The King's and Pablo Roads Challenges the Combined Research Skills of a Historian and Geographer
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THE KING’S AND PABLO ROADS FLORIDA’S FIRST HIGHWAYS A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND ROUTES IN ST. JOHNS COUNTY Historic Property Associates, Inc. St. Augustine, Florida July 2009 THE KING’S AND PABLO ROADS FLORIDA’S FIRST HIGHWAYS A NARRATIVE HISTORY OF THEIR CONSTRUCTION AND ROUTES IN ST. JOHNS COUNTY Prepared for ST. JOHNS COUNTY GROWTH MANAGEMENT SERVICES By Paul L. Weaver, MA Historic Property Associates, Inc. P.O. Box 1002 St. Augustine, Florida 32085-1002 Phone (904) 824-5178 Fax (904) 824-4880 July, 2009 TABLE OF CONTENTS Illustrations...............….........................................................................................3 Introduction ..........................................................................................................5 Methodology and Sources.....................................................................................6 Chapter 1: History and Development of King’s Road.........................................14 Chapter 2: History and Development of Pablo Road..........................................81 Conclusions and Recommendations…………………………………………….146 Bibliography.........................................................................................................148 Appendices/Attachments Tables of Course of Roads through Government Land Office Plats and Field Notes Course of Roads on Topographic Maps Course of Roads on 1950 St. Johns County Township Plats Course of Roads on Topographic Maps and Aerials in Power Point Preservation 2 ILLUSTRATIONS Illustration 1 Survey Plat of Martin Hernandez Grant, T10S, R29S, Sec. 47..........................9 Illustration 2 Topographic Map, Martin Hernandez Grant, T10S, R29S, Sec. 47…………..10 Illustration 3 Aerial Map, Martin Hernandez Grant, T10S, R29S, Sec. 47…………..……...11 Illustration 4 US Survey Plat of Martin Hernandez Grant, T10S, R29S, Sec. 47...................21 Illustration 5 King’s Road South, Survey, Martin Hernandez Grant, Ferry Tract.................29 Illustration 6 King’s Road South, Survey, Martin Hernandez Grant, Pellicer Creek……….31 Illustration 7 King’s Road North, Survey, Joseph Sanchez Grant, San Carlos Ave………...34 Illustration 8 King’s Road North, Survey, Gabriel Perpall Grant, North St. Aug.………….36 Illustration 9 King’s Road North , Survey, Eliza Robinson Grant, North St. Aug…………...38 Illustration 10 King’s Road North, Survey, Joseph Delespine Grant, St. Sebastian River…..39 Illustration 11 King’s Road North, Pass of Navarro, St. Sebastian River………………….…40 Illustration 12 King’s Road North, St. Marks Pond………… ………….……………………42 Illustration 13 King’s Road North, Reuben Charles Grant, Nine Mile Spring…………….….43 Illustration 14 King’s Road North, Anthelm Gay Grant, 12 Mile Swamp..……………….….44 Illustration 15 King’s Road North, Christopher Minchin Grant, Durbin Swamp…………….46 Illustration 16 King’s Road North, Mary Ann Davis Grant, Davis Branch…………………..47 Illustration 17 King’s Road, 1822 Charles Vignoles Map of St. Johns County………………57 Illustration 18 King’s Road, 1837 John Lee Williams Map of St. Johns County...…………..58 Illustration 19 King’s Road, 1864 Coastal Survey Map of St. Johns County...………………59 Illustration 20 King’s Road South, 1936 Road County Map..………………………………..73 Illustration 21King’s Road North, 1936 Road County Map..………………………………...74 Illustration 22 King’s Road Middle, 1936 Road County Map...……………………………...75 Illustration 23 King’s Road South, Site of Ft. Peyton.……...………………………………...78 Illustration 24 King’s Road South, Site of Osceola Capture..………………………………...79 Illustration 25 Pablo Road, Roque Leonardi Grant, Sweetwater Branch………………….....81 Illustration 26 Spanish Map, Mouth of St. Johns River-Pablo Creek………………………....82 Illustration 27 1740 Oglethorpe Map Pablo-San Diego Road …………….……………….....84 Illustration 28 1762 Jeffrey’s Map Road to St. Johns………….………..………………….....86 Illustration 29 1765 Plat of Ft. Mossy Road to St. Johns………………..………………….....86 Illustration 30 1819 Birch Map Road to Pablo…………………………..………………….....93 Illustration 31 Pablo Road, Joseph Sanchez Grant, San Marco Avenue….……………….....96 Illustration 32 Pablo Road, John Gianopoly Grant, San Marco Avenue….……………….....98 Illustration 33 Pablo Road, Antonio Montero Grant, San Marco Avenue……..………….....99 Illustration 34 Pablo Road, Gabriel Perpall Grant, San Marco Avenue…..………………...101 Illustration 35 Pablo Road, Joseph Baya Grant, San Marco Avenue….…………………....103 Illustration 36 Pablo Road, Eliza Robinson Grant, San Marco Avenue…..………………...105 Illustration 37 Pablo Road, Joseph Sanchez, Owner of Capuaca Ranch..…………………...106 Illustration 38 Pablo Road, Joseph Sanchez Grant, Capuaca Ranch.….…………………....108 Illustration 39 Pablo Road, Daniel Hurlburt Grant,.. ……………….