Monroe County, Alabama
This marker stands where modern Highway 84 intersects with the historic Old Federal Road near Burnt Corn, Alabama. Long before paved highways crossed this region, the Old Federal Road served as one of the most important travel routes through early Alabama, connecting distant settlements, military movement, mail service, and frontier communities.
Marker Text:
HIGHWAY 84
THE OLD FEDERAL ROAD
The Old Federal Road was the major highway connecting Washington, D.C. to New Orleans from 1806 through the late 1830s. Only horse paths existed until there was a need for the U.S. Government to get mail, munitions and troops to New Orleans. A treaty signed with the Creek Nation on November 14, 1805 allowed for a Post Road to be built which later became the Old Federal Road. Stops were built every 13 to 16 miles. The Old Federal Road remains the main street of Burnt Corn, Alabama.
Notable travelers on this road have included General Lafayette, Francis Scott Key, William Bartram, Colonel Sam Dale, Joseph Thompson Hare, a notorious highwayman, and Vice President Aaron Burr, in 1807 while under arrest for treason.
Alabama Historical Association — 2012
Old Federal Road Project
This stop is part of the Old Federal Road Project, an effort to document the historic markers, routes, and communities connected to one of Alabama’s earliest and most important transportation corridors. At this location, the marker helps connect today’s Highway 84 traveler with the much older road system that once carried mail, soldiers, supplies, and some of the best-known travelers of early American history.
YouTube Video
Location
Highway 84 and Old Federal Road marker
Near Burnt Corn, Monroe County, Alabama
31.41646, -87.27103