The Old Coffee Road, the earliest vehicular and postal route of this area, passed here and ran some 120 miles from the Ocmulgee River by way of today's Lax, Nashville, Cecil, Barwick, and Thomasville to the Florida Line above Tallahassee. Opened by direction of the State in 1823 under the superintendence of General John Coffee and Thomas Swain, this pioneer road played a leading part in the settlement and development of Southwest Georgia, and much of its former course continues in daily use.