The King’s Highway Travel Guide

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The King’s Highway – the grandiose translation of an old Hebrew term which probably only meant “main road” – is a long, meandering squiggle of a road running through some of Jordan’s loveliest countryside. It has been the route of north–south trade and the scene of battles since prehistoric times – but today is a simple byway, often rutted and narrow, which follows the contours of the rolling hills above the Dead Sea rift. Major stops include the historic town of Madaba, Crusader castles at Karak and Shobak, and the spectacular Dana Nature Reserve, set in an isolated valley with good facilities for camping and hiking. But the King’s Highway also runs through fields and small towns, linking a series of springs and following the line of maximum hilltop rainfall: travelling on it can give a glimpse of the reality of rural life for many Jordanians.

Crossing Wadi Mujib

The King’s Highway is mentioned in the Old Testament: Moses was refused permission to travel on it by the king of Edom, and later the Nabateans, from their power base in Petra, used it to trade luxury goods between Arabia and Syria. When the Romans annexed the Nabatean kingdom, Emperor Trajan renovated the ancient road to facilitate travel and communications between his regional capital at Bosra, now in southern Syria, and Aqaba on the Red Sea coast. Early Christian pilgrims visited a number of sites on and off the road around Madaba, whose beautiful Byzantine mosaics still merit a pilgrimage today. The Crusaders used the highway as the linchpin of their Kingdom of Oultrejourdain, fortifying positions along the road at Karak and Shobak – where extensive remains of castles survive – and also at Petra and Aqaba.

However, with the development by the Ottomans of the faster and more direct Darb al-Hajj (Pilgrimage Route), from Damascus to Medina and Mecca through the desert further east – and the subsequent construction of both the Hejaz Railway and the modern Desert Highway along the same route – the King’s Highway faded in importance. It was only asphalted along its entire length in the 1950s and 1960s.

Tailor-made travel itineraries for Jordan, created by local experts

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Treasures of Jordan

8 days  / from 1665 USD

Treasures of Jordan

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Highlights of Jordan

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An active adventure in Jordan

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Classic Tour in Jordan

5 days  / from 1425 USD

Classic Tour in Jordan

Journey through ancient wonders and breathtaking landscapes in Jordan. Explore the iconic marvels of Petra and traverse the surreal red desert of Wadi Rum. Capture mesmerizing memories and carry the beauty of Jordan in your heart forever.

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Jordan Highlights - from Aqaba

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Jordan for Culture Enthusiasts

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South of Madaba, the King’s Highway meanders up and down across several valleys draining rainwater off the hills, including the dramatic canyon of Wadi Mujib. One of Jordan’s most spectacular natural features, lying midway between Madaba and Karak, the immense valley has been dubbed, with a canny eye on the tourist dollar, “Jordan’s Grand Canyon”. The name, however, is well earned, as the King’s Highway delivers you to stunning viewpoints on either rim over a vast gash in the barren landscape, cutting through 1200m of altitude from the desert plateau in the east down to the Dead Sea in the west. It is every bit as awe-inspiring as its Arizonan cousin and has the added selling-point of the memorable road journey winding down to the valley floor and up the other side. A large chunk of the surrounding territory now forms part of the protected Mujib Biosphere Reserve , offering the chance for wilderness hiking and canyoning as good as any you’ll find in the Middle East.

The Mesha stele

These days a largely unregarded village, in the past Dhiban was an important city, capital of Moab and mentioned many times in the Old Testament. In around 850 BC, a man named Mesha, described as a “shepherd king”, liberated Moab from Israelite aggression, built a palace in Dhiban and set about refortifying the King’s Highway against future attack.

Almost three thousand years later, in 1868, a German missionary travelling in the wild country between Salt and Karak was shown by Dhibani bedouin a large basalt stone inscribed with strange characters. Unaware of its significance, he informed the German consul of his discovery, who then made quiet arrangements to obtain the stele on behalf of the Berlin Museum. However, a French diplomat in Jerusalem who heard of the discovery was less subtle; he travelled to Dhiban, took an imprint of the stele’s text and there and then offered the locals a large sum of money. Suddenly finding themselves at the centre of an international furore over a seemingly very desirable lump of rock, the bedouin refused his offer and sent him packing; they then did the obvious thing and devised a way to make more money. By heating the stone over a fire, then pouring cold water on it, they successfully managed to shatter it, and thus sell off each valuable fragment to the covetous foreigners one by one. Meanwhile, scholars in Europe were studying and translating the imprint of the text, which turned out to be Mesha’s own record of his achievements, significant as the longest inscription in the Moabite language and one of the longest and most detailed original inscriptions from the biblical period yet discovered. The mostly reconstructed stele now sits in the Louvre in Paris; having become something of a symbol of national pride, copies of it are displayed in museums all over Jordan.

Some 2km south of Dhiban, the vast canyon of Wadi Mujib opens up spectacularly in front, over 500m deep and 4km broad at the top. Just over the lip of the gorge is a small rest stop and viewing platform. The dramatic canyon is an obvious natural focal point, and in biblical times, Arnon, as it was named, was the heartland of Moab, although with shifts in regional power it frequently marked a border between tribal jurisdictions; today, it divides the governorates of Madaba and Karak. The sheer scale of the place takes your breath away, with vultures, eagles and kestrels wheeling silently on rising thermals all around, and the valley floor to the right losing itself in the mistiness of the Dead Sea. The broad, flat plain of the wadi bed, now dammed, is noticeably hotter and creaks with frog calls.

Mujib Biosphere Reserve

Much of the area between the King’s Highway and the Dead Sea shore as far north as Ma’in, and including the lower 18km of the Mujib River, forms the Mujib Biosphere Reserve . This expanse of diverse terrain extends from the hills alongside the King’s Highway, at 900m above sea level, all the way down to the Dead Sea shore at 400m below sea level, and includes seven permanently flowing wadis within its 212 square kilometres. The biodiversity of this apparently barren area is startling: during ecological surveys of the reserve, four plant species never before recorded in Jordan were discovered, along with the rare Syrian wolf, Egyptian mongoose, Blanford’s fox, caracal, striped hyena, two species of viper, the venomous desert cobra, and large numbers of raptors. Nubian ibex roam the mountains on Mujib’s southern plateau. This is one of the most dramatic areas of natural beauty in Jordan – well worth the time and effort to experience.

Access to the reserve is generally from its lower entrance, by the Dead Sea road. The reserve’s only base at the King’s Highway end of the valley is a small office in Faqua village, northwest of Qasr, but this is not geared up for enquiries. Everything must anyway be booked in advance through the RSCN’s Wild Jordan tourism unit in Amman .

Most of the reserve’s hiking trails begin from the Dead Sea side. An exception is the rugged Mujib trail (15km; 7hr; JD45/person, minimum five people), a difficult route that begins from Faqua and descends rapidly into the reserve proper, ending at the Raddas mountain ranger station. It’s also possible to follow a difficult full-day route from Faqua all the way to the Dead Sea (April–Oct only), following the Mujib River with deviations at obstacles and passing through wild and varied scenery. This links up with the Malaqi Trail at the confluence of the Wadi Hidan for the final stretch down through the stunning Mujib Siq. All routes require an RSCN guide.

There are similar routes outside the reserve, around Wadi Zarqa Ma’in and Mukawir – and more further south around Karak, including the beautiful Wadi ibn Hammad.

Hidden away in the hills near Madaba are hundreds of dolmens (prehistoric burial chambers) and menhirs (standing stones). Many are hard to access or of limited interest, but a couple of sites stand out.

On the road from Madaba towards Ma’in, if you fork left at an avenue of trees about 1km before Ma’in village, after about 5km you’ll come to Magheirat (or Magheighat). Lines of Neolithic standing stones crisscross the road here; up on the hilltop to the right is a largely unexcavated stone circle in a double ring.

Back at Ma’in village, if you turn left and head south through orchards into open country – increasingly covered with white dust from a nearby quarry – you’ll see, on the left in an unguarded field, a Neolithic standing stone known as Hajar al-Mansub, carved (in antiquity) on its reverse side as an enormous phallus. Theories abound as to its purpose and context.

For the full low-down, make contact with dolmen enthusiast Charl Al-Twal, owner of Madaba’s Mariam Hotel. He’ll happily explain more about the dolmen fields in the area, including the one by Al-Faiha village at remote Wadi Jadid/Jdeid, 10km southwest of Madaba – and he’ll be able to fix you up with taxi transport as well (roughly JD20 return). Alternatively Terhaal runs an afternoon cycling tour from Madaba to Mount Nebo which passes by Wadi Jdeid (from JD25/person), meeting at the Mariam first. Book ahead.

The southern stretches of the King’s Highway (see map) pass through an increasingly arid landscape dotted with lushly watered settlements. Karak, unofficial capital of southern Jordan, still lies largely within its hilltop Crusader-era walls and boasts one of the best-preserved Crusader castles in the Middle East. Roughly 125km south of Amman, midway between the capital and Petra, it’s also a natural place to break a journey. Unfortunately, Karak is not well geared up for overnight stays, with poor access and distinctly average hotels. Drop in to visit the castle, then press onwards to more enticing destinations – Madaba to the north, Dana or Petra to the south.

Everything you need in Karak is within a few minutes’ stroll of the castle, at the highest point of town. Just in front of the castle is the Castle Plaza area, a tasteful complex of restored Ottoman buildings around a paved plaza beneath the castle walls, including the old Al-Hamidi mosque and a Visitor Centre. In sharp contrast is Karak’s humdrum town centre. Venturing down any of the narrow streets that lead north from the castle – most of them lined with grand but grimy Ottoman-era balconied stone buildings – will bring you nose-to-nose with Karak’s bustling everyday shops and markets. The focus of town is an equestrian statue of Salah ad-Din, occupying a traffic junction about 400m north of the castle, around which spreads Karak’s ramshackle souk – tailors, butchers, cobblers and all.

