Excerpt from The First Long Turnpike in the United States, Vol. 1 A history of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike seems to me to involve the whole early system of transportation in this Colony and State from Philadelphia to the West, and I have, therefore, concluded that the most appropriate way to treat the subject will be, first, to describe the King's Highway, which preceded the Turnpike, and then to give a narrative of the Turnpike itself. I will then follow, at a later time, with a sketch of the prominent houses and locations along the Turnpike Road, during the period that the travel was at its zenith. With this brief introduction I begin my story. At a very early date, roads began to be laid out from Philadelphia to the westward, and it is certain that, in 1714, there was a road which was said to be "the directest and best" that led from that city to the Dutch settlements at Conestoga and Susquehanna. This or another early road entered what is now a part of this county near the Gap hills, and proceeded westward, through Strasburg, the Big Spring, and on to Conestoga River, "at the usual ford leading to the Manor." It, therefore, may be fairly asserted that the first well-defined road or combination of roads from Philadelphia to Lancaster county was known, at least in part, as "The Great Conestoga Road." The town of Lancaster had then no existence, and the road to which I refer ran considerably to the south of where that town was afterwards located; but, when Andrew and James Hamilton laid out the townstead of Lancaster, and when, on the formation of the county, it was fixed upon as the county town, necessity, of course, arose for more direct communication between the provincial capital and the new town. A movement was, therefore, started with a view of securing a suitable road. In this early day, roads which were known as "King's Highways" were laid out by the Governor and the Provincial Council, and the other roads were laid out under statutes by the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the respective counties. As the projected new road was intended to be a main artery to the West, it was deemed best to have it laid out as one of the King's Highways, and, for this reason, a petition for that purpose was, on January 29, 1730-31, presented to the Honorable Patrick Gordon, Lieutenant-Governor, and the Provincial Council, at a meeting held in Philadelphia. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

Excerpt from Historic Highways of America, Vol. 1 of 11: Pioneer Roads and Experiences of Travelers The first chapter of this volume presents an introduction to the two volumes of this series devoted to Pioneer Roads and Experiences of Travelers. The evolution of American highways from Indian trail to macadamized road is described; the Lancaster Turnpike, the first macadamized road in the United States, being taken as typical of roads of the latter sort. An experience of a noted traveler, Francis Baily, the eminent British astronomer, is presented in chapter two. The third chapter is devoted to the story of Zane's Trace from Virginia to Kentucky across Ohio, and its terminal, the famous Maysville Pike. It was this highway which precipitated President Jackson's veto of the Internal Improvement Bill of 1830, one of the epoch-making vetoes in our economic history. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work.This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work.As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.

This work has been selected by scholars as being culturally important, and is part of the knowledge base of civilization as we know it. This work was reproduced from the original artifact, and remains as true to the original work as possible. Therefore, you will see the original copyright references, library stamps (as most of these works have been housed in our most important libraries around the world), and other notations in the work. This work is in the public domain in the United States of America, and possibly other nations. Within the United States, you may freely copy and distribute this work, as no entity (individual or corporate) has a copyright on the body of the work. As a reproduction of a historical artifact, this work may contain missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. Scholars believe, and we concur, that this work is important enough to be preserved, reproduced, and made generally available to the public. We appreciate your support of the preservation process, and thank you for being an important part of keeping this knowledge alive and relevant.