Origin can be traced from at least the early 17th century,[4] and has its origins in a cart track which was used by the European employees of the British East India Company to travel from the factory at Fort St George to the town of St Thomas Mount where the apostle St Thomas is believed to have been martyred, according to Christian belief.[citation needed] The road, in its present form, took shape during the time of Charles Macartney who served as Governor of Madras. With the construction of Marmalong Bridge in 1724, the road started gaining prominence. In the following years, the road became part of the city's central business district which originally covered only George Town.[5] Today, most of Chennai's business and corporate offices are located on Anna Salai.