Karak castle

Occupying a rocky spur on the southern edge of the town centre, Karak castle is first, and most impressively, visible on the approach from the east, its restored walls and glacis looming above the ravine below. Access is from behind the Castle Plaza complex, across a wooden footbridge spanning the moat. The castle has seven levels, some buried deep inside the hill, and the best way to explore is to take a torch and simply let your inquisitiveness run free: it’s quite possible to spend two or three atmospheric hours poking into dark rooms and gloomy vaulted passageways.

Brief history

The hill on which Karak stands – with sheer cliffs on three sides and clear command over the Wadi Karak leading down to the Dead Sea – features both in the Old Testament and on Madaba’s Byzantine mosaic map as a natural defensive stronghold. The Crusaders began building a fortress on a rocky spur atop the hill in 1142.

The Crusaders

The castle’s construction was initiated by the knights of the successful First Crusade, but its eventual downfall is inextricably linked with Reynald of Chatillon, a ruthless warrior who arrived in the Holy Land in 1147 on the Second Crusade. Reynald was both vicious and unscrupulous, and it was specifically to avenge his treachery that the Muslim commander, Salah ad-Din, launched a campaign to expel the foreign invaders. In 1177, Reynald married Lady Stephanie, widow of the Lord of Oultrejourdain. Safely ensconced in Karak, he began a reign characterized by wanton cruelty: not only did he throw prisoners from the castle walls, he encased their heads in boxes first, in the hope that this would stop them losing consciousness before they hit the rocks below. In 1180, he robbed a Mecca-bound caravan on the King’s Highway in violation of a truce; Salah ad-Din was forced to swallow his anger until a suitable time for revenge could be found.

In 1183, the wedding of Reynald’s heir was celebrated within the walls of Karak castle at the very moment that Salah ad-Din and his army, having already invaded the town, were poised just beyond the north moat ready to attack. Lady Stephanie sent plates of food to the Muslim army beyond the walls. In response, while his men were trying to bridge the moat and catapulting rocks against the walls, Salah ad-Din enquired which tower the newly-weds were occupying – and then ordered his army to direct their fire elsewhere.

Karak withstood that siege, but at the Battle of Hattin in 1187, the Crusaders, stymied by the strategic ineptitude of Reynald and others, were defeated. The victorious Salah ad-Din characteristically spared the king and the Crusader lords – all apart from Reynald, whom he personally decapitated. The besieged Crusader garrison at Karak held out for months; they sold their wives and children in exchange for food, and resorted to eating horses and dogs, but surrender was inevitable. Karak capitulated in November 1188.

After the Crusaders

With the Europeans gone, Ayyubid and Mamluke occupiers of the castle rebuilt and strengthened its defences. Under the Ottomans, anarchy was the rule rather than the exception. During a rebellion in 1879, Karaki Christians abandoned their town, moving north to settle among the ruins of ancient Madaba. Soldiers only reimposed order in 1894, but Karak’s ruling families – among them, the Majali clan – remained restless. In 1908 they rallied a local force and stormed Karak’s government buildings, forcing the Ottoman garrison to seek refuge in the castle. After eight days, troops arrived from Damascus, publicly executed the rebel leaders and declared the Majalis outlaws. Even today Karak retains a reputation for political activism, yet – a little ironically, considering the family history – the Majalis are now at the heart of the Jordanian establishment, boasting government officials and even a prime minister or two among their number.

Exploring Karak castle

A good place to start is by heading up the slope once you enter, then doubling back on yourself into a long, vaulted passageway along the inside of the huge north wall built by the Crusaders. Down here, close to the original entrance of the castle in the northeastern corner, are a barracks and, on the right, the kitchens, complete with olive press and, further within, a huge oven. You emerge along the east wall, close to the ruined chapel. Over the battlements the restored glacis heralds a dizzy drop, and facing you is the partly complete Mamluke keep, the best-protected part of the castle. It’s not difficult to climb to the highest point, from where there are scarily vertiginous views in all directions.

In a sunken area between the chapel and the keep lie the remains of a Mamluke palace, while at the bottom of some steps just behind the chapel’s apse is a beautifully carved stone panel. Of the two rooms opposite the panel, the one on the right features some reused Nabatean blocks set into the wall; next door, Reynald’s extensive and suitably dank dungeons lead off into the hill. Back at the carved panel, a passageway to the left eventually brings you out, after passing another barracks, near the entrance.

If you head down from here to the lower western side of the castle, you’ll come across the museum, offering fascinating background to the history of the castle and the local area. Equally interesting is a restored Mamluke gallery nearby, running virtually the length of the west wall at the lowest level of the castle.

The Crusaders in Transjordan

Following an appeal from the Byzantine emperor for foreign military assistance to defeat the Seljuk Turks, it took only a few years from the pope’s first call to arms of 1095 for invading Christian European armies to seize Jerusalem. European-run statelets were set up in quick succession throughout the Levant – the Kingdom of Jerusalem, the Counties of Tripoli and Edessa, and the Principality of Antioch. One of the Christian lords, Baldwin, was crowned King of Jerusalem on Christmas Day 1100, and it was under his rule that the Crusaders began to realize the benefit of controlling the Transjordanian land route from Syria into Egypt and Arabia, in order to stand between the Muslim power bases in Damascus and Cairo and to be able to harass Muslims making the pilgrimage to Mecca.

In 1107, the threat of attack by Baldwin’s army persuaded a Seljuk force to flee their stronghold in Petra, and persistent harrying over a decade or more in the area around Ajloun successfully played havoc with established trade patterns in the region. In 1115, Baldwin crossed the Wadi Araba from Hebron with the intention of fully incorporating Transjordan into the Crusader realms, and began construction of a large castle at modern Shobak, which he named Le Krak de Montreal (“Fortress of the Royal Mountain”). Establishment of a string of Crusader possessions soon followed, at Aila (Aqaba), Wu’ayra and Habees at Petra, and Tafileh. However, the Lordship of Oultrejourdain, as it came to be known, was far from impregnable, and infiltration across the River Jordan by a Muslim raiding party in 1139 seems to have persuaded Paganus the Butler, by then the effective ruler, to move his power base northwards from Shobak. Construction of the massive fortress at Karak began in 1142, and twenty years later, with the addition of another citadel at Ahamant (possibly Amman), Crusader-controlled territory in Transjordan extended from the River Zarqa to the Red Sea, and from the Jordan Valley to the desert.

Such power was short-lived, however. Between 1169 and 1174, the Karak headquarters underwent four sieges, managing to survive partly because the opposing Muslim armies were divided. By 1174, though, Salah ad-Din had united the Muslim forces and began methodically to oust the Crusaders from Transjordan. Karak withstood two more sieges during 1183, but the tide was turning: the Latin armies were much depleted, and their young king, Baldwin IV, was dying of leprosy. In 1187, at Hattin near Tiberias, they were roundly defeated by Salah ad-Din, who soon after took Jerusalem. Wu’ayra and the great prize, Karak itself, capitulated in late 1188, and Shobak – the last Transjordanian possession – fell in the spring of 1189. The Europeans struggled on, but a century later the entire Holy Land was once again under Arab rule.

Salome’s dance

In an act forbidden under Jewish law, Herod Antipas, son of Herod the Great, married his brother’s wife, whose name was Herodias. When local holy man John the Baptist publicly accused the king of adultery, Herod had the troublemaker arrested and imprisoned at Machaerus. Some time later, at a birthday celebration in the Machaerus palace, Herod was so impressed by the dancing of Salome, Herodias’ daughter, that he promised her anything she wanted. Salome, prompted by her mother (who wanted rid of the holy man), requested John’s head on a platter – and Herod obliged.

Christian tradition holds that John was buried where he died, in a well-signposted cave near the hill, but Islam, according to which John (or Yahya in Arabic) is a prophet, keeps two shrines holy, one for his body (the same cave) and another in Damascus for his severed head, which was supposedly taken to that city and buried where the Great Mosque now stands.

Perched dramatically like a ship on the crest of a hill, the castle at Shobak was the first to be built by the Crusaders in Transjordan. In a more ruinous state than Karak castle, and much rebuilt by Mamlukes and Ottomans, it’s nonetheless well worth an exploratory detour on a route between Dana and Petra. In addition, the RSCN is exploring possibilities for a new nature reserve here: a fine canyon trail already leads along Wadi Ghwayr between Mansoura village, about 10km north of Shobak, and Feynan.

Shobak castle

Shobak castle’s walls and towers are Mamluke, and all the towers which stand have beautifully carved external calligraphic inscriptions dating from rebuilding work in the 1290s. As you enter, down and to the left is a small chapel, at the back of which are pools and channels of unknown usage. Below the chapel runs a long, dank and pitch-dark secret passage, which brings you out in the middle of the castle if you head right, and outside the walls if you head left.

Back alongside the chapel is the original gatehouse, to the left side of which are two round wells which presage an even scarier secret passage – a dark and foul opening with, according to legend, 375 broken and slippery steps leading down into the heart of the hill, followed by a tunnel 205m long. This was the castle’s main water supply: somehow the Crusaders knew that by digging down so far they’d eventually hit water. A prudent “No Entry” sign now bars entry: tourists who have started down this staircase anyway (including a potholing expert who tried it in 2008) have ended up with serious injuries, telling of how the stairs crumbled away under their feet.

The gatehouse gives onto a street, at the end of which is a building with three arched entrances, one topped by a calligraphic panel; up until the 1950s the castle was still inhabited, and this building was the old village school. If you head through to the back and turn right, a long vaulted corridor leads you out to the north side of the castle, and a maze of abandoned Ottoman cottages, beneath which is an exposed Ayyubid palace complex, with a large reception hall and baths. Further round towards the entrance stand the beautiful arches of a church, beneath which is a small room filled with catapult balls and chunks of carved masonry.

