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Route 15 in Virginia, one of the State's oldest roads
Photo courtesy of Scenic
America |
The establishment and maintenance of public roads were among the most
important functions of the county court system during the colonial period
in Virginia. Each road was opened and maintained by an Overseer (or Surveyor)
of the Highways appointed yearly by the Gentlemen Justices of each county.
For these purposes, he was usually assigned all the able-bodied men (the
"Labouring Male Tithables") living on or near the road. These individuals
then furnished their own tools, wagons and teams and were required to
work on the roads for six days each year.
Some of Virginia's most prominent early roads include:
- Great Wagon Road (Great Valley Road)--Many early German and
Scots-Irish settlers used what became known as the Great Wagon Road
to move from Pennsylvania southward through the Shenandoah Valley through
Virginia and the Carolinas to Georgia, a distance of about 800 miles.
Beginning first as a buffalo trail, a great Indian Road (the Great Warrior
Path) ran north and south through the Shenandoah Valley, extending from
New York to the Carolinas. Virginia Main Street communities along this
route include Winchester and Staunton.
- The Wilderness Road--The road through the Cumberland Gap was
not officially named "the Wilderness Road" until 1796 when it was widened
enough to allow Conestoga Wagons to travel on it. However, by the time
Kentucky had become a State (1792), estimates are that 70,000 settlers
had poured into the area through the Cumberland Gap, following this
route. The Wilderness Road connected to the Great Valley Road which
came through the Shenandoah Valley from Pennsylvania. Virginia Main
Street communities near this route include Radford
and Marion.
- The Three Chopt (or Three Notch'd) Road--In the early 1700s
settlers traveled the major east-west route from Richmond to a pass
in the Blue Ridge Mountains named Wood's Gap (Jarman's Gap), paralleling
the James and Rivanna rivers. This thoroughfare, the Three Notch'd Road
or Three Chopt Road, threaded its way through the Southwest Mountains
east of the Rivanna River Gap following an Indian hunting path through
the region. Virginia Main Street Communities near this route include
Orange, Waynesboro and Staunton.
The Blackwater River was an important
transportation source for Franklin in the
19th century
Photo courtesy of Virginia
Main Street Program
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These roads were often poorly maintained and caused severe problems for
those wishing to move goods from one location to another. Virginia's rivers,
such as the Blackwater River through Franklin, provided
a smoother mode of transportation and were used as trade routes early in
the Commonwealth's development. First navigated by double dugout canoes
or larger boats (often called batteaux, a derivation of bateaux, the French
word for boats), many of the Virginia's rivers, including the James, Appomattox,
Maury, New, Staunton/Roanoke, Rappahannock, Rivanna and Potomac, began to
receive "improvements," such as wing dams, sluices (channels for swift water)
and even locks. As the systems of canals and locks adjacent to the relatively
wild rivers were developed, towns in their vicinity flourished. Virginia
Main Street Communities that were particularly impacted by advances in river
navigation include Lynchburg (James River), Lexington
(Maury River), Radford (New River), and Winchester
and Berryville (Shenandoah River).
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Danville's restored train station
Photo courtesy of Virginia
Main Street Program |
When the railroad began to take prominence in the mid-19th century, their
holding companies purchased many canals, laying tracks on their towpaths
(paths running parallel to the canal that allow mules to tow canal boats
via a rope). It did not take long for the railroad to become the premier
mode of transport in Virginia. In fact, every Virginia Main Street Community
has or had a rail line running through it. Many of these communities have
restored their train depots and auxiliary buildings, including Staunton,
Rocky Mount, Danville, Orange,
Manassas, Bedford and Lynchburg.
Automobiles in downtown Radford,
c. 1940
Photo courtesy of Library
of Congress, Prints & Photographs Division, FSA-OWI Collection [LC-USF34-062052-D
DLC ]
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The Virginia State Highway Commission was established in 1906, with responsibility
for construction and maintenance of the State highway system. In 1918, Virginia's
General Assembly designated a network of 4,002 miles of roadway, with the
counties responsible for lesser roadways. By the late 1920s, the automobile
had firmly established itself as the newest and most improved method of
travel in the State. In 1932, the General Assembly passed the Byrd Road
Act, establishing the State secondary road system and allowing the counties
to transfer responsibility for secondary roads to the Virginia Department
of Highways (which became the largest State agency in personnel and expenditures
by 1938). Virginia, like the rest of the country, embraced the automobile
and the ease of travel it provided. Furthermore, the development of the
automobile and modern roadways greatly facilitated the growth of tourism
in Virginia, which has become a major factor in the State's economy over
the last century. |