Ashley River Road, also known as South Carolina Highway 61, essentially runs parallel to the Ashley River. The road’s construction was authorized by an Act of the General Assembly in 1691, and it was intended to span from Charleston to the Ashley Barony. Due to a 1719 addition to the road’s path, the entire project was not completed until 1721. The current road is likely the oldest road in South Carolina still in use, and it follows the same route delineated on the Lodge-Cook Map of 1771. A 1721 statute prohibited the cutting of shade trees along the road, so it is possible that some of the trees that line Ashley River Road date from this period or earlier. The road is highly significant to the history and development of the city of Charleston, the Ashley River region, and the state of South Carolina. It was individually listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1984, and was declared a National Scenic Byway in 1999.