Old Kings Highway
Merrimack’s Old Kings Highway was constructed after the Massachusetts and New Hampshire border was established in 1746. At that time, the need for a new highway contained entirely within the borders of New Hampshire that began at Keene and extended to the New Hampshire seacoast became apparent. The road entered Merrimack near the Boston Post Road following a northeasterly path crossing the river at Thornton’s Ferry. A newly restored section of this road, suitable for walking, runs through the southeast corner of the Horse Hill Nature Preserve, from Gerard Road to the intersection of Queens Way and Majestic. Stone walls mark the protected original 18th century road segment located within Horse Hill where it travels northeasterly toward Naticook Road.
Access to the restored section of road can be gained from several points. There is parking at the Watanic Bowmen parking area. Old King Highway can also be accessed via the Loop Trail in Horse Hill Nature Preserve, and the Quarry Trail that begins in Wasserman Park.
There are various King’s highways, King’s roads, or King’s ways throughout the original Colonies. King Charles II ordered the construction of the first Kings Road in 1650. The road followed the shores of the Atlantic Ocean from Charleston, South Carolina to Boston, Massachusetts, later extending north through Hampton, and Portsmouth, New Hampshire, and finally ending at Portland, Maine. The first King’s road to pass near Merrimack is today US Route 111 in Nashua. This 17th century road began at Lexington, Massachusetts traveling east to the shores of Hampton Beach, New Hampshire.
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