The Search For Old King's Road: The First Route Into Florida

The Search for Old Kings Road

A first route into Florida

British engineers built it before the American Revolution. This remarkable road ran from the Florida border at the St. Mary’s river south to what would become the settlement of New Smyrna. It was intended to bring settlers into then almost unpopulated Florida.

From 1774 it became the main route into Florida. It existed right up into the 20th century.

Here were the battles, the famous men, refugees, the rich plantation economy, a huge slave revolt, and one of our country’s worst wars, one that lasted seven years. Florida’s Old King’s road was important in its rich early history. The early highway has vanished, its stories untold, it is blocked by new construction often now existing in name only.

This is William (Bill) Ryan’s search for the history of this old highway and some it’s stories. They resulted in four other books that tell of events along Old Kings, once called “An American Engineering Treasure.” Some small pieces of the original roadway still exist. They are vanishing unmarked into the Florida brush. By connection of the dots he found on old maps and early accounts a story evolves of this early American roadway along which much of Florida’s history occurred.

Author William P. (Bill) Ryan is a director of the Flagler County Historical Society. He retired to Florida from a career in high technology photographic equipment, was internet webmaster for Flagler County Public Library’s Florida memories group, and is a frequent speaker to Florida history groups. His first person writing style brings history alive.

Five Old Kings Road series books include:

• The Search for Old Kings Road
• I am Grey Eyes a story of old Florida
• Osceola His Capture and Seminole Legends
• Bulow Gold
• Florida’s Door to Time

In museums, book stores and Amazon.com

Comments by the author: The Old King's Road was built by the British prior to the American Revolution. It ran from Georgia to Florida's Atlantic Coast. This was the main entry into Florida from 1774 until 1914 when the railroads and highways began to appear. I began a simple little history called The Search for Old Kings Road. . My present four books are in the "Old Kings Road Series" of events along this historic roadway. "I am Grey Eyes" is the tale of a most unusual Indian entrepreneur who was a cattleman and was credited by the British Governor in helping to blaze the trail for The Kings Road. "Osceola His Capture and Seminole Legends" happens on a recently discovered location upon Old Kings just south of St. Augustine's Moultrie Creek. Here Seminole leader Osceola tells his story in his own words as he awaits the army on Old Kings. "Bulow Gold" takes you again on Old Kings to the rich, successful sugar plantation of the Bulow family. The story is again as accurate as I could make it with real people and events that did occur. Here is the story of a great dream, a lost diary that was located by a distant relative of Bulow's black slave housekeeper. As in all my books the characters and events are real. I call these books "researched historic fiction." I was not there in 1821. In all my books I try to connect to dots and present the most logical outcomes. Sometimes I come across a bit of history that no one knows. The Osceola capture site upon Old Kings Road had been rarely visited and was mostly forgotten. Thanks to the Osceola book there is now great public interest in it. History can be fun. I hope you enjoy my Florida history books. For you experts there are plenty of errors for I am not a professor. I enjoy finding new things and telling stories. I am a director of the Flagler County Historical Society. In prior life (before retirement to Palm Coast Florida) I was owner, CEO and operator of several companies in the high technology photographic equipment field. I hold the degree of Photographic Craftsmen in the Professional Photographers of America. I marketed an early color digital print system (before such existed!) and held several patents in my career.