Highland recorder. (Monterey, Highland County, Va.) 1877-1972, 1906-06-22
Some Old pixies.

Ehe GrdfC0n OPnJlnel ID III IafV'
Of repairing and maintaining tht
Stanton. and Parkersburg pike
and making of it a perfect high
way from the eastern counties
through to the river"
Yes, it ought to be done, says the
Morgantown Chronicle. But is tine
Sentinel right sure it knows where
the Stanton and Parkersburg pike
is? 1t may be suspected from tile
reading of its article that it really
means the Northwestern pike,
which passes within mile of Graf
ton and crosses the river at Fetter-
man, short distance below. But,
whether it has applied the. wrong
name to the pike or not, its sug-
gestion is good. Both pixies ought
to be restored to their former glo-
ny.
The Stanton and Parker>burg
pike begins at Staunton, Va, cross.
es Augusta and Highland counties
enters West Virginia III P"chhon-
tas county. about ten niles east
of Durhin. 1t crosses Randolph
county through BEVERLY. Thence
it crosses over Rich mnum'an and
enters Upshur county and traverS'
- Lewis, Gilmer, Ritchie and
reaches Parkersburg. This road
was built between $4,000, and
was well macadamized. 1t carried
immense travel during the. civil
war and the most Of the macadam
was worn off. The road was never
repaired afterward. except such re-
pairs as counties through which it
passed choose to give. On some
parts of it there was toll until a
few years ago. The part OF the
pike in Randolph county was the
last to take the toll off. The road
was originally II feet wide. 1t
crosses many mountain ranges of
great height, among them being
Allegheny. Cheat and Rich mount
ain. The highest military camp of
the civil war was at Cheat mount
tain in Randolph. At that camp, in
Septemb Der. 1861, the invasion of
West Virginia, led bv Gen Lee in
person, was checked. The old
pike has a history. The battle OF
Eich mountain, on the very summit
was fought in July, 1861, resulting
in victory for McClellan's army.
and the rout and partial destruction
of Garnett's army of Confederates.
So much for the Staunton and
Parkcrsbnrg pike. Now a word
concerning another and greater
road. the Northwestern pike. 1t
was so named because it was the
highway in northwestern Virginia.
1t was the pike that raced with the
b & O Railroad. Both were build
westward at the same time, and
nearly parallel. The pike, howev.
err gained little, and reached the
Ohio river ahead of the railroad.
This great road was 81 feet wide.
It was located by one of the great.
est engineers Of The world, a
Frenchman who built roads for
Napoleon. and whose skill in
throwing bridges across rivers en-
abled Napoleon to save a remnant
of his armo oil tho Moscow cam
paign. 1t begun at Winchester
and entered West Virginia in
Hampshire county, passed through
Mineral, Grant and Garrett count
les, Md, then into West Virginia
again east Of Aurora in Preston
county. 1t passes through Evans
vile and Independence, thence in
to Taylor county, passing north OF
Grafton. and through Pruntvtown.
Clarksburg, Doddridge and RitchiD
to Parkersburg.
When it was new, it was in such
fine condition that it was said a foot
man could walk from Parkersburg
to Winchester, without tncount-
ering a rivulet large enough to wet
the soIes of his shoes. 1t is not in
TINT condition now. Some Of the
counties through which it passes
keep it in tolerable repair. but its
glory has departed. In many plac-
es it is little more than half as
wide as it used to be, and many Of
the original cnlvarts are gone; the
macadam is worn If: the chuck