The King's Highway

The King's Highway. . , Welcome to Kings Highway Historic Site! Enjoy a walk along one of the few remaining stretches of this ancient path, here or nearby at the intersection of Rippon Boulevard and Forest Grove Drive., There are several other Prince William County Historic Preservation Division sites nearby and easily accessible:, Rippon Lodge Historic Site's Forest Grove Drive pedestrian entrance is .1 miles away at the intersection of Vantage and Forest Grove Drives; the main entrance is at 15520 Blackburn Road. In addition to the historic house, open to the public, it also preserves 40 acres of open space and trails., Neabsco Creek Wetlands is located at 5875 Neabsco Road. A 227 acre created wetlands, to mitigate the loss of other habitat areas, it has over two miles of trails, connected with Leesylvania State Park and the Neabsco Creek Boardwalk. Part of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail runs though the wetlands rail system., The grounds here are open from sunrise to sunset. Help us make this a place for all to enjoy! Do not litter; there are no trash cans here, take out what you bring in. Clean up after your pets, and properly dispose of the waste. Pets must be on a leash at all times., It is prohibited to relic hunt/metal detect, hunt animals, destroy wildlife habitats, use motor vehicles, or use firearms on this property. This trail is not suitable or designed for bicycle use. This trail is part of the old King's Highway. Known by many names over the centuries, from Potomac Pat to the Post Road, it stared as a way for the Doeg people, the Native American group living along the Potomac in Prince William County, to travel between their villages and neighbors. When John Smith visited in 1608 he noted the Doeg as fishermen and planters of corn, living in several villages nearby, including; Pamacocack (Quantico), Yosococomico (Powell's Creek), and Niopsco (Neabsco Creek). Conflict with European settlers in the late 1600s meant most of the tribe moved west or joined other tribes by the 1720s. Today, this area is home to more thant 100,000 people., In 1781 part of the American-French army led by George Washington and the Comte de Rochambeau passed this way on the march from New York towards Yorktown. There they would trap the British Army under General Lord Cornwallis and bring the British to the negotiating table. Two years later the resulting treaty brought an end to the American Revolution., The road would change dramatically from the 18701s to the 1920s. Bicyclists were the first to push for "Good Roads" associations to pave and improve the roads. Their cause was picked up by farmers, businessmen, and auto travelers. This grass roots movement picked up sped and by 1906 the Commonwealth had a state highway commission., In 1923 the state levied its first gasoline tax to pay for road construction and improvements. The state took control of maintenance of most Virginia Highways, creating the modern road system., Green inset box:: , Route 1 and Jefferson Davis , Where do the names Route 1 and Jefferson Davis Memorial Highway come from? In 1918 the Virginia legislature recommended that the DC to Richmond highway be numbered one. In late 1926 the federal government's Bureau of Public Roads continued the name, routing the highway from Maine to Florida along the Virginia Route 1 in much the same path it follows today., The Jefferson Davis Highway name comes from a 1920's effort by the United Daughters of the Confederacy to mark a national auto trail through the south, Arlington to San Francisco, after the Confederate president. It was to be a southern companion to the New England to California Lincoln Highway. Their plan was never completed, but they placed several large stone markers on display across several routes the road was intended to follow and multiple communities use it as the name of the road to this day.