The Assunpink Trail was a Native American trail in what later became Middlesex, Somerset, and Mercer counties in the central and western part of New Jersey. Like Assunpink Creek, the trail takes its name from the Algonquian language Ahsën'pink, meaning "stony, watery place".

One of many Pre-Columbian era trails across the territory, the Assunpink travelled between the Raritan River in the north and the Delaware River in the south crossing relatively flat floodplain of the Millstone River. Over the years the approximate route of the trail has been developed and known as the Old Dutch Trail, The Kings Highway, Lincoln Highway, and Route 27.[1]

At the time of European colonization the area was inhabited by an Algonquian people known as the Lenape[1] and later called the Delaware Indians. Dutch trappers/traders from New Netherland used the trail in the late 17th century between its settlements on the Hudson River and those on the Delaware River and were later followed by early settlers to begin populating the interior.[2][3] After the British takeover of the colony, and the establishment of the Province of New Jersey, the trail became a part major thoroughfare between Philadelphia and Perth Amboy,[4] the capital of East Jersey and a major port.[5] By 1698 it was known as the Kings Highway,[2] and by the early 1700s had been cleared and widened near a new bridge crossing at Kingston.[6] During the American Revolution George Washington made use of the road to circulate in the region during his campaigns at the Battle of Trenton, the Battle of Princeton, and the Battle of Monmouth.[1]

The Princeton and Kingston Branch Turnpike, a turnpike road chartered on December 3, 1807, ran from Trenton to Kingston.[7] During the early automotive age, route became a portion of the Lincoln Highway, the United States' first transcontinental highway that was established in 1913 to run from New York City to San Francisco.[1][8] Today the southern portion of New Jersey Route 27 follows the path.[1]

See also

References

  1. ^ a b c d e de Conte, Paul; Dupont, Jr., Ronald (2009-06-02). Hiking New Jersey A Guide to 50 of the Garden State's Greatest Hiking Trails. Globe Pequot Press. ISBN 978-0-7627-1119-2.
  2. ^ a b "History of South Brunswick Township". South Brunswick Public Library. Archived from the original on 21 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-07. ...location on the Lenape Assunpink Trail where it crossed the Millstone River was the prime factor in its early prominence. Kingston was by far the most active and important village, being situated on both the heavily traveled King's Road and the Millstone River, combining commercial activities of both mills and taverns. The Dutch used the trail as early as 1655 to go from New Netherlands to their settlements along the lower Delaware, and by 1698 it had become a King's Highway.
  3. ^ "A history of Princeton". Princeton Township. Archived from the original on 17 July 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-16. The recorded history of the Princeton area began in the late 17th century when European travelers crossed the narrow "waist" of New Jersey between the Delaware and Raritan rivers along paths created by the Lenni Lenape Indians. Portions of these paths survive in present day Nassau and Stockton Streets, Princeton-Kingston Road, Princeton-Lawrenceville Road, and Mount Lucas Road. One former path became the King's Highway and central New Jersey's main road for well over a hundred years.
  4. ^ http://www.jhalpin.com/metuchen/history/1762map.htm Dalley map 1762
  5. ^ Muser, Jeannette K. "Kingston: Crossroads To History 1675 -". Kinston Greenways Association. Retrieved 2011-07-07. ... Assunpink Trail, which was used by the Lenni Lenape Indians to travel between the Delaware River and the Raritan River. This trail roughly corresponds with today's Route 27 and was used by Dutch fur traders and other early travelers who called it the Old Dutch Trail. As the British gained control of New York and New Jersey after 1664, European settlers began to colonize central New Jersey using the rough pathways of traders, travelers and the Native Americans. What was once the narrow Assunpink Trail became the King's Highway, a key roadway link between New York City and Philadelphia during the colonial period of American history.
  6. ^ "History of Kingston" (PDF). South Brunswick Public Library. Retrieved 2011-07-07.
  7. ^ Murphy, John L. (1877). Index of Colonial and State Laws Between the Years 1663 and 1877 Inclusive. Retrieved 2009-01-13.
  8. ^ Weingroff, Richard F. "The Lincoln Highway". Federal Highway Administration. Archived from the original on 1 December 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-15.
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