This highway has been following closely the course of the Old Quaker Road, one of Georgia´s earliest vehicular thoroughfares. It was opened about 1769 to link Savannah, the colonial capital, with a Quaker settlement centering around Wrightsboro in today´s upper McDuffie County.
The Quaker Road was one of the longest and most important routes of the Province of Georgia. At this point the original way bore left for a stretch. It rejoins this road some miles to the north.
GHM 017-1 GEORGIA HISTORICAL COMMISSION 1954
Plaque courtesy Lat34North.com.
Original page, with additional info, here.
Photo credit: Ken Moser.