A road from Salem to Burlington was first approved by the colonial legislature in 1681 and was called Salem Road (although today is commonly referred to as Kings Highway, although it has at other times been known as "The King's Road" or "The Queen's Road"). It passed through what became Moorestown, Haddonfield, Gloucester, and Woodbury, who grew up along this important thoroughfare.
Today, Kings Highway in Haddonfield is known for being the main street through town, lined with shops and businesses in one of New Jersey's earliest preservation districts. BUT, it has not always been in the same spot that it it now! Indeed, it's route has changed considerably over the years, as outlined by local historian Jerseyman:
Original route - "The road continued running down east of Brace Road until it arrived at Ice House Lane is the modern residential development named “Uxbridge,” located off Haddonfield-Berlin Road, and forded across the South Branch of Coopers River. From there it passed through the Haddonfield Public Works property and over Gill Road to Warwick Road. The Salem Road went down Warwick Road to Laurel Road, crossing the North Branch of Timber Creek at the milldam constructed for what later became Tomlinson’s mill proximate to the old Stratford Military Academy".
In 1704, the road recieved a major reroute - "The route diverted from east of Brace Road and took today’s Munn Lane for a distance before it headed across the landscape and crossed over the Free Lodge milldam and entered Haddonfield. Going down through Haddonfield, the route went down Kings Highway or Main Street, Haddonfield, past the end of present-day Warwick Road and on down through Audubon/Haddon Heights, across Kings Run at the milldam and up into Mount Ephraim."
This road also has the distiction of having a musical named after it, "The King's Road" written by a local resident about the British and American troops in Haddonfield during the War for Independence. It saw performances in 1965 and again in 1776.
Cache is a small container located by the large historical marker stone. Please place the cache back exactly as found so that it stays hidden for the next person! No need to damage any plants to find this one, leave no trace and all that.
Parking for this cache might be harder than finding it. There is no parking on Kings Highway, nor along the part of Chews Landing Road along the park. No night caching, please.
The stone doesn't say it, but Chews Landing Road was first built in 1807.
Sources:
Email from local historian Jerseyman -
http://historicplacessj.blogspot.com/2011/01/kings-highway-and-old-salem.html
Rauschenberger, Douglas B and Tassini, Katerine Mansfield. Lost Haddonfield. Haddonfield, NJ, The Historical Society of Haddonfield, 1999.