Colonials: Modifying environment, government
Primary Document: The King’s Highway
•“Certificate of Laying Out of a King’s Road – 40 Rods Wide”
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• Recorded at the request of Messrs. Thomas Smith and William Mapes, Commissioners for the Precinct of Goshen, this 29th day of October, 1736.
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• November 20th 1735, at the request of Msrs. Benjamin Ask, Thomas Dekey, Richard Buell, Thomas Wright, Lawrence Decker, Joseph Perry and others of Wawayanda in Orange County, in the Province of New York, we have laid out a certain King’s Road of forty rod wide, beginning at or near the corner of Mr. Vincent Matthew’s Improved Land at or by Goshen road; thence running as the Old road runs about two rods to the north of Mr. Gold Smith house and thence along to a certain place to the Otterkill by a butter nut tree standing in the Loe Land; then from the butter nut tree over the brook up the Valley to the old path or road and so along the old roads to Cromelines Creek; then along the creek on the west side of the creek though the fence as the old road formerly went to the house of the said Cromlines; then along the south side of the swamp running to the old road. Then along the old road on the north side of Joseph Perry’s fence & so along the old Road to Lawrence Decker’s house on the south side of the house; along the side of the hill over the Crossway; then along the old Road through Thomas Blains fence on the South side of his house and so over the Bridge; then along the road as it goes to Abraham Wintfield house on the south side of the said house; then along the Old Wagon road tell it come near the Duble kill; then directly to the intended Bridges over the Duble Kill; then along on a strait course to the house where young Jacob Decker lives on the south side of the said house; then along the road that runs to Gold’s Plantation over the said Kill till it comes near the house of Thomas Dekey house; then running from the said road northward over the creek or run and so along the north side of the said Thomas Dekey’s barn & so to his house.
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•      (Signed) Tho Smith, William Mapes Recorded, Liber B. page 483, October 29, 1736, Orange County Records.”
This document tells us that:
•NYS was organized as a Province in early days.
•In order to be an official King’s road, certain standards had to be met. (a rod is 16 ½ feet); roads were usually 66 feet or so wide– this unusual width may be due to a transcription error (16/5 x 40 = 660 feet!)
•People were modifying the landscape by 1735, and calling it “improvements”.
•That some landholders grew crops beyond their own family’s needs, and called them “plantations”, even in the north.
Colonial “roads” could range from foot paths to the official “King’s Road”.  This road was created 40 rods wide, (according to this transcription by Genevieve Van Duzer)  A rod is 16.5 feet, so while it is unlikely that the trees and brush were cleared for this width, this emphasizes that colonial travelers felt the need for wide margins where they could see, in order to feel safe. Many “Kings Roads” were created during the French and Indian Wars as the need to move troops and ordinance about quickly increased.

The Warwick portion of the road began within Joseph Perry’s land (he owned the area near Wickham Lake, which in early days was called “Perry’s Pond”); Thomas Blain’s property was in the vicinity of the Chateau Hathorn and Shoprite, the Double Kill crosses the present Rt. 94 at New Milford, and Thomas DeKay’s house was over the line into New Jersey.

Environmental changes are implied by this document:  Lands were being cleared, fences erected.  One story from colonial days that is in Under Old Rooftrees, from colonial days:
“One landed proprietor was wont, as he sat before his blazing
hearth, to muse on the prospects of his descendants for fuel and grieve for fear the wood might be exhausted and future want exist.
Sometimes the good old man, although owning broad acres of
timber, would remove an extra brand, saying, "We must be very
careful; I don't know what our children will do for wood, it's going so
fast."