Secondary Coast Road

From FamilySearch Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search
Secondary Coast Road.png


The Secondary Coast Road was a roughly parallel alternate to the King's Highway. As that highway became more popular, rival neighboring towns recognized its value and convenience. They began to compete for traffic by offering better accommodations, services, and attractions. In some places they could shave a few miles or a few minutes off the travel time compared to the original route. From Virginia to South Carolina this alternate to the King's Highway became known as the Secondary Coast Road. The Secondary Coast Road was probably opened to European settlers in the 1730s or 1740s. It began in Petersburg (Independent City), Virginia Genealogy and ended at Charleston County, South Carolina Genealogy. The length of the road was about 475 miles (764 km).[1] The alternate routes to the King's Highway in the north apparently did not carry the name "Secondary Coast Road" in places north of Petersburg, Virginia.

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Route[edit | edit source]

The first European colonists settled in counties along this trail (north to south) as follows:[2]

Connecting trails. The Secondary Coast Road linked to other trails at each end. Other trails also branched off it in the middle.[3]

The migration routes connected at the north end in Petersburg (Independent City), Virginia Genealogy included:

The migration pathways connected at the south end in Charleston, South Carolina included:

Between those two ends the Secondary Coast Road also had junctions with three other important migration routes:

Modern parallels. U.S. Route 17 and any alternates roughly match the routes of the King's Highway and old Secondary Coast Road from Petersburg, Virginia to Charleston, South Carolina.

Settlers and Records[edit | edit source]

The first colonists in each county along what became the Secondary Coast Road arrived before the trail existed, usually by way of the Atlantic Ocean, or the King's Highway. Nevertheless, some of the new arrivals and settlers after the late 1730s may have used the Secondary Coast Road.

No complete list of settlers who used the Secondary Coast Road is known to exist. Nevertheless, local and county histories along that trail may reveal pioneer settlers who arrived after the late 1730s and who were candidates to have traveled the Secondary Coast Road from the Charleston, or the Savannah areas.

For partial lists of early settlers who may  have used the Secondary Coast Road, see histories like:

in Beaufort County, NC:

in Brunswick County, NC:

in Charleston County, SC:

  • Thomas Petigru Lesesne, History of Charleston County, South Carolina: Narrative and Biographical (Charleston, S.C.: A.H. Cawston, c1931) (FHL Book 975.7915 D3L) WorldCat entry.

External Links[edit | edit source]

Sources[edit | edit source]

