Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike

Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike. Crossing the Mountains. Early in the 1800s, growing western settlement spured a push to improve transportation routes over the Appalachian Mountains. In 1822, Virginia authorized a survey of the route that became the Staunton to Parkersburg Turnpike. Connecting the upper Shenandoah Valley with the Ohio River, the turnpike was funded primarily by state funds, with contributions from communities along the right-of-way. The general route followed earlier Native American and game trails, which by 1790 had often been improved into rough roads. Turnpike construction began in 1838 from both ends of the Pike and the middle section was completed in 1845., The Turnpike was to be built on a variation of the macadam plan, a paving system calling for an elevated road surface with several layers of small stones combined to make a watertight surface. Construction was contracted out in sections. In reality, only some sections of the Turnpike were ever completed to specifications. Once opened, occasional appropriations and the tolls collected proved inadequate to finish bridges and to maintain the roadway., Even so, the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike provided access for settlement and trade into the western sections of Virginia. It was a valued prize fought over during the Civil War. Following the War, most of the turnpike ran within the new state of West Virginia. The road was repaired slowly, and tolls continued to be collected in some sections up to the 1890s., Virginia chief engineer, Claudius Crozet described the route as a "sea of mountains and valleys with little level land" and rivers "flowing in every direction of the compass.", Most of the route of the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike can be followed today on modern roadways. Within West Virginia, the route from here to Parkersburg has been designated as the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike Byway. Some sections of the original route that have been bypassed by the modern highway are designated as Backway routes.