Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1909-10-24
autoist to make up some Of the time lost
in opening and shutting the gates.

4
The ascent Of Clarks gap was soon be-
gun, taking the left fork in the road 3.4
miles from Leesburg. The little town of
Hamilton. with its pretty homes, Is located
S.3 miles from Leesburg. The dirt roads
| in dry weather are in good condition. but
| it is impossible to predict their condition
after rain. Continuing through the main
street of Hamilton the run Is soon made to
| the next town on the route. Purcellville,
30 miles away. A turn to the right, in
front of the Purcellville National Bank.
| leads across the tracks of the Southern
| railway in the direction of Hillsboro. five
miles distant, over good dirt road, lined
on either side with attractive scenery.
Winding through the mountain ranges
clear stretch of road extends for the next
ten miles to Harpers Ferry. The descent
down to the edges of the Shenandoah
river is rocky, and turning to the left,
when near the bottom, the town on the
hillside Is soon revealed to view. For the
privilege Of passing over the bridge into
made and the tollkeeper is always pres
ent with an extended palm.
~
About an hour was spent here for
dinner and a visit to John Browns monu-
ment and an inspection of the war plates
erected in the vicinity Of the railroad sta
ton. Before crossing over on the Mary
land side another toll charge Of Is
cents is collected at the entrance of the
bridge crossing the Potomac river. 1t
might be of interest to many to learn that
| this IL the shortest route to Harpers
| Ferry by several miles. The distance
measured from the National Capital was
| 618 miles. The majority OF the
| autoists use the Frederick route, which
is somewhat longer. Incidentally the time
consumed on the trip was considerably
less than five hours, without any effort
from a speed standpoint. From Harpers
Ferry the road winds around the noun
tain side to Weverton. a little town on
the line of the Baltimore and Ohio rail-
road, three miles from Harpers Ferry.
| The roads are mountainous and rough In
| places, although some efforts have been
| made to improve them. After crossing
the railroad tracks at this point. the road
| extends along the Chesapeake and Ohio
canal, which is left at Knoxville, slight
ly over half mile from Weverton.
The tracks were recrossed here and the
ascent in the direction of Frederick be-
| gun, turning to the left after crossing the
| tracks. The towns Of Petersville and
Jefferson were passed en- route, being but
| snort distances apart from each other.
| About one mile from Jefferson toll is
collected amounting to cents and
| similar charge made about two miles
from Frederick. This town is entered via
Telegraph Hill. and after passing the
main street. we were soon headed for New
Market eight miles beyond The roads he
| tween these points are about as bad as
| any experienced on the trip. On the out
skirts OF New Market. sign greets
the motorist informing him that the
speed limit for motor vehicles is one mile
in ten minutes. violation Of which is
| punishable by a fine Of $25 and costs.
The condition of the road. however. sug
gests a bit of grim humor, for it is such
| as to not permit of speeding, even IL
| one wanted to, and for this reason it is
doubtful Ii many arrests are made for
speeding. incidentally, a handout is
necessary to the toll-keeper amounting to
Is cents. less than three miles from
Frederick.
| From New Market several routes can