The Plank Road, Columbia-Providence

The Plank Road, Columbia-Providence. . The Plank Road linking Columbia to a river port at Providence reached its peak of success when it opened in 1856. By the next year, the road was a disaster. , River towns like Glasgow, Boonville and Rocheport had boat landings, but fast-growing Columbia had no reliable river connection. With the Missouri River near, a good road to a port made sense. Dirt roads were often muddy. Railroads, although promising, were new and untested. Many investors considered plank roads a convenient alternative, and the Columbia and Missouri River Plank Road Company formed in 1853. , Providence, 10 miles away, was chosen as the port. Providence was the offspring of Nashville, which had been swept away by flood in 1844. Nashville residents immediately laid out Providence, a mile and a half north. Providence businessman John Parker - owner of the hotel and port house - heavily promoted the plank road. In 1854, the construction contract was awarded to Jacob Barcus and Samuel Leonard of Louisiana, Mo. , Road-building began in fall 1854, with completion scheduled for 1855. The roadbed was graded and drained, with wooden planks or crushed rock covering the middle 8-12 feet. A sawmill located halfway along the route cut a mile of planking every month. Although not ready until spring 1856, the road cost a reasonable $33,000. , But between weathering and heavy freight traffic, the plank road quickly went bad. The Weekly Missouri Statesman reported in February 1857 that “the PLANK ROAD between Providence and Columbia has been considerably injured by thaw and rain.” In August 1857, after operating less than 18 months, the plank road couldn't pay its stockholders and was foreclosed for $8,700. , The road lived on - barely. After a Fourth of July trip in 1863, Thomas Gentry wrote that “at times the hack went up and down like a ship riding the ocean waves.” The plank road was sold later that year at auction for $400. The last owners gave up their interests to the Boone County Court in 1866. William Switzler's 1882 History of Boone County, Missouri included the road's epitaph: “In a few years the road was a ruin, and now not a plank of it remains.” , [Captions] , . Kenneth Hudson's mural of the Columbia-Providence plank road is in Columbia's Howard Municipal Building. Courtesy of City of Columbia. , . An 1875 township map shows Providence on the Missouri River. Within two decades, the river changed course and isolated the town. Used by permission, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia , . Known as McConathy Rye after owner James McConathy, whiskey from “Rockbridge Mills” – present-day Rock Bridge Memorial State Park – was carried by ox-team to Providence. Used by permission, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia , . Columbia no longer needed a river port once the Wabash Railroad connected it to Centralia, and with new gravel roads to Rocheport, Claysville, Fulton, Ashland and Mexico. Used by permission, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia , . Background: Plank roads were popular in the 1840s and '50s, although few were actually built. This scene is near Hannibal, Mo. Used by permission, State Historical Society of Missouri, Columbia ,