  1. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 853. (FHL Book 973 D27e 2002). WorldCat entry.
  2. ↑ North Carolina - The Counties, http://www.carolana.com/NC/Counties/nc_counties_alphabetical_order.html (accessed 15 April 2011), and South Carolina - The Counties, http://www.carolana.com/SC/Counties/sc_counties_alphabetical_order.html (accessed 15 April 2011).
  3. ↑ Handybook for Genealogists: United States of America, 10th ed. (Draper, Utah: Everton Pub., 2002), 847-61. (FHL Book 973 D27e 2002) WorldCat entry., and William E. Myer, Indian Trails of the Southeast. (Nashville, Tenn.: Blue and Gray Press, 1971), 12-14, and the book's pocket map "The Trail System of the Southeastern United States in the early Colonial Period" (1923). (FHL Book 970.1 M992i) WorldCat entry.
  4. ↑ "South Carolina Counties and Parishes - 1740" in The Royal Colony of South Carolina at http://www.carolana.com/SC/Royal_Colony/sc_royal_colony_counties_parishes_1740.html (accessed 22 April 2011).
v • d • e
Links to North Carolina-related articles
Topics
Counties
Alamance · Alexander · Alleghany · Anson · Ashe · Avery · Beaufort · Bertie · Bladen · Brunswick · Buncombe · Burke · Cabarrus · Caldwell · Camden · Carteret · Caswell · Catawba · Chatham · Cherokee · Chowan · Clay · Cleveland · Columbus · Craven · Cumberland · Currituck · Dare · Davidson · Davie · Duplin · Durham · Edgecombe · Forsyth · Franklin · Gaston · Gates · Graham · Granville · Greene · Guilford · Halifax · Harnett · Haywood · Henderson · Hertford · Hoke · Hyde · Iredell · Jackson · Johnston · Jones · Lee · Lenoir · Lincoln · Macon · Madison · Martin · McDowell · Mecklenburg · Mitchell · Montgomery · Moore · Nash · New Hanover · Northampton · Onslow · Orange · Pamlico · Pasquotank · Pender · Perquimans · Person · Pitt · Polk · Randolph · Richmond · Robeson · Rockingham · Rowan · Rutherford · Sampson · Scotland · Stanly · Stokes · Surry · Swain · Transylvania · Tyrrell · Union · Vance · Wake · Warren · Washington · Watauga · Wayne · Wilkes · Wilson · Yadkin · Yancey
Counties gone
to TN or VA
Extinct or
Renamed
Counties
Major
 Repositories
Library of Congress · National Archives at Atlanta · North Carolina State Archives · State Library of North Carolina · Duke University Perkins Library · Genealogical Society of Old Tyron County · McEachern Library of Local History · Olivia Raney Local History Library · Public Library of Charlotte and Mecklenburg County · Rowan Public Library · University of North Carolina Chapel Hill Libraries · Bristol Public Library · Chattanooga Public Library Downtown · Knox County Public Library · Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown
Migration
Routes
v • d • e
Links to South Carolina-related articles
Topics
Counties
Extinct
Counties
Overarching
Districts
Districts
that became
Counties
1800–1868
Colonial
Parishes
Colonial
Townships
Major
Repositories
South Carolina Dept. of Archives and History · South Carolina State Library · South Carolina Historical Society · Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina Archives · Camden Archives and Museum · Charleston County Public Library · Charleston Library Society · Darlington County Historical Commission · Greenville County Library System Hughes Main Library · Orangeburg County Historical Society Library · South Carolina Genealogical Society · South Caroliniana Library · Sumter County Genealogical Center · Dallas Public Central Library · Chattanooga Public Library Downtown · National Archives at Atlanta · Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown
Migration
Routes
Savannah River · Augusta and Cherokee Trail · Augusta-Savannah Trail · Augusta-St. Augustine Trail · Camden-Charleston Path · Catawba and Northern Trail · Catawba Trail · Charleston-Ft. Charlotte Trail · Charleston-Savannah Trail · Cisca and St. Augustine Trail  · Cisca and St. Augustine Trail · Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath · Fall Line Road · Fall Line Road · Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path · Fort Moore-Charleston Trail · Great Valley Road · King's Highway · Lower Cherokee Traders' Path · Lower Creek Trading Path · Middle Creek Trading Path · Occaneechi Path · Old Cherokee Path · Old South Carolina State Road · Savannah-Jacksonville Trail · Secondary Coast Road · Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail · Unicoi Trail · Upper Road · Ports:  Beaufort · Charleston · Georgetown
v • d • e
Links to Virginia-related articles   (see also West Virginia-related articles)
Topics
Counties
Accomack • Albemarle • Alleghany • Amelia • Amherst • Appomattox • Arlington • Augusta • Bath • Bedford • Bland • Botetourt • Brunswick • Buchanan • Buckingham • Campbell • Caroline • Carroll • Charles City • Charlotte • Chesterfield • Clarke • Craig • Culpeper • Cumberland • Dickenson • Dinwiddie • Essex • Fairfax • Fauquier • Floyd • Fluvanna • Franklin • Frederick • Giles • Gloucester • Goochland • Grayson • Greene • Greensville • Halifax • Hanover • Henrico • Henry • Highland • Isle of Wight • James City • King and Queen • King George • King William • Lancaster • Lee • Loudoun • Louisa • Lunenburg • Madison • Mathews • Mecklenburg • Middlesex • Montgomery • Nelson • New Kent • Northampton • Northumberland • Nottoway • Orange • Page • Patrick • Pittsylvania • Powhatan • Prince Edward • Prince George • Prince William • Pulaski • Rappahannock (New) • Richmond • Roanoke • Rockbridge • Rockingham • Russell • Scott • Shenandoah • Smyth • Southampton • Spotsylvania • Stafford • Surry • Sussex • Tazewell • Warren • Washington • Westmoreland • Wise • Wythe • York