At the time of writing plans were afoot to stage re-enactments of battles between Crusaders and Muslim armies under Salah Ed-Din at Shobak, employing local army veterans in a choreographed show. Check jhrc.jo for latest details.

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written by Rough Guides Editors

updated 26.04.2021

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Tourism Teacher

7 Incredible Sights Along The Kings Highway Jordan

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The Kings Highway is a stunning area to navigate. If you are thinking about taking a trip to the Kings Highway and are in search of some tips and advice, then look no further!

The Kings Highway in Jordan

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Have you always wanted to do a road trip? It’s something high on many peoples’ travel bucket lists, and for good reason. Getting to explore multiple cities in one tip, at your own pace with time on the open road – what could be better?! And one of the best places to do a road trip is Jordan. Here are some tips for taking a road trip down the Kings Highway, Jordan…

driving in Jordan. Kings Highway Jordan

Kings Highway is an ideal way to see plenty of what Jordan has to offer. It is a 255 km-long stretch of road between Amman and Petra – two cities that are bound to be on your list when planning a trip to beautiful Jordan. The drive takes around 4.5 hours end to end, but there is so much to see and do along the way that you are best covering it over a couple of days. This is especially true in the winter when there aren’t as many daylight hours!

TOP TIP: the Kings Highway is, albeit sporadically, signposted as Route 35.

The Kings Highway, Jordan is definitely the most picturesque route. As it does take slightly longer, you’ll find that many people bypass it in favour of the Desert Highway. This means that quite often you will have the roads to yourself – perfect for jumping out and taking a fun ‘middle of the road’ snap to show your friends back home.

The road has a bit of history in itself. It was an incredibly important trade route which connected Africa with Mesopotamia. You can see a lot of history on your journey through Jordan.

It is not difficult to travel back in time when you take the King’s Highway, as it has been utilised for an extended period of time – a whopping 5000 years!

When you drive along the road, you can almost visualise how hordes of caravans should have made their lengthy journey under the torrid sun. Right from its inception, the King’s Highway was a major trading route , and it was much longer than the existing Jordan portion.

The Kings Highway started in Heliopolis, in Egypt , and ended in Resafa, which is now in Syria.

The segment of the highway you’ll be travelling along was utilised by the Nabateans for trading purposes. During the Roman era, this same path was also used for military objectives, and was named the Via Traiana Nova after Emperor Trajan. Later, in the Byzantine period, Christianity was on the rise and a great number of pilgrims went along the road to reach Mount Nebo, a hill which was purportedly where Moses viewed the Promised Land. From the 7th century, during the Muslim reign, the King’s Highway was part of the Darb al-Hajj, the “Pilgrim’s Path”.

The route from Amman to Petra, which is known as the King’s Highway, is 249 km (154 miles) in length. Although it is only slightly longer than the Desert Highway, the winding and steep roads make it take considerably longer due to the picturesque scenery that accompanies it. You can easily do the trip in a day or spread over a couple of days with several stops.

Travelling the Kings Highway is possible at any time of year. Temperatures do not hugely fluctuate between the seasons in Jordan, however many choose to avoid winter (November-February) due to the cooler temperatures.

Things to see along the Kings Highway Jordan

There is so much to do when embarking on a roadtrip through Jordan ! Whether it’s castles, scenery or ancient ruins, the middle east has it all. And so much of it can be seen on your drive along the Kings Highway, Jordan. Here are some of the highlights…

Once a crusader stronghold, this castle sits atop a hill in the city of Karak. It is well worth a visit. While it isn’t the most well-preserved castle in the world, it is really interesting and offers great views. There is an archaeological museum on site, and entry to the caste site is 2 JD. It is one of the must-see locations along the Kings Highway, Jordan.

Known as the Grand Canyon of Jordan, Wadi Mujib is incredible. You drive down through the canyon, but don’t forget to jump out and admire the view first. There is a tea stall on the rim so you can support local trade, soak up the views and stretch your legs before getting on with the drive. The canyon is one way to put things into perspective!

This is an ancient Roman town around 15km off the Kings Highway, Jordan. Well signposted and easy to get to, visitors often have the place to themselves. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and a rumbling example of a Roman garrison town. You can see beautiful church mosaics and intact archways here. If you are interested in photography then this is definitely the place for you.

TOP TIP: near to both Wadi Mujib and Umm ar Rasas is a town called Dhiban (or Dibon, depending on who you speak to) where you can get great falafel if you’re peckish.

This is where Moses saw the promised land. It is also where you can see stunning views across Jordan and across to Jerusalem, with the Dead Sea shimmering in the distance. There is a church as well as multiple restaurants at Mount Nebo, and it’s definitely worth a visit if you can fit it in.

There are plenty of other things to see as you venture down the Kings Highway, Jordan. You can see dolmens and menhirs – burial chambers and standing stones – as well as another crusader castle known as Shobak and the fascinating Madaba mosaic.

Although highway 35 begins in the northern area of Jordan, it skirts around Amman, a popular tourist spot. However, for many travelers, the King’s Highway officially starts in Madaba. The center of the city can be navigated on foot, as it is quite small. The most remarkable sight in Madaba is the extensive Byzantine mosaic on the floor at Saint George’s Church. When traveling to Jordan, one should be equipped to witness mosaics, but the one in Madaba is particularly mesmerizing. This mosaic is the earliest representation of Palestine, and it portrays places such as Jerusalem, Gaza, the Dead Sea, and the Nile Delta.

Visiting the two Archeological Parks in Madaba is worthwhile. The first one has the oldest mosaic in Jordan, remains of Roman columns, and several other artifacts discovered in the region. The second one includes Burnt Palace, Martyr’s Church, other mosaics, and relics that point to the Roman occupation. Other attractions to consider are King Hussain Mosque, Carpet City, St. John Baptist Roman Catholic Church (climb to the top of the tower for an aerial view of the town), Madaba Museum, and Church of the Apostles.

The elevation of Mukawir is 700 m and it provides a panoramic view of the Dead Sea. The hilltop is dotted with the remnants of Roman ruins which are very attractive and attractive to take pictures. However, the primary motivation to go to Mukawir is not the ruins but the amazing scenic beauty. It is not a very popular tourist spot for this reason.

Dana is the largest nature reserve in Jordan and is renowned for its rugged landscape, blooming flowers during the springtime, and various paths for hiking. If you are an enthusiastic hiker, then you ought to include this place in your travel plans. When selecting a trail, it is essential to consider your preferences and physical capabilities, as well as whether you will require a guide or not.

Driving in Jordan is notoriously easy. Everywhere except Amman, that is – but it has to be done. Just give yourself plenty of time to get out of the city, and stay calm! You can hire a car in Jordan with ease, and it’s a great way of exploring the country on your own terms.

There aren’t many petrol stations along the route so when you do see one, be sure to fill up. Google Maps works perfectly well here, so you won’t get lost, and the scenery on either side of the road is breathtaking throughout. Make sure your camera is well charged!

If you don’t fancy embarking on the drive yourself, you can arrange for a private taxi to take you. This can be shared with other tourists if you are travelling solo, too. Just ask your hotel to help you organise for a driver to take you along the Kings Highway, Jordan.

And there, of course, guided tours. If the DIY style of travel isn’t for you, then you don’t have to miss out on a Jordanian road trip. Just book a tour from Amman to Petra along the Kings Highway!

So that’s all there is to know about taking a road trip down the Kings Highway, Jordan. It is a great way to fit in some sightseeing, especially if you are on a tight schedule. But spreading it out across a few days is never a bad idea. There are plenty of lovely hotels in Jordan which will provide you with somewhere to get your head down while you explore this incredible country and everything it has to offer.

If you enjoyed this article about travelling the Kings Highway in Jordan, I am sure you will love these too:

  • 15 Incredible Tourist Attractions in Jordan + detailed guide
  • An Incredible 8 Days in Jordan with Kids
  • 12 surprising facts about the Dead Sea
  • 25 Fascinating History Facts About India
  • Goa beaches | The best beaches in Goa

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King's Highway Tours & Trips

Find the right King's Highway tour package for you. We've got 7 adventures going to King's Highway, starting from just 4 days in length, and the longest tour is 11 days. The most popular month to go is September, which has the most tour departures.

7 King's Highway tour packages with 2 reviews

Jordan Nabatean 4 day tour Tour

  • In-depth Cultural
  • Coach / Bus
  • Christmas & New Year

Jordan Nabatean 4 day tour

It was the best tour I had ever take! The guide Muhammed was incredible during our entire tour. he is the reason for our review!

Jordan Group Discovery 6D/5N Tour

Jordan Group Discovery 6D/5N

  • 10% deposit on some dates Some departure dates offer you the chance to book this tour with a lower deposit.

Best of Petra (Private Customize) Tour

Best of Petra (Private Customize)

Jordan Dana Trek to Petra and Wadi Rum Tour

  • Hiking & Trekking
  • Active Adventure
  • Desert Hikes

Jordan Dana Trek to Petra and Wadi Rum

Fantastic experience with a fabulous guide Motaz. He was an incredibly generous and genuine man and took us on a quite unique trek. Mix in Wadi Rum, the Dead Sea and some time in the north and you have a perfect trip.

Dana to Petra Trek - 8 Days Tour

Dana to Petra Trek - 8 Days

Israel & Jordan Explorer 7D/6N (from Jerusalem/Tel Aviv) Tour

Israel & Jordan Explorer 7D/6N (from Jerusalem/Tel Aviv)

Jordan Experience 4D/3N Tour

Jordan Experience 4D/3N

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Exploring the Oldest Road in The USA – The King’s Highway

King's Highway

As it turns out,  I’m not the only one that enjoys historical exploration.  Some folks in Pennsylvania have been exploring the oldest road in America and have produced  a documentary.  They may not call it historical exploration, but they started with the history of the Kings Highway and went exploring before producing their documentary video.

