Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1900-08-31
OBSERVATION-DISCLOSURES
ron Trey MERE ESTABLISHED sNo
MAINTAINED.

I'IE@-HIEh Toll. sad fo.T t"Hds-
Source. FOR sPssaiztioa-LHrL Of
kao~I.d.. of Road CoHstrEetisH.
Tie making q turnpike rad. by
chartered companies was iuau-EF-ird
n tie last quarter u the eighteenth
century with the advance q Ial-.a-
ton In the west. says Msurige .. Id
ridge State and national charters
xere given 70 many turnpike COME
MES. which al FIRST yielded large prof
Is 10 capitalists. The establishment
Of rurnplkes and the maintenance q
hem By toll. however. effected but
little improvement in the general sys-
ten. and the tax imposed upon those
who were compelled 20 Use many u
these roads was not paid without pro-
test.
The Wilderness turnpike was the
name Of one Of the earliest % these
roads. From the Shenandoah vale.
in Virginia. IL followed for some dis
lance the Holston river, thence i
crossed the Allegheny mountains az
Gun herland gap 10 central Kentucky.
This route was opened Al FIRST for pack
trains, but afterward was 80 imprpy-
I'd that Il became the main road for
wagon trains from Virginia 10 the
valley Of the Ohio. A large commerce
was carried on between Virginia and
the west over this highway, and it
proved very advantageous 10 Kentucky
and adjacent states in their early set
Element and development.
During the first decade Of this cen
fury the Wilderness turnpike was the
best highway south Of the Potomac
river. but soon the traffic began % lie
crease. and the revenue became 50 lin
tied that II was neglected. For years.
however. the tOllgates were maintained,
and travellers were Required 10 pay q
toll OF s. on passing the gates, which
were 20 miles apart. although tools
had 70 be- carried In the vehicle viii
which 10 repair the portions Of the
road that were impossible.
The desire to speculate In those days
was as great as 1t is now. and such
were the profits Of some Of these roads
that they were often the subJec, 4
speculation. 4 notable example II this
is shown by the organization Of a COM
pany In 1892 to build a turnpike from
Philadelphia 10 Lancaster. a distance
Of co miles The charter was secured.
and IN ten days 2.215 subscribers made
"a AE vt.g
more than the law allowed the names
were placed in a lottery wheel. and CO
were drawn. With these subscriptions
the work was begun. The road build
ers Of that day knew little or nothing
regarding the construction OF high
ways. and the mistakes made on this
Occasion taught them some valuable
lessons. The land was condemned the
tees feiled and the roadbcd prepared.
The largest stones tina. could be found
were dumped upon II for foundation.
and upon this colossal base earth and
gravel were spread. Then the work
was declared complete. But when the
washing rains came deep holes appear
ed on every hand, sharp stones pro-
truded from the surface and the horses
received scratched and broken limbs
as they sank between the powders
up to their knees. The gigantic error
OF the road builder was then made
plain. Indignation meetings were held,
at which the turnpike company was
condemned and the legislature blamed
for giving the charter Had II not been
for an Englishman. who offered to
rebuild the turnpike on the macadam
plan. as he had seen roads built in the
old country. improved road construc-
ton would have received a severe
blow. The Englishman's proposition
was accepted by the company, and he
was successful In completing the Ian
caster and Philadelphia turnpike road,
which was then declared to be the
best piece Of highway In the United
States-a masterpiece Of It's kind"
The success Of the Lancaster pike en-
couraged road building everywhere
and before the first decade OF the new
century had elapsed many of the well
settled states were voting money, set
ting apart revenues derived from the
sale of public lands and establishing
lotteries to build turnpikes between
prosperous towns In the east and to
the frontier. The prospect of increas-
ing their land values by the building
Of good roads and the fascination Of
receiving large dividends from invest
ments induced many people to risk
their all upon these schemes. Specu-
lation was rife In the land, turnpike
building rapidly became the rage and
in q few years a sum almost as large
as the public debt at the close of the
Revolution was invested by the people
i'm turnpike ventures. By 1911 over
317 pixies had been chartered In New
York and In the New England states,
their total length being $500 miles
and their combined capital over ST.
100000. Hundreds of miles Of public
turnpikes were constructed In New
York and In some Of the western
states with thick, wide boards or
planks, and for few years 1t was
thought this method would supersede
all Others. While the planks lasted
the roads were good, but the boards
decayed very rapidly, and for this rea-
son the method, proving unsuccessful,
was gradually abandoned. Except for
a few short stretches in the New Eng
land and southern states, the toll sys-
TEN also proved unsuccessful, and
many OF the companies lost money
Some surrendered their charters, and
Others were bought out by the states
or counties. The turnpike system was
gradually superseded by the restora-
ton of the forced labor" system, and
until within the last few wears This