The Bellamy Road and other early Putnam County routes
Date and Time
Saturday Nov 16, 2019
11:00 AM - 1:00 PM EST
Saturday, November 16th, 2019 11:00 AM
Location
Bronson-Mulholland House 100 Madison Street Palatka, FL 32177
Fees/Admission
This presentation is open to the public at no charge. Seating is limited, so early arrival is recommended.
Contact Information
Putnam County Historical Society
(386)329-0140
Send Email
Description
In 1824 the first session of the 18th United States Congress appropriated $20,000 to develop a public road in the Territory of Florida between Pensacola and St. Augustine. It was to generally follow the pre-existing Spanish Mission Trail. The segment between St. Augustine and Tallahassee was contracted to John J. Bellamy (1776-1845), a wealthy Jefferson County planter. The road was completed in May, 1826 using Native American guides and Bellamy's slaves. Portions of the original road are still in use today and a part of the Bellamy Road forms the county line between Putnam and Clay counties. Mr. Williams published his first non-fiction book, "Four Florida Roads" in the fall of 2018. The titled highways are Bellamy Road, the Tamiami Trail, U.S. 301, and I-95. Taken together, the roads form an eccentric backdrop on Florida history. His first novel, "The Pedestrians", a wry sci-fi thriller, was published in 2015. Both books are available on Amazon.com James Williams was a writer and editor of The Lake Region Monitor, a Keystone Heights/Melrose weekly newspaper for nine years. In semi-retirement since 2014, he has stayed busy more recently with presentations on his latest book throughout north Florida. Mr. Williams was born in Gainesville, but spent his childhood in Hampton, Florida. Since then he has lived and published in Kansas, Massachusetts, New York, Shanghai, and the People's Republic of China. He currently resides in Gainesville but travels in Florida extensively.