The King’s Highway

Kings Highway Route

In 1735, it was  basically a trail. By 1750 the entire road was in place.  Wagons and stagecoaches used it, but it was difficult going with few bridges and many river crossings.  Sections were often impassable.

Today, highways and modern roads cover most of the original route.

In many places key historic elements have been preserved. For example,The King’s Highway Historic District in New Jersey covers U.S. Route 206 and New Jersey Route 27 that connect Lawrenceville with Kingston through Princeton. There are five National Historic Landmarks, just on that piece of road:  Lawrenceville School ,  Morven Museum and Garden ,  Maclean House ,  Nassau Hall , and the  Joseph Henry House . In addition there are numerous associated historic stuctures on the National Register of Historic Places and the New Jersey Register of Historic Places.

There are hundreds of historic places along the 1,300 mile highway, but today lets look at what’s happening in northeast Philadelphia.

The King’s Highway in Philadelphia

Right now a team of local residents including government officials and historians are working with a film production team led by Jason Sherman to create a definitive documentary about The King’s Highway that is now Frankford Avenue (U.S. Route 13) in northeast Philadelphia.  While the King’s Highway in this part Philadelphia is a small part of the historical picture it is a surprisingly rich part.

Legend has it that in 1777 one northeast Philadelphia resident named Lydia Darragh was forced to allow the British that were occupying Philadelphia to use part of her house for meetings.  One night she listened to officers making plans to attack the Continental Army.  The next day she obtained permission to cross the British line to acquire flour.  While getting the flour, she got word to General Washington’s troops about the impending attack.  The Continental Army was ready for the British and the attack failed.

Frankford Avenue Bridge

Frankford Avenue Bridge Northeast Philadelphia – 1697

The Frankford Avenue Bridge (or Pennypack Creek Bridge) was erected in 1697 in the Holmesburg section of Northeast Philadelphia at the request of William Penn. Penn originally asked for the bridge to connect his mansion with the city of Philadelphia, but it became an important link on the King’s Highway.  It is now the oldest, continuously-used roadway bridge in the United States. The three-span, 73-foot-long (22 m) twin stone arch bridge carries Frankford Avenue over Pennypack Creek in Pennypack Park at an old Lenape Indian trail crossing.  In 1789, George Washington crossed the bridge on his way to his first presidential inauguration in New York.

There are many other historical sites in the area and along the King’s Highway.

Exploring The King’s Highway

Whether you are in Philadelphia or anywhere else along the King’s Highway,  you can use the highway as the object of your historical explorations.  The research is now easier for the northeast Philadelphia area as the film team has completed the documentary.  It is available free on Amazon if you have Amazon Prime and is available on IndieFlix if you are a subscriber .  If you would like to support marketing of the documentary, you can buy things at the film’s website .  Then, get out and explore!

Video Trailer

More Information

U.S. Colonial Roads

  • The King’s Road Documentary Website
  • The King’s Highway on  Kickstarter
  • Presentation to Historical Society of Frankford

Philadelphia 1687

First Map of Philadelphia – 1687 (Click for a larger version)

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19 Responses to “Exploring the Oldest Road in The USA – The King’s Highway”

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Very exciting that so much history is so close to us.

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So glad you are takimg up this cause. I have known about the bridge for years and have made several visits. Saw a newly added historical marker (how long ago). Great work.

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Where can I get a map of king high way.

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Good question Herminio,

I found one and added it to the blog post at https://explore.globalcreations.com/theblog/featured/exploring-the-kings-highway/ If you open the map in a separate browser window, it will be a little larger and easier to read.

Apparently that map has now changed location on the web and I can’t find anything similar. -Jerry-

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How can I rent or purchase the video on Route 13, Frankford Avenue? We liked seeing it on PBS but want to share it with family. Thank you. Lorie Truitt

Hi Lorraine,

The video can be purchased at kingshighwayfilm.com . It is no longer available for purchase on Amazon, but it looks like it can still be viewed via Amazon Prime .

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My family lived in Pennypack when I was born (Deer Lane). I remember walking to Thomas Holmes school daily, walking up to Franklin Ave where a friends home was Just across Franklin Ave (now long gone replaced by shops). We rode sleds behind Deer Lane into the creek, walked the railroad tracks where my little 4-year-old legs couldn’t get me off the Tressel fast enough so I slipped between the ties and watched it pass over. Scared the H.. out of my brothers.) It was special, it was home, it was where America was born but I wasn’t aware of the history we shared. Life took our family to southern Maryland, attending school with Dr. Mudd’s descendants, along the route John Wilks Booth rode out of Washington. Grown-up loving history and this is a welcome addition to my history. Thank You. I’ll share it with my two remaining brothers.

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My house (in maryland) sits on the part of the old Kings Highway. My house was built in 1740. I’m a huge history buff, and enjoyed this article and the documentary!

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Hi Sara! Wow, that’s amazing! I loved this documentary and also am a huge history buff, especially American history! I am trying to put a driving trip together of the Kings Highway…wonder if you could help me at all… I see Jerry has some bits in here but I still feel lost in mapping it out. Blessings, Kristen

Hi Kristen,

I found a map that has a bit more detail and added it to the story. If you can get a current highway map, you should be able to find a road from city to city that closely matches the route of King’s Highway. The map also shows some other roads from the colonial era if you want to make an even bigger historical adventure. Most of the cities listed should have a museum that can add context to your adventure.

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So interesting !! Listed as one of the oldest places in America

' src=

Hi, Just watched the documentary on Kings highway. Very interesting, trying to find a driving map of kings highway in NJ. Vague descriptions but I would like to explore this more.

Hi Ella, I’ve been looking for a good map of the entire highway – or at least as close as one can get these days. No luck so far. New Jersey does have the King’s Highway Historic District. It follows US-206 and NJ-27 between Lawrenceville and Kingston. The route passes through eight historic districts and past five National Historic Landmarks (Lawrenceville School, Morven, Nassau Hall, Joseph Henry House, and Maclean House). Here’s a map of the section:

Map of king's Highway Historic District in New Jersey.

[ Djkeddie / CC BY-SA ]

Ella, I’m hoping to plan a trip to see as much of this as I can. The documentary was so great! Any luck for you finding driving directions for this?

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I am also interested in making this trip. I as of yet cannot find a complete map of the highway.

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Does anyone have any old photographs or drawings of Old Kings Highway before it became Philadelphia Pike in New Castle DE before it parts became Wilmington? I am looking for anything…or anything showing the structures and houses when it was the Brandywine 100?

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Where Kings Highway passes through Moorestown, NJ (local to me) the Thomas Cowperthwaite home still stands. It was built in 1742. I admire it often when I pass by. More info can be found by googling.

Thanks Monica! For more about the house see: https://www.loc.gov/item/nj0349/ https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm42C2_Thomas_Cowperthwait_House_1742_Moorestown_NJ -Jerry-

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KINGS HIGHWAY: Brooklyn’s Mother Road

kings highway travel

“Well it winds from Bensonhurst to Brownsville…”

Even though Bobby Troup never got around to writing about Kings Highway in Brooklyn, in many ways it is every bit the mother road that Route 66 is!

The road we know today as Kings Highway has a rather inauspicious beginning in Bensonhurst, where it starts as a two-lane road emanating from the intersection of Bay Parkway and 78th Street. At first home to a nondescript collection of car-crash repair shops and gas stations, it finds a role as a prime shopping street as it meanders, seemingly without aim, through Gravesend and Midwood. However, it then discovers its true calling when it reaches Ocean Avenue and Avenue P, where it grows six extra lanes and becomes a pedal-to-the metal eight-lane behemoth… until it is finally defeated by pipsqueak East 98th Street, which carries the elevated IRT above it. On the other side of East 98th Street, both Tapscott Street and Howard Avenue get wider to absorb Kings Highway’s traffic, but the jig is up at that point, and Kings Highway, for all its domination, seemingly peters out in Brownsville. Actually, though, before it ends, Kings Highway donates its power to Linden Boulevard, which in its Brooklyn incarnation becomes a powerhouse in its own right, taking Kings Highway’s traffic eastward to Conduit Boulevard…which becomes Southern Parkway…which becomes  Sunrise Highway and doesn’t end until it almost reaches the southern fork of Long Island!

So in many ways, Kings Highway can be called Brooklyn’s Mother Road.  Not only does it parent some of Long Island’s most important roads…Kings Highway itself has been around for over 200 years bearing that name, and it was the road that connected Kings County’s earliest settlements. Prior to that, it was a trail used by the Canarsee Indians long before European settlers arrived.

As a matter of fact Kings Highway  might just be the very first road in the United States to be officially referred to as a “highway.” Early records show that Governor Peter Stuyvesant of the New Amsterdam colony first referred to it as “Highway” in a document dated June 4, 1654, in a grant. Later documents call it The Cross Road. According to some sources, Kings Highway got its present name during the colonial period and is named for  King George III …the monarch the nascent United States rebelled against in 1776!

kings highway travel

Kings Highway zigzags  across Dyker Heights in this 1898 map.

By 1903, Kings Highway  in Bay Ridge, Dyker Heights and Bensonhurst was demapped, meaning that developers could build on its old route. Vestiges of the old lane, including mile markers, hung on well into the 20th Century.

