long stretch of highway that stretches 1300 miles from Charleston to Boston. Old King's Highway was built circa 1650, well before the United States became a country. King's Highway is the oldest road in the continental United States.
Though much of King's Highway has been covered over, there are still some worthy sites to visit for those that want to experience a slice of Americana.
Firstly, the Pennsylvania part of King's Highway houses The Frankford Avenue Bridge/Pennypack Creek Bridge which was built circa 1697. It was originally ordered by William Penn, and meant to connect his home to the city of Philadelphia.
Pennypack Bridge-King's Highway
Also, George Washington traveled through on his way to his presidential inauguration in New York. Which probably would not have happened, if the Continental Army had lost to the Brits.
Lydia Darragh is credited with letting George know the Redcoats were coming. The British Army had forced their way into her Philadelphia home, and as folklore states, she went into town to get flour, and was able to pass on the information to General Washington.
Additionally, the road was instrumental to the south’s commerce as the region sold agrarian products to the northeast. It was also the primary means of mail delivery. There are many neat stories about King's Highway, if you’d like to dig deeper watch the documentary on YouTube.
King 's Highway is an important part of Americana, and our nation’s history, and its folklore will probably outlive anything currently on the Billboard charts... "Can't nobody tell me nothing.."
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