Abandoned Wiregrass: Three Notch Road

Captain Daniel E. Burch forged a 200-mile road, shaping the Wiregrass frontier's enduring path.

The War of 1812's guns have been silent for a decade. General Jackson has broken the British Empire's influence on the American frontier, subdued the Creek Confederacy, and forced Spain to cede Florida. An emboldened America consolidates its hold on the Mississippi Territory. Like the ancient Romans, the Americans understand that roads are key to their continental ambitions. Enter Captain Daniel E. Burch, soldier, engineer, and frontiersman.

During the summer of 1824, Captain Burch constructed a road over 200 miles from Pensacola to Fort Mitchell through a tangled wilderness and Creek Territory. Undaunted, he completed, on time and budget, what would ultimately be known as the Three Notch Road. His accomplishment opened a frontier we call the Wiregrass.

Yet, today's Wiregrass is slowly emptying and aging, afflicted with the same population decline plaguing the rest of the U.S. Abandoned structures are commonplace in this verdant land which was once battled over by indigenous nations and empires.
Retrace Burch's 1824 odyssey along today's Three Notch Road, a contemporary photographic journey as seen through history's lens.