Nine Mile Road took its name from its early eastern terminus at the Kings Road, built in 1775 near U.S. Highway Number 1, which lay nine miles north of St. Augustine. Between the Kings Road terminus and State Road Number 16, the road passes through portions of Twelve Mile Swamp and crosses land originally granted to the Native American trading firm of Panton Leslie and Co. by the British Crown after 1763. In 1813, the same tract of 10,000 acres passed to the St. Augustinian Antonio Huertas through a grant from the Spanish governor, Sebastian Kindelan. In the early 1800s, the pine flatwoods bordering the road were noted for grazing cattle and producing turpentine. From its early inception to the present, Nine Mile Road has provided transportation for residents of St. Johns County and remains an integral part of its heritage.