The Old Sunbury Road

The Old Sunbury Road. . The bustling seaport of Sunbury was once the largest city of this region of Georgia. Sunbury was the destination for many trading ships loaded with cargo from regions around the world. Rum, sugar, and slaves arrived from the West Indies. Clothes, tea, and iron goods were imported from Great Britain. The most valuable exports from the port of Sunbury were rice and indigo. Merchants and traders used the Old Sunbury Road to carry these goods throughout the coastal region., Heading west from Sunbury, the road first led to the town of Midway, 10 miles inland. This wagon traffic provided Midway and local farms access to goods from around the world. Sunbury Road was most important before the Revolution, when the town of Sunbury was a busy seaport. By 1786, the town of Sunbury, along with use of the historic road, had begun a slow, long decline., The Old Sunbury Road Today , During the Colonial Era, the Old Sunbury Road was lined with fields and forests of live oaks. The live oaks provided a shaded canopy which protected travelers from the summer sun. Today much of this [dirt] road is wider, smoother, straighter, and regularly maintained by modern equipment. Rows of planted pine trees have replaced the natural forest. However some portions of the road still possess their historic natural vegetation, particularly near the original town of Sunbury.