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Coffee Road as it became known, was a supply trail cut through the southern Georgia frontier in the early 1820s by General John E. Coffee,
with the help of Thomas Swain. After establishing the counties of Early,
Old Coffee Road
historical marker {{Coord, 30.533505, -85.4183201, display=title Historic trails and roads in Florida Historic trails and roads in Georgia (U.S. state)
Coffee Road as it became known, was a supply trail cut through the southern Georgia frontier in the early 1820s by General John E. Coffee,
with the help of Thomas Swain. After establishing the counties of Early, Irwin Irwin may refer to:
Places
;United States
* Irwin, California
* Irwin, Idaho
* Irwin, Illinois
* Irwin, Iowa
* Irwin, Nebraska
* Irwin, Ohio
* Irwin, Pennsylvania
* Irwin, South Carolina
* Irwin County, Georgia
* Irwin Township, Venango County, Pe ...
, and Appling in 1819, the Georgia General Assembly
The Georgia General Assembly is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is bicameral, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
Each of the General Assembly's 236 members serve two-year terms and are directly ...
approved construction of the road December 23, 1822, with funds of $1,500. The trail was built in the early 1820s and ran from Jacksonville, Georgia
Jacksonville is a town in Telfair County, Georgia, United States. The population was 140 at the 2010 census.
History
Jacksonville was the original county seat of Telfair County. Land lot 340 in land district 8 was declared to be the permanent co ...
, through Metcalf and across the Florida border to Tallahassee
Tallahassee ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Florida. It is the county seat and only incorporated municipality in Leon County. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida, then the Florida Territory, in 1824. In 2020, the population ...
. The trail was about wide, cleared, dug, and leveled by enslaved African-American laborers.
This became the first vehicular path through the region. The trail was initially built to carry munitions of war to Florida Territory to fight the Indians during the Creek War
The Creek War (1813–1814), also known as the Red Stick War and the Creek Civil War, was a regional war between opposing Indigenous American Creek factions, European empires and the United States, taking place largely in modern-day Alabama ...
s. It was later used by settlers moving into the Georgia
Georgia most commonly refers to:
* Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia
* Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States
Georgia may also refer to:
Places
Historical states and entities
* Related to the ...
frontier. It has no bridges or ditches and only private ferry crossings. Many pioneer families, including Hall, Folsom, Roundtree, Parrish, and Knight, migrated to claim land for farms and plantations. They brought enslaved African Americans or bought them through the domestic slave trade to work the cotton plantations.
Later improved to modern paved standards, much of the road remains in daily use.
See also
*General Coffee State Park
General Coffee State Park is a Georgia state park located near Douglas. The park is named after politician, farmer, and military leader General John E. Coffee. The park is host to many rare and endangered species, especially in the cypress sw ...
* Coffee County, Georgia
Coffee County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 43,092, up from 37,413 at the 2010 census. The county seat is Douglas.
Coffee County comprises the Douglas, GA ...
References
* * *External links
*Old Coffee Road
historical marker {{Coord, 30.533505, -85.4183201, display=title Historic trails and roads in Florida Historic trails and roads in Georgia (U.S. state)