Kings Highway was originally much longer than it is now.  It originally began at Fulton Ferry, where Old Fulton and Furman Streets are now, and ran southeast all the way to the small Dutch town of New Amersfort, now known as Flatlands. It took a sharp westward turn at that point and swept into another of Brooklyn’s original six towns, New Utrecht, and on into Yellow Hook (Bay Ridge), ending at Denyse’s Ferry, operated by a colonial-era landowner, about where Shore Road and 79th Street are now.

Fulton Street  between the old ferry landing and where Borough Hall is now takes exactly the same route old Kings Highway did. Flatbush Avenue is a straightened version of Kings Highway between Fulton Street and Flatlands.

East of Flatlands,  what is now Kings Highway was once a separate road entirely, known as Flatlands Neck Road well into the 19th Century. It angled northeast until ending at Hunterfly Road in what is now Brownsville. Only the tiniest vestiges of Hunterfly Road remain today, but Kings Highway in that area became an eight-lane thoroughfare in the early 1920s.

Sticking to Kings Highway we know today …from Bensonhurst to Brownsville…let’s take a walk from west to east and take in its quirks and historic sites.

New Utrecht

Like the  National Hockey League ,  Kings County also has its Original Six. Towns, that is. Brooklyn, Bushwick, Flatlands, Flatbush, New Utrecht, and Gravesend. Over a couple of centuries, the City of Brooklyn gradually absorbed the other towns (after part of Flatlands became New Lots). By 1896, Kings County and the City of Brooklyn were finally coterminous…but Brooklyn consolidated with New York City in 1898.

kings highway travel

New Utrecht, named for  Utrecht, Netherlands, the 4th largest city in that country. In Dutch, “Utrecht”, pronounced YOU-trekt, is derived from two words that mean “old fort,” so that “New Utrecht” actually means “New Old Fort.”

kings highway travel

The heart of New Utrecht  has always been the site of the New Utrecht Reformed Church, at 18th Avenue and 84th Street. The first church in New Utrecht was first built in 1699 and, while that church is mostly gone, this “newer” church was built in 1828 and contains some stones from its predecessor, along with Tiffany style stained glass.

kings highway travel

The bell of the New Utrecht Reformed Church  has tolled to mark the death of every U.S. President…beginning with George Washington in 1799… and has most recently rung to mark the deaths of Joe DiMaggio and Frank Sinatra (the neighborhood of Bensonhurst that surrounds the church is still mostly Italian).

kings highway travel

The adjacent parish house,  built in 1885, is no slouch architecturally in its Shingle Style finery.

kings highway travel

At 16th Avenue and 84th Street  you will find the Reformed Church Cemetery, which is now beside the newer Metropolitan Baptist Church. The Reformed Church was originally here until 1828 when the present church was built a short distance to the east.

kings highway travel

To harass the British,  or to signal their defeat, Colonial patriots erected “liberty poles” on which the new American flag was raised. The first such pole was raised at this church in 1783 to celebrate American victory at the end of the Revolutionary War. Six poles have been placed here subsequently; this latest pole was raised in 1946.

kings highway travel

As you are going southeast,  84th Street suddenly widens at 16th Avenue and proceeds on a slightly different angle until it reaches the Reformed Church at 18th Avenue. The widening marks 84th Street’s old role…as Kings Highway.

kings highway travel

The milestone that is the centerpiece  of Milestone Park is a replica of the oldest remaining milestone in New York City. The sandstone original is in the Brooklyn Historical Society, but a granite reproduction occupies the same spot where the original was placed on Kings Highway in 1741. It stands three feet high and has a base measuring one square foot. One side reads, “8-1/4 Miles to New York and 2-1/2 Miles to Denyse’s Ferry.” The other is inscribed, “10-1/2 Miles to New York Ferry, 15 Miles to Jamaica.”

kings highway travel

photo courtesy Brian Merlis

kings highway travel

Walking east on Kings Highway , you soon arrive at the same scene depicted here. The time difference in these two photos is approximately 100 years. New multifamily buildings have begun to appear on Kings Highway’s south side. Even then, Kings Highway was hundreds of years old, and it had graduated from a dirt track used by Indians through the woods to a path connecting small European settlements. In 1900, only recently had Brooklyn come together as a city (only to be consolidated with four other boroughs as Greater New York City) and in its southern reaches, it was still very rural with numerous farms dominating the scene. This extraordinary photo shows Kings Highway on the cusp of its new incarnation as a residential and commercial strip.

In 1900, Kings Highway was still a dirt road . A modern fire hydrant, though, has been installed (the one in the recent photo may well be the same one.) The  Sea Beach Railroad  crossed Kings Highway about one block ahead (it would not be placed in its present open cut until the 1910’s). The buildings on the left in the distance are probably along West 6th Street.

kings highway travel

This photo, taken in the winter of 2001  at Archie Ketchum Square (named for a local World War I hero) at West 9th Street and Quentin Road shows Kings Highway as it has been since approximately the 1920s, when its present length was arrived at, and a major business and residential presence had taken hold. Our twin-domed apartment building is still there and on the exterior, at least, it has held up magnificently.

World War I is a major motif  in naming conventions along Kings Highway’s route. Quentin Road is named for President  Theodore Roosevelt’s youngest son , who was shot down in France behind enemy lines. He is buried in St. Laurent-sur-Mer, France, alongside his brother, General Theodore Roosevelt Jr., who died of a heart attack the day after D-Day in 1944. President Roosevelt had never recovered emotionally from the loss of his youngest son, and died in 1919 a year after Quentin’s death. After WWI, Avenue Q, which because of Kings Highway’s bend from a southeast to northeast direction has the distinction of intersecting the old route twice, was renamed for Quentin Roosevelt.

kings highway travel

The  Sea Beach Railroad  got depressed in the 1910s. No, it wasn’t suicidal or anything like that; it became a part of Brooklyn Rapid Transit (the BRT) and its route was electrified and placed in an open cut between 1913 and 1915. To this day, it has retained its old name, the Sea Beach Line, though officially, it’s the N train.

Distinctive BRT (later BMT)  stations, with the diamond pattern shown at left, were built along the line. The green globe, indicating 24-hour entrance, was placed there in the 1980s.

During Kings Highway’s 1920s building boom,  theatres featuring live shows and later, silent movies and talkies began to proliferate. Baggy pants comics and leggy chorines gave way to Gable, Fonda, Monroe, Newman, McQueen, Connery, Nicholson, er, DiCaprio, and if they had remained open, Eminem. Maybe it’s all for the best that they did close.

kings highway travel

The former Sommer Highway Theatre,  near the Sea Beach, represents the changing demographics of the northern end of Gravesend. The theater has become a bingo hall with an Indian motif; next door is a Russian travel agency.

kings highway travel

At Coney Island Avenue,  you’ll find the doyenne of Kings Highway, the Kingsway Theatre. It was majestic until early 2001, when Loews went bankrupt and closed it. These days, it’s just another Walgreens. The Kingsway was a voluminous movie palace in the days when there was one movie per theatre. As with many theatres of its era, it had a pipe organ to accompany the silents. Imagine sitting in the Kingsway and hearing the pipe organ when Mary Philbin yanked the mask off Lon Chaney’s Phantom of the Opera !

kings highway travel

The Crazy One

Just across the street from the Kingsway  was  Crazy Eddie , the electronics store where Eddie Antar claimed he could beat any price you brought in. His “prices were insane”, and Eddie eventually wound up on the wrong side of the law. Of late, the Crazy Eddie imprint has resurfaced, along with long-time spokesman, deejay “Doctor” Jerry Carroll .

A Boy Named Joyce

kings highway travel

In case you’re curious about these things,  Joyce Kilmer is a cousin of actor Val Kilmer (Batman, Jim Morrison) and a distant relative of 1970s NFL quarterback Billy Kilmer.

The Brighton Line

kings highway travel

The Brighton Line  at Kings Highway in 1906. The Brighton began in 1878 as the Brooklyn, Flatbush and Coney Island Railroad and ran between Prospect Park and the Brighton Beach Hotel on the surface trackage seen here. As rural as this scene seems, by 1906 the Brighton Line was already a vital connection between Brooklyn and Manhattan via the Brooklyn Bridge.

kings highway travel

Just east of Kilmer Square  the  Brighton Line  (today’s Q and previously the D) train passes over Kings Highway on an elevated overpass. Like the Sea Beach, the Brighton got its start as a steam railroad on the surface but was later absorbed by the BRT, electrified, and separated from the street. The photo shows it just after its new steel overpass was opened in 1907.

kings highway travel

In 1920, the Brighton  gained a connection with the Manhattan Bridge. The Kings Highway area became more of a ‘bedroom community’ as more homes and businesses were built along its length some of them ornate. This building at Kings Highway and East 17th Street boasts a Beaux Arts eagle.

kings highway travel

Painted ad, Kings Highway

kings highway travel

The eastern end of Kings Highway,  from Ocean Avenue to East 98th Street, was saved from death by Brooklyn Borough President Edward Riegelmann. As development encroached on the area in the early-to-mid 1920s, Kings Highway was in real danger of being de-mapped and built over, as so many aboriginal Brooklyn roads had been. But Riegelmann and his staff recognized its historical importance…and not only retained it, but turned it into an 8-lane behemoth that bruits its way through staid East Flatbush. Riegelmann also has his name on the Coney Island Boardwalk, still the country’s longest.

At Ocean Avenue, Avenue P and Kings Highway,  our World War I motif continues as yet another WWI hero,  Corporal Clifford Wiltshire Triangle,  marks Kings Highway’s pupation from two-lane road to 8-lane faux expressway. In the photo, Avenue P (left) meets Kings Highway (right) at Wiltshire Triangle.

kings highway travel

Flatbush and Midwood  are dotted with ancient Dutch and British dwellings from the Colonial era. At East 22nd Street and Kings Highway you will find the Henry & Abraham Wyckoff House, built in 1766. Kings Highway was used as a conduit for British troops during the Revolution (the Brits burned Flatlands to the ground in 1776) and this house was seized and used to house Hessian troops, who carved graffiti into a glass door, which has to this day not been replaced.

