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History Of Early American Roads

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Few roads were built during the early history of the United States since most of the early settlements were located along bays or rivers and transportation was largely by water. Inland settlements were connected with the nearest wharf, but  rite connecting road usually was just a clearing through the forest. Before the Revolutionary War, travel was mainly on foot or horseback, and roads were merely trails cleared to greater width. Development was extremely slow for a time after the war's end in 1783. For example, poor roads were the real cause of the Whisky Rebellion in Pennsylvania in 1794. The farmers objected to a tax on the whisky that they were making from grain. One historian has recorded that "a pack horse could carry only four bushels of grain over the mountains but in the form of whisky he could carry the product of twenty-four bushels.'' Construction of the Philadelphia-Lancaster Turnpike resulted from this incident. It was a toll road 62 mi long, 50 ft between fences, and surfaced to a width of 21 ft with hand-broken stone and gravel.

Between 1795 and 1830 numerous other turnpikes, particularly in the north¬eastern states, were built by companies organized to gain profits through toll collections. Few of them were financially successful. During this period many stagecoach lines and freight-hauling companies were organized.
The "Old National Pike" or "Cumberland Road" from Cumberland, Md., to Wheeling, W. Va., on the Ohio River was one of the few roads financed by the federal government. It was originally toll-free. The Cumberland-Wheeling section was authorized by Congress in 1806 and was completed 10 yr later. It was 20 ft in width, and consisted of a 12-in. bottom and a 6-in. top course of hand- broken stone. Some 20 more years elapsed before the road was completed to St. Louis. During this same period numerous canals were constructed, particu¬larly along the Atlantic Seaboard; but they offered little competition to turnpike development since the terrain of most of the country was unsuited to canal construction.

Title Post: History Of Early American Roads
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Author: aditya