Independent
Cities
Extinct Counties/Cities
Counties
gone to KY
Bourbon • Fayette • Jefferson • Kentucky (extinct) • Lincoln • Madison • Mason • Mercer • Nelson • Woodford
Counties
gone to WV
Barbour • Berkeley • Boone • Braxton • Brooke • Cabell • Calhoun • Clay • Doddridge • Fayette • Gilmer • Greenbrier • Hampshire • Hancock • Hardy • Harrison • Jackson • Jefferson • Kanawha • Lewis • Logan • Marion • Marshall • Mason • McDowell • Mercer • Monongalia • Monroe • Morgan • Nicholas • Ohio • Pendleton • Pleasants • Pocahontas • Preston • Putnam • Raleigh • Randolph • Ritchie • Roane • Taylor • Tucker • Tyler • Upshur • Wayne • Webster • Wetzel • Wirt • Wood • Wyoming
Colonial
Parishes
Abingdon • Accomac • Accomack • Albemarle • Amherst • Antrim • Appomattox • Argall's Gift • Augusta • Bath • Beckford • Berkeley • Blisland • Blount Point • Botetourt • Boutracy • Bristol • Bromfield • Brunswick • Bruton • Camden • Cameron • Charles City • Charles • Charles River • Chickacoan • Chickahominy • Chippokes • Chiskiack • Chotank • Christ Church (Lancaster Co.) • Christ Church (Middlesex Co.) • Chuckatuck • Cople • Cornwall • Cumberland • Dale • Denbigh • Dettingen • Drysdale • East • Elizabeth City • Elizabeth River • Fairfax • Fairfield • Farnham • Flowerdew Hundred • Fluvanna • Frederick • Fredericksville • Hamilton • Hampton • Hanover • Harrop • Henrico • Hog Island • Hungars • James City • Jordan's Journey • Kecoughtan • Kingston • King William • Lancaster • Lawnes Creek • Lee • Leeds • Lexington • Littleton • Lower (Elizabeth City Co.) • Lower (Isle of Wight Co.)  • Lower (Lancaster Co.)  • Lower (Nansemond Co.) • Lower (Northampton Co.) • Lower (Stafford Co.) • Lower (Upper Norfolk Co.) • Lower Suffolk • Lunenburg • Lynnhaven • Machodick • Manchester • Marston • Martin's Brandon • Martin's Hundred • Meherrin • Middle Plantation • Middletowne • Montgomery • Mulberry Island • New Poquoson • Newport • Nomini • Norborne • Northampton • North Farnham • Nottoway (Prince Edward Co.) • Nottoway (Southampton Co.) • Nutmeg Quarter • Occohannock • Overwharton • Patrick • Petsworth • Piankatank • Piscataway • Poropotank • Portsmouth • Potomac • Raleigh • Richmond • Rockbridge • Rockingham • Russell • St. Andrew's • St. Anne's (Albemarle Co.) • St. Anne's (Essex and Caroline Cos.) • St. Asaph's • St. Brides • St. David's • St. George's (Accomack Co.)  • St. George's (Spotsylvania Co.) • St. James Northam • St. James Southam • St. James's (Goochland Co.) • St. James's (Mecklenburg Co.) • St. John's • St. Luke's • St. Margaret's • St. Mark's • St. Martin's • St. Mary's • St. Mary's Whitechapel • St. Patrick's • St. Paul's (Hanover Co.) • St. Paul's (King George Co.) • St. Peter's • St. Stephen's (King and Queen Co.) • St. Stephen's (Northumberland Co.) • St. Thomas • Shelburne • Sittenburne • Smith's Hundred • South • Southampton • South Farnham • Southwark • Stafford • Stanley Hundred • Stratton Major • Suffolk • Tillotson • Trinity (Lancaster Co.) • Trinity (Louisa Co.) • Truro • Upper (Elizabeth City Co.) • Upper (Isle of Wight Co.) • Upper (Lancaster Co.) • Upper (Nansemond Co.) • Upper (Northampton Co.) • Upper (Stafford Co.) • Upper Suffolk • Varina • Wallingford • Ware • Warrosquyoake • Warwick • Washington (Westmoreland Co.) • Washington (Washington Co.) • Waters Creek • West • West and Shirley • Westbury • Westover • Weyanoke • Wicomico • Wilmington • York • Yorkhampton
Major
Repositories
Bristol Public Library · Germanna Foundation Library · Handley Regional Library · Historical Society of Pennsylvania (Philadelphia, PA) · Historical Society of Washington, D.C. · John D. Rockefeller Jr. Library at Colonial Williamsburg · Jones Memorial Library · Library of Congress (Washington, DC) · Library of Virginia · Mary Ball Washington Museum and Library · Maryland State Archives (Annapolis, MD) · National Archives I (Washington, DC) · National Archives II (College Park, MD) · National Archives at Philadelphia (PA) · National Genealogical Society · New York Public Library (New York City, NY) · Pennsylvania State Archives (Harrisburg, PA) · Portsmouth Public Library · Roanoke County Public Library · Salisbury University Edward H. Nabb Research Center for Delmarva History and Culture (Salisbury, MD) · Santa Cruz Public Library Downtown (Santa Cruz, CA) · University of Virginia Library · Virginia Department of Health · Virginia Historical Society · Virginia Theological Seminary · Washington National Records Center (Suitland, MD) · William and Mary College Swem Library
Migration
Routes
Routes:  Chesapeake Bay • James River • Potomac River • Rappahannock River • York River • Chesapeake and Ohio Canal • Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad • Fall Line Road (or Fall Line Road) • Great Indian Warpath • Great Trading Path • Great Valley Road • Kanawha Trail • King's Highway • National Road (Cumberland Road) • New River and Southern Trail • Occaneechi Path • Old Cherokee Path • Old Northwestern Turnpike • Pamunkey-New River Trail • Pioneer Road • Richmond Road • Richmond-Williamsburg Road • Saura-Saponi Trail • Secondary Coast Road • Upper Road • Wilderness Road • Wilmington, Highpoint, and Northern Trail •   Ports:  Atlantic Coast Ports • Accomack  • Alexandria  • Belvoir Plantation  • Bermuda Hundred  • Dumfries  • Falmouth  • Fredericksburg  • Hampton  • Jamestown  • Leedstown  • Norfolk  • Port Royal  • Portsmouth  • South Quay  • Suffolk  • Tappahannock (aka Hobb's Hole)  • Urbanna  • Williamsburg  • Yorktown
Retrieved from "https://www.familysearch.org/en/wiki/index.php?title=Secondary_Coast_Road&oldid=3189510"