What appears to be a barn  used for the old Wyckoff House is next door, used these days for storage and as a garage.

kings highway travel

One of the very few examples  in New York City of a British-style traffic roundabout is at Avenue M, East 35th Street and Kings Highway. The incorrectly-named  Fraser “Square ” is named not for the pretentious TV psychologist but for a hero cop in the first half of the 20th Century.

kings highway travel

In 1923, the Jeremiah Bergen homestead  (center) remained at the still-rural Kings Highway at what would be East 38th Street. Changes were imminent though, and the house would be gone within two years so that Kings Highway could be widened. photo courtesy Brooklyn Collectibles

kings highway travel

The same scene,  Kings Highway and East 38th Street, today.

kings highway travel

The Beers map shows Flatlands as it was in 1873. The diagonal line from NW to SE is Flatbush Avenue, which has yet to be laid out and straightened from Flatbush Turnpike, aka. Old Flatbush Road…which was originally a part of Kings Highway and led to Fulton Ferry. The road going off to the northeast is Flatlands Neck Road, which is roughly the present path of Kings Highway, and the road heading southeast has been known through the decades as Bergen Beach Road or Mill Lane. It exists these days only in very short segments.

Flatlands is one of Kings County’s  original six towns. At one time, it encompassed what is today Marine Park, Mill Basin, Bergen Beach, Georgetown, Canarsie, East Flatbush, and Starrett City. For centuries the Canarsee Indians were the sole inhabitants, but in 1636 the Dutch arrived settled the area. The Dutch named their settlement New Amersfoort, after a Dutch city (explaining the name Amersfort, which turns up on streets and parks in the area today). The town acquired home rule from Peter Stuyvesant in 1661, but the British conquered New Netherland without firing a shot in 1664.

kings highway travel

There has been a church  at Kings Highway and what is now East 40th Street since 1654, by order of the then ubiquitous Peter Stuyvesant. The original  Flatlands Dutch Reformed Church  was here until 1794; this building, the third church on the site, dates to 1848. The church’s original graveyard, with names like Lott, Wyckoff and Kouwenhoven but also some of Brooklyn’s earliest freed blacks, is still in place. photo: R. Safir

kings highway travel

Flatbush Avenue and Kings Highway  in the 1920s (above) and today. Bare trees marked Kings Highway’s path in the 20s; today it’s all filled in.

kings highway travel

Venerable Berkeley Drugs , across the street from the Emigrant, was likely using its original neon sign in 2002, but it’s since been replaced.

kings highway travel

photo courtesy Brooklyn Collectibles

Looking west, Kings Highway  makes the curve east of Flatbush Avenue in the early 1920s.

kings highway travel

The same scene, looking east.  Mill Lane (at the right side) forks to the southeast as Kings Highway curves to the northeast.

kings highway travel

Kings Highway  and East 55th Street in 1923. The building in the center is the Flatlands Neck School. photo courtesy Brooklyn Collectibles

kings highway travel

Kings Highway and East 55th Street  today. Years before  Matt Groening  got hold of the word, the Futurama Homes, attached brick dwellings, were built in this area in the 1950s.

kings highway travel

Kings Highway and Utica Avenue  in 1923. The Garrett Kouwenhoven house, built around 1800, stands at the southwest corner. A nearby LIRR station (the LIRR had passenger service to this area until 1924) was named Kouwenhoven.

kings highway travel

Kings Highway looking toward Utica today.  A CVS Pharmacy obscures the Kouwenhoven house site today; the house fell victim to the Highway’s widening in the early 1920s.

SOURCES.. .

The Neighborhoods of Brooklyn,  ed. John Manbeck, Yale University Press 1998 BUY this book at Amazon.COM

Brooklyn, The Way It Was,  Brian Merlis, Israelowitz Publishing 1995 BUY this book at Amazon.COM

I’ll be walking the rest of Kings Highway into Brownsville sometime soon.

11/8/2002; revised 2012

ST. ALBANS (jazz greats), Queens

The also rans, 20 comments.

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My Grandfather, born either 1896 or 1898 (they’re not sure; the midwife took her time with the birth info) lived on Kings Highway as a child, and remembers goats on that street. Can you imagine?

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“Grandpa” Van Sicklen lived on McDonald Ave. off Kings Highway until he died in the mid’ 70’s. He used to let us sit in his backyard porch swing (which didn’t thrill his wife), and he always carried lollipops in case he ran into a group of kids. It was safe for a little girl to take a lollipop from a kind, old man back then. The Kings Highway of today looks almost as different from the Kings Highway of my childhood as the one back then looked in comparison to the Kings Highway of the turn of the century. Where do kids graduate now that they no longer have movie theaters with balconies?

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The “Beaux Arts eagle” is at East 17th Street, not E 16th.

Technically, Quentin does not cross KH twice, as Quentin is “interrupted” at East 13th Street, resuming at East 16th Street. So Quentin crosses once, meets twice.

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The “second” intersection of Quentin Rd. With Kings Highway occurs at W. 10th St.

Disregard my comment. I failed to realize the distinction between “crossing” and “meeting”.

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Your right, used to play touch football on that block. That is where Quentin Rd. begins or ends.

By the way, can you clarify something? According to this page, the original KH wended its way from the ferry landing, along what is now Old Fulton and Fulton (you only mention Fulton, but it is pretty clear its alignment must have followed both), meandering more or less along Flatbush Avenue, until reaching Flatlands Neck Road (you just call it Flatlands in the corresponding sentence), and then veering northeast, along the old Flatlands Neck alignment.

It would thus appear that the current western segment of KH, from Bay Parkway to Flatbush Avenue, must have had a different name in years past, along with the lost segment and the section of 84th Street that was apparently a section of the same road. Do you know what the name of that old road was? And when it became KH? Or was that the old KH, and the road originally veered southwest at Flatlands, not northeast?

Very confusing!

Separate question: Was the current Flatlands Ave a realignment of Flatlands Neck Rd until it became KH?

Finally, KH is not an 8-laner, unless you count the parking lane along the service road. It has two main lanes in each direction, a median/left turn lane, and a service road lane in each direction.

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The current Kings Highway from Flatbush Ave to Brownsville used to be called Flatlands Neck Road.

[…] 1922, Kings Highway and Flatbush Avenue were both narrow, curvy dirt roads lined with trees and frame houses with picket fences. It’s interesting to note that the very […]

At the very eastern end of Kings Highway are a few small mysteries of street layout. The eastbound service road curves sharply right for its last 100′ or so, seemingly for no reason. On the other side, as Kings starts at E 98th westbound, you can enter at either the service road or the main road, with a concrete island separating them — but only about 150′ in, there is a crossover lane from main road to service road, for which there is absolutely no need.

The reason can be explained in two words: Clarkson Street. They are now slightly misaligned, but if you were to extend an imaginary line from the end of Clarkson at Rockaway, and stretch Clarkson straight a bit further to E 98th, you’d find both the crossover lane and the curved stretch of eastbound service road, are both almost parallel and only a few feet distant from your “Clarkson.”

Before became such a big deal with six lanes of traffic and two island separators, Clarkson extended across it to at least E 98th. When they paved and enlarged Kings Highway, they left cuts in for Clarkson, and ended the eastbound service lane at Clarkson. Later they found that it snarled traffic and created a safety hazard. So Clarkson traffic was only allowed one-way coming from the main road, and the tail end across the highway was cut off, connected only to the termination of the service road on that side… effectively making it part of the service road. Since the cut between the main road and the service road was angled a little too sharply when aligned with Clarkson, they dialed it back a bit, making a more oblique cut that also gives a short length of merge before coming to Clarkson, preventing main road traffic from directly cutting across the cut and colliding with service road traffic… as unlikely as that is to need to occur anyway.

“East Clarkson Street” was a main route through Pigtown in the 19th and early 20th Century but as an overall grid was laid out it disappeared.

To me it’s odd that while Kings Highway extends north of East 98th to Howard near Sutter, the DOT and its predecessors always treated it as widenings of Tapscott St and Howard Avenue. It’s to late to change all the house numbers now, but they could have called it Kings Highway and numbered it in the 9800s and 9900s.

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I grew up around the other end of Kings Highway,where it turns into Howard Avenue on the edge of Brownsville.Right where the el turns from E.98th St onto Livonia Avenue.

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Theodore Roosevelt Jr. lasted a month after D-Day …

[…] Paper have each published their take on the place, Vice has actually done so two times, and a host of blogs have followed suit as well. I’d imagine that at any given day there’s probably […]

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Great, in depth piece! I posted a link to it on the Facebook page of my novel “Different Drummer” which mentions many of these locales.

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My mother grew up in this area. I grew up in Maryland, but would like to know more about it. We visited the area a few times when I was young, so I don’t remember too much. She passed away, but she graduated from Madison High, and lived in an apartment building of about 8 floors. I remember a Kings Highway, and a Flatbush Ave.(?) I also remember a hospital near the apartment building. I don’t remember much else, except driving to Loehman’s (?), with 2 lion statues out front. Any ideas of where she lived? Is this area Bensonhurst?

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She could have grew up near king highway. There is a hospital on bedford ave and Madison HS is right there too.

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Kings Highway Hospital was at the corner of Kings Highway and New York Avenue. It’s still a medical building but I’m not sure what it’s titled now.

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I remember back in the 1950’s at the corner of East 40th St. and Kings Hwy. there was a Homestead house that had to go back to the 1800’s. It was made of wood. Had a open porch with a gazebo in the backyard. In order to enter into the house you had to walk down the cement steps as the house was built below the street and sidewalk. It was destroyed in order to build an apartment house that now stands in its place. Today, it most likely would have been a landmark,

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If anyone can appreciate this, it would be none other than you.

