Florida Historical Markers Programs - Marker Detail

Description: Begun by a military detachment from Pensacola in 1824, the first federal highway in Florida was designed to connect the two principal cities of the new territory. Construction was later contracted to John Bellamy, wealthy Jefferson County planter, and the majority of the road was built under Bellamy's direction by slave labor. It was completed in May, 1826 at a cost of $23,000.