J. Michael Francis Professor and Chair Department of History University of North Florida

In 1823, the US Congress allocated $20,000 for the construction of a federal highway that was to extend from St. Augustine to Pensacola. The following year, construction began on what became Florida’s first federal highway, later named the Bellamy Road (portions of which survive to this day). Few Floridians are aware that much of the Bellamy Road was constructed along a much earlier transportation corridor, a transpeninsular Camino Real, or “royal road,” which over time linked Spanish St. Augustine with Pensacola. The Camino Real played a pivotal role in the economic and religious history of Spanish Florida, serving as a critical travel, transportation, and communication route that linked St. Augustine to the productive populations centers of Apalachee. More than a dozen Franciscan missions were built along the Camino’s path, and agricultural goods, messengers, soldiers, friars, merchants, and Indian laborers all used this route as the principal transportation corridor across the peninsula.

This book chronicles the long and forgotten history of Florida’s Camino Real, combining modern photographs (the Camino passed through more than sixteen modern counties within Florida...not to mention Georgia), ancient maps, and original archival documentation. It follows the expansion of the Camino Real in the early seventeenth century, the rise and fall of the Franciscan missions built along its path, and vital economic role that this road played in the history of Spanish Florida. The book will also take readers through a stunning visual tour of some of Florida’s most stunning landscapes, regions that are often overlooked by visiting tourists. The Camino Real passed through (or near) numerous state and national parks, dozens of spectacular rivers and streams, (the St. Johns, the Suwannee, the Aucilla, and the Santa Fe to name a few) as well as the archaeological ruins of Spanish missions and Indian pueblos.

In the early seventeenth century, the primary route of the Camino Real extended west from St. Augustine, across the St. Johns River (via canoe) and into Timucua territory. Over time, the Camino Real expanded westward, until eventually its meandering course connected St. Augustine to Pensacola.

The book will include a reproduction of the earliest representation of the Camino Real, a British map from 1778. The original is located in the PRO in London, but the Library of Congress in Washington DC has a photostatic copy. The original map measures eight and a half feet in length and two and one-third in width. Copies of additional colonial maps will also enhance the visual appeal of this work.

Below is a list of some of the Franciscan missions that were located along the Camino Real (note that not all of them existed at the same time):

• Tocoy
• San Diego de Helaca
• San Diego de Salamototo
• Santa Rosa de Ivitanayo
• San Francisco de Potano
• Santa Fé II, or Santo Tomás de Santa Fé
• Santa Fé de Teleco, or Santa Fé I
• Santa Catalina
• San Agustín de Ajoica
• Santa Cruz de Tarihica II
• San Juan de Guacara I
• San Juan de Guacara II
• San Pedro I
• Santa Elena de Machava I/San Pedro II
• San Matheo de Tolapatafi
• Santa Elena de Machava II
• San Miguel de Asile

To date, there is no single study of the history of the Camino Real. A work of this nature, which combines the visual appeal with accessible and engaging text, will appeal to visitors and history enthusiasts alike. Moreover, it will tell a long-neglected story of an ancient road that crossed the Florida peninsular long before Florida became a state.