As a kid growing up in Homecrest, I was of course familiar with the 10 block east-west shopping strip of Kings Highway, from Coney Island Avenue to Ocean Avenue.

At around age 12, I started expanding my exploring horizons via bike, assisted by my holy grail: The giant sized, Hagstrom 5 Borough, (spiral bound & laminated!) Atlas.

This one time, setting out to explore the eastern leg of Kings Highway, I neglected to consult it.

East of Ocean Avenue, I was amazed as it swung northeast, slicing it’s way diagonally through the street grid. I remember how disorienting it was at Fraser Square (actually an oval; why not create even further confusion), causing me to veer off onto say, Avenue M while thinking I was still on Kings Highway.

But the best was yet to come a few blocks ahead, where it swings straight north at Avenue K, “sharing” East 40th Street for one block until Avenue J. Apparently I wasn’t paying attention, because imagine my surprise when I came to the perfect 90° intersection of Kings Highway & Avenue J!

Now I was REALLY stumped. I always knew Avenue J as an east-west avenue; did it somehow take a turn south somewhere, intersecting with more or less Eastbound Kings Highway?!?

It wasn’t until I got home & found my answer from the atlas. The problem was (& still is for me) that I ALWAYS have the perception Kings Highway is going east, despite it’s northerly stretches (which, for the most part, it is).

If you know if a support group for the direction perceptionally challenged, please let me know so that I can sign up ASAP!

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First Major Route of The Colonies-The King’s Highway

The colonies were settled in America beginning with Virginia during 1607. As the immigrants landed, new settlements would arise along the eastern seaboard and by 1732, a total of 13 colonies were established. The growth of these settlements enhanced trade among themselves and countries overseas. The colonies were separated by three regions known as the Northern, Middle and Southern. The New England term was quickly given to the Northern Colonies of Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island and New Hampshire. The next region was known as the Middle Colonies, New York, Delaware, Pennsylvania and New Jersey. The last region was known as the Southern Colonies, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Maryland and Georgia.

kings highway travel

With the growth of the colonies and the new settlements springing up all along the coastline, ships were docking at the major ports almost daily. Trade had grown significantly during the late 1600s to the onset of the 18th century. This was mainly due to the tobacco industry. Major cities located throughout the colonies were Boston, Concord, Providence, New Haven, Dover, Albany, New York City, Wilmington, Trenton, Philadelphia, Williamsburg, Jamestown, Baltimore, Brunswick, Charlestown and Savannah. Note: Charleston, South Carolina was known as Charlestown until after the American Revolutionary War. The need for a major route between the colonies was placed on demand due to various reasons. One, of course, was due to the delivery of mail correspondence from one area to another. Individual “post roads” were soon constructed within the perimeters of small communities. Another reason was brought about due to trading within the colonies, transporting goods, supplies and travelers from one settlement to another.

kings highway travel

The post map of 1729 by Herman Moll clearly shows the route of these roads during that time period. Majority of these were once Indian trails that were widened to accommodate stagecoaches and wagons years later. However, the beginning of America’s oldest highway was once an Indian trail known as the Pequot Trail. By 1673, the trail transformed into the first post road and served mail connections between Boston, Massachusetts and New York. Later the road would join Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and traveled south to early settlements along the eastern seaboard. Charles II of England ordered the road construction and between the years of 1673 and 1753, the road grew and eventually covered over 1300 miles from Boston to Charleston, South Carolina.

The King’s Highway was not the only established road during this time period. In fact, contractor’s in various locations would take on the task of upkeeping a particular road in their region and maintain it. Some of these lesser known roads were in much better shape versus the King’s Highway. In fact, documents prove that the King’s Highway was often referred to as a road in “poor condition”. Even the post riders were having difficulties while transporting letters and other correspondences. Journals document large stumps in the road and huge ruts as deep as 2 feet in many places. Reports of areas deemed as impassable for days and weeks at a time. Few bridges existed along the route which required a toll fee and the ferries that were in existence were few and rare during the late 1600s and early 1700s.

kings highway travel

The road has been proclaimed by past historians as the first major highway of the new colonies. But, if you look at the facts, you will quickly discover that this particular route may hold the title of first in recognition, but lacks the recognition as a “major” popular highway among the colonists. For decades it suited the larger plantation owners with a means of transporting their harvests, livestock to markets while also allowing needed supplies to be returned to the home. Depending greatly on the location and the area, tolls were charged for use of the road and fees were applied to any persons avoiding the road. This was met with frustration by the settlers and the maintenance of the road quickly deteriorated soon after it’s construction. This was due to various reasons, one pertains to the location of the road and the second was the lack of management between the colonies.

kings highway travel

The first highway legislation was passed in Virginia during the year of 1632. This placed church parishes to be in charge of road construction and maintenance. By 1663. the responsibilities were moved to the county courts and the court would designate an individual to oversee the road work. All males over the age of 16 were required to work a set amount of days during each year without pay. If individuals refused to work on the road, taxes were applied and ordered to be paid by the General Assembly. This action was carried on for over 250 years in Virginia. While the legislation greatly differed among the other colonies, the concept was basically the same, improved roads in exchange for manual labor.

If a bridge was needed to cross a river or stream, the county was required to build it out of their own man power and resources. If the county lacked the means for construction, the General Assembly would initiate the construction and upon completion, tolls and fees were charged for the use of the bridge.

During the year of 1700, Pennsylvania passed a law stating that all brush and trees were to be removed from the King’s Highway throughout the colony. This action allowed the road to be nearly 50ft wide in a few places. By January of 1730, a new petition was created to construct the highway from Philadelphia to the new settlement of Lancaster. This section was completed by 1741. Also, the extension of the road was finally constructed to Savannah, Georgia, but the conditions only worsened through the years. The colonists were creating additional routes near their settlements away from the coastal region. They would bypass the highway altogether and reach the markets, the ports and the cities without paying toll fees.

Stagecoaches were using the northern sections of the road providing services from Boston to New York as early as 1735. Extended service was not provided until the 1740s to Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia. The complete highway services by stagecoach were not provided until the 1760s. By the time of the American Revolutionary War, using the term, King’s Highway, was not very popular. Many areas located near Williamsburg and Yorktown were virtually abandoned and not used at all during the war and afterwards. New routes were in progress more and more. These new roads were aligned to better suit the immediate local areas and allowed more interactions with citizens settling more inland away from the coastline.

kings highway travel

The road eventually connected to the northern sections of present day Maine. The winding path was marked with milestones giving mileage to the nearest town or city. These milestones were used more frequently in the New England sections versus the southern colonies. Travelers would often get lost attempting to follow the road through the Carolinas to Georgia, especially prior to 1750.

Present day US 17 and US 1 both align closely to the original King’s Highway. Later known as the Coastal Highway of the southern states of Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia, the highway has changed drastically since the early 18th century. The ports and forts that once dotted the coastal landscape are still visible in certain areas. A few original homes and churches can still be viewed but the landscape overall is nothing in comparison of long ago. A secondary coastal road was constructed through the Carolinas and Virginia which became an alternate route advertising better taverns, inns, etc. This route was established during the mid 1730s and gave travelers a choice when traveling during the colonial period. According to research, the King’s Highway was the first route to completely link the 13 colonies together with one another; however it was not the most popular and soon after construction, it was not the only route available.

The King’s Highway holds a vast amount of history filled with folklore, legend and facts. It was successful in linking the colonies together but the overall maintenance conditions of the road left it abandoned in many locations. As settlement was allowed further west after 1763, the need for the coastal route became less and less. By 1770, majority of new community roads linked to larger wagon routes eventually led to the cities and ports along the coast. The old milestones stood alongside a route that simply no longer existed after the American Revolutionary War. The secondary coastal road became the more popular route in the regions while the King’s Highway was taken back to a more scenic route that we know today.

If you have enjoyed this segment of The Colonial Roads, be sure to visit the Migration Trails of the 18th & 19th Centuries page. We wish you well on your research and encourage you to share your comments and likes. Our ancestors left an amazing trail to follow. We hope you find their footsteps and new discoveries along the way.

Enjoy Your Journey To The Past !

Sources & References:

  • The Turnpikes of New England Marshall Jones Company 1919
  • Map Guide To American Migration Routes-Dollarhide Heritage Quest 1997
  • Old Roads Out Of Philadelphia J.B. Lippincott Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 1917
  • The Story of America’s Roads Ray Spangenburg New York Publishing 1997

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Categories: Connecticut , Delaware , Maryland , Massachusetts , New Jersey , North Carolina , Pennsylvania , South Carolina , Virginia

Tagged as: Colonial History , Colonial Migration , Early Colonial Roads , early trails , history , migration

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The Oldest Road In America, The Kings Highway, Passes Right Through Connecticut

kings highway travel

Lisa Sammons

Lisa loves animals and has dogs, rats, cats, guinea pigs, and snakes. She is passionate about animal rescue and live music - traveling across the country to see a favorite band is a pretty regular occurrence! Being out hiking in the woods enjoying the scenery with her beloved dogs is another favorite hobby, and also checking out the Pokemon Go scene in whatever city she happens to be in at any given time (coffee and dog leash in hand). You can reach Lisa at [email protected]

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We spend so much time in our cars nowadays that it can feel like roads are a uniquely modern invention. We have so many scenic roads in Connecticut that are perfect for a long drive on a pretty day. The American highway system as we know it may only be just under 70 years old, but roads have existed in some form since the dawn of civilization . The Lake Moeris Quarry Road in Egypt was built around 2500 BC. It’s the oldest road in the world that still has much of its original pavement. We don’t have any roads quite that old in New England, but we are home to the oldest highway in America in Connecticut: the King’s Highway .

kings highway travel

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Did you know that the oldest road in America is right here in the Nutmeg State? Share your favorite scenic drives in Connecticut in the comments!