….…………………....110 Illustration 40 Pablo Road, Daniel Hurlburt Grant,.. ……………….….…………………....112 Illustration 41 Pablo Road, Daniel Hurlburt Grant,.. ……………….….…………………....113 Illustration 42 Pablo Road, Roque Leonardi Grant, Sweetwater Branch.…………………....118 Illustration 43 Pablo Road, William Travers Grant, Deep Creek……..….….……………....119 3 Illustration 44 Pablo Road, Thomas Travers Grant, Smith Creek..….…………………....120 Illustration 45 Pablo Road, Joseph Sanchez Grant, Diego Plains…………………….......122 Illustration 46 Pablo Road, Castro y Ferrer Grant, San Pablo Plantation…………….......124 Illustration 47 Pablo Road, North, 1936 Road County Map..…………………………….135 Illustration 48 Pablo Road, Middle, 1936 Road County Map...…………………………..136 4 INTRODUCTION The King's Road has attracted the attention of professional and amateur historians and geography sleuths for well over a half century, acquiring along the way an almost romantic historical aura. The 1976 Bicentennial Celebration, which encouraged the identification of historic places associated with events that could be tied to the Revolutionary War era, sparked particular emphasis on the road, for any visible pieces of it that could be found would appear to offer a tangible remnant of that special time in America's past. Three notable descriptions of the road appeared during the Bicentennial era. James Ward, a reporter for the Florida Times Union, wrote a series of articles which the paper prominently published. Ward focused attention on the contemporary communities and places through which the road passed. Charles Coombs, a member of the St. Augustine Historical Society's Board of Directors and a respectable local historian, performed an admirable piece of research in piecing together evidence describing the road's path in the immediate environs of the Ancient City. The Society published his article. Charles Bockelman, a retired surveyor living in New Smyrna Beach, had the benefit of specialized professional knowledge in plotting the location of the road from historical maps. He produced a manuscript whose opaque prose disguised some efficient research. These earlier studies were supplemented by a report in 1997 co-written by the author of the present report entitled, “The King’s Road: Florida’s First Highway.” This report provided a general history of the road and plotted its course from New Smyrna Beach north to Moultrie Creek. Renewed attention on the historic road arises from time to time as new generations of scholars and historical sleuths discover its existence. In recent years, development within the St. Johns County has soared, making it, in turn, among the fastest growing places in the United States. The development threatens to obliterate the area's physical heritage. As each new subdivision is plotted over the course of the old road, concern rises. In response to fears expressed by several historical and anthropological societies in the region, the St. Johns County Growth Management Services Department agreed to sponsor this study to find the true path of the historic road and the Pablo Road, another important colonial road north of St. Augustine. This study will enable St. Johns County and interested groups to take steps to preserve parts of these roads; or at least to note the existence of the historic route with markers at appropriate places. The authors of this study hope that their work will encourage further research. For that reason, this study incorporates references to government land office survey records, descriptions of early maps and survey documents, and abundant map reproductions that others may use in their own efforts to find remnants of the road. The logical next step in this process should be archaeological investigations to confirm physical traces of the King’s and Pablo roads. 5 METHODOLOGY and SOURCES Finding the King's and Pablo roads challenges the combined research skills of a historian and geographer. Abundant documentation for the roads exists in contemporary historical materials that encompass all periods of the state's history. Maps by literally the hundreds illustrate the history and general and specific routes of both roads through colonial and territorial East Florida. In many cases, these documents show both roads in measurable locations, from the colonial period when both roads were built, through the twentieth century, when they continued to serve as landmarks on survey maps. Geography is a key to understanding the location and differences between the King’s and Pablo Road. As described in Second Spanish Period (1784-1821) and Territorial and Statehood period documents (1821-1861), immediately north of St. Augustine in the Eliza Robinson (T7S, R29E Section 55) and Joseph Delespine (T6S, R29E, Section 81) grants, the King’s Road was referred to as the “High” Road and the Pablo Road