Whether you’re traveling a colonial post road or a modern-day interstate, it’s important to fuel up – and we don’t just mean your vehicle! Check out our great Road Trip Snacks guide to keep you from getting too hungry along the road.

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Closure on Highway 41 to impact travel for months in Kings County

Valley drivers will be taking detours on a busy stretch of Highway 41 in Kings County for the next five months.

Caltrans will be working to replace the asphalt on the highway between Nevada and Quail Avenue.

The $13 million project has been in the works for 2 years because of poor road conditions.

North and southbound traffic on this stretch of the highway will be re-routed.

The work will impact thousands of drivers who take this route every day.

"Highway 41 is a state route that is used often by the local commuters or people traveling to and from the coast. It's a roadway that is frequently used," explained Alex Aguilera with Caltrans.

The typically busy stretch of highway was only accessible for Caltrans employees on Monday.

One local business is already feeling the impact of the closure.

Stratford-Marketplace usually serves travelers passing by.

But since the detour has been in place, Harmail Hayer, the owner says he's already noticing fewer customers.

"We are worried about it, because we are pretty much new. We just opened last year in April, so we are worried," said Hayer.

Hayer is holding out hope for a busy summer when traffic typically picks up from people headed to the central coast.

"For now, we are just mostly depending on local people who work around here, depending on them too," Hayer said.

Caltrans says the asphalt replacement was necessary- due to potholes and cracks.

"They could have caused damage to vehicles in the future, if the roadways were not repaired," Aguilera explained.

"So, the projects that are in place are there to improve the life of the roadway and structural integrity for commuters in the future."

During construction, drivers should take Laurel Avenue or Highway 198 to Interstate 5.

They should also plan to possibly spend an extra 20 minutes on the road.

Construction should be completed by August, but it could be longer depending on weather.

For news updates, follow Kassandra Gutierrez on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram .

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Tornado tears through Grand Blanc amid storms: What we know

No injuries reported after tornado touches down in genesee county.

Kayla Clarke , Senior Web Producer

GRAND BLANC, Mich. – A tornado tore through Grand Blanc overnight into Wednesday morning, knocking down large trees and rupturing gas lines.

According to the National Weather Service, the tornado is rated at EF-2 and peak winds reached 115 miles per hour. It touched down at 1:12 a.m. on Wednesday, Feb. 28, traveled for 5.7 miles, and ended at 1:22 a.m.

It touched down in Creasey Bicentennial Park, damaging the south pavilion and uprooting a pine tree. It moved east northeast across Westminster Circle, snapping multiple trees, blowing out two garage doors, and partially stripping a roof from a home. It continued east northeast across Porter Road and Reid Road, snapping multiple limbs and trees.

Update: National Weather Service confirms EF-2 tornado touched down in Grand Blanc

Grand Blanc city police officers reported seeing the tornado from their patrol cars. The tornado knocked down large trees, which damaged several homes in the Indian Hill and Kings Pointe subdivisions and ruptured several gas lines. Debris from damaged buildings were scattered and thrown.

Grand Blanc city fire crews evacuated several residents to the fire department. Consumers energy responded to the ruptured gas lines and were able to make repairs before residents were allowed to return home.

City officials said several residential and commercial buildings were significantly damaged and many people were left without power. There was a gas main break from a commercial building off Dort Highway. Gas was shut off at 9:40 a.m.

Residents are being asked to avoid Dort Highway between Grand Blanc Road and Reid Road, Reid Road between Porter Road and Grand Oak Drive, and Creasey Bicentennial Park.

Police said no injuries have been reported.

---> Tornado in Calhoun County downs trees, power lines

EF-2 tornado confirmed in Grand Blanc last night. Only the second time a tornado has been observed in February over Southeast Michigan. The previous one occurred Feb 28th 1974 in southwest Wayne county. pic.twitter.com/gWRzxPjeYe — NWS Detroit (@NWSDetroit) February 28, 2024

How the National Weather Service determines the scale of a tornado

The National Weather Service uses the EF Scale to rate a tornado based on wind speeds and damage.

The Enhanced Fujita Scale (EF Scale) has been used since 2007 and the National Weather Service is the only federal agency with the authority to provide an official EF Scale rating of a tornado.

When the NWS surveys damage from a tornado officials compare the damage to a list of Damage Indicators (DIs) and Degrees of Damage (DoD), which help them estimate the range of wind speeds the tornado likely produced.

The EF scale is a set of wind estimates, not measurements, based on damage. It uses three-second gusts estimated at the point of damage based on a judgment of 8 levels of damage to 28 indicators.

Damage Indicators include barns, homes, mobile homes, motels, fast food restaurants, shopping malls, schools, hardwood trees, softwood trees, and many more.

After the range of wind speeds is determined, they assign an EF-0 to EF-5 rating. The goal is to give the tornado an EF Scale rating based on the highest wind speed that occurred within the damage path.

---> How the National Weather Service determines the scale of a tornado

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N College Road lanes reopen following crash in Kings Grant

KINGS GRANT, N.C. (WECT) - Two lanes of N College Road closed Wednesday morning, Feb. 28, following a crash in Kings Grant, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation.

Per the NCDOT, the right, northbound lanes closed just after 10 a.m. near Gordon Road.

The lanes reopened just before 11 a.m.

According to a North Carolina State Highway Patrol representative, the driver of a gray SUV attempted to make a left turn from N College Road onto Spring View Road when a white car collided into them, causing the SUV to flip over.

The driver of the SUV received minor injuries and was transported to the hospital. They will be cited with failure to maintain lane control, according to the NCSHP.

The right, northbound lanes closed just after 10 a.m. near Gordon Road.

Copyright 2024 WECT. All rights reserved.

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The lanes reopened just before 11 a.m.

Long Island St. Patrick's Day parades causing road closures in March, starting this weekend

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hampton Bays on Saturday, March...

St. Patrick's Day Parade in Hampton Bays on Saturday, March 18, 2017. Hundreds of people came out to watch the Hampton Bays Hibernians St. Patrick’s Day Parade in Hampton Bays. Pipe bands, police and fire departments, animals, scouts, antique cars and many others marched down Main Street to cheer on. Credit: Randee Daddona

May the road rise up to meet you, as the Irish blessing goes, but may you not get caught in the traffic caused by Long Island's many St. Patrick's Day celebrations in March.

As 25 towns and hamlets across Long Island prepare to celebrate the holiday with parades and festive events, police are issuing traffic advisories ahead of time, so motorists won't get in unlucky situations.

On Saturday, the Kings Park Parade will step off at noon, so Pulaski Road will be closed between Cedar Street and Route 25A beginning at 9:25 a.m.

At 11 a.m., Route 25A will be closed between Lawrence Road and County Line Drive; Indian Head Road will be closed between Meadow Road and Route 25A; and Church Street will be closed between Route 25A and Hilden Street.

Roads will reopen after the parade ends.

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On Sunday, East Islip, Bethpage and Mineola will host St. Patrick’s Day parades.

Main Street in East Islip will be closed from Overlook Drive to Route 111 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Motorists can use Union Boulevard as an alternate route. The parade steps off at 2 p.m. in front of the East Islip Library on Main Street and travels west to Irish Lane.

The Bethpage St. Patrick’s Day Parade starts Sunday at 10 a.m. and lasts until noon.

Nassau County Police advised of traffic delays because of these road closures: Central Avenue from the intersection of Thorn Drive to Stewart Avenue; Stewart Avenue closed in both directions from the intersection of Central Avenue to Burkhardt Avenue; Burkhardt Avenue closed in both directions from the intersection of Stewart Avenue to Broadway; Broadway closed in both directions from the intersection of Burkhardt Avenue to Powell Avenue; Powell Avenue closed from the intersection of Broadway to Concord Avenue.

The Mineola Irish American Parade also is Sunday, starting in Garden City at noon at the Nassau County Court Complex, Courthouse and County Seat drives. The route goes north on County Seat Drive to Old Country Road, west to Mineola Boulevard, north to Jericho Turnpike and east to Willis Avenue It ends at the intersection of Willis Avenue and Jericho Turnpike.

Detours and road closures during the parade will include: Mineola Boulevard between Jericho Turnpike and Old Country Road (Drivers should use Herricks Road or Roslyn Road); northbound traffic at Franklin Avenue, Garden City at Old Country Road will be detoured westbound along Old Country Road; westbound traffic along Front Street at Roslyn Road; eastbound traffic on Jericho Turnpike at Mineola Boulevard; westbound traffic on Jericho Turnpike at Willis Avenue; eastbound traffic at Old Country Road at Franklin Avenue and Mineola Boulevard; westbound traffic at Old Country Road at Roslyn Road and Washington Avenue; westbound traffic at Old Country Road at Willis Avenues Avenue: westbound traffic at Second Street and Roslyn Road; southbound traffic at Willis Avenue and Old Country Road.

Although Willis Avenue at Jericho Turnpike will remain open, motorists should expect heavy pedestrian and vehicle traffic in the area.

Maureen Mullarkey is a breaking news reporter at Newsday. She previously worked as a reporter for Patch, where she covered a range of Long Island stories on topics such as the Diocese of Rockville Centre bankruptcy and the Babylon School District abuse scandals.

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  26. N College Road lanes reopen following crash in Kings Grant

    KINGS GRANT, N.C. (WECT) - Two lanes of N College Road closed Wednesday morning, Feb. 28, following a crash in Kings Grant, according to the North Carolina Department of Transportation. Per the NCDOT, the right, northbound lanes closed just after 10 a.m. near Gordon Road. The lanes reopened just before 11 a.m.

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