Fayette County WV Archives History - Books .....Chapter VIII Beginning Of Public Highways 1926 ************************************************ Copyright. All rights reserved. http://www.usgwarchives.net/copyright.htm http://www.usgwarchives.net/wv/wvfiles.htm ************************************************ File contributed for use in USGenWeb Archives by: Joy Fisher sdgenweb@yahoo.com November 19, 2007, 5:12 pm Book Title: History Of Fayette County West Virginia CHAPTER VIII BEGINNING OF PUBLIC HIGHWAYS Until 1786 the route of travel through Fayette county, besides the river proper, was mainly over the old Buffalo Trail, passing the Ansted site. In 1786 a wagon road called the "Koontz New Road" was constructed from Lewisburg, Greenbrier county, passing entirely across Fayette. Its course was by way of Muddy creek, Keeney's Knob, Rich creek, Gauley, Twenty-Mile creek, Bell creek and Campbell's creek. Before this, however, in 1775, a wagon road was made over the mountains by Rev. John Alderson as far as Lewisburg. About 1825 the James river and Kanawha turnpike was completed as far west at the present Charleston site. This road extends eastward through the county from Montgomery, along the north bank of Kanawha river to Gauley Bridge, and thence eastward via Ansted, Mountain Cove, Hico, Lookout, Cliff Top, Ravens Eye, and Maywood, crossing the Fayette-Greenbrier county line one-half mile west of Rainelle. The next road of importance to be built was the Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike, completed about 1848. It passed the present sites of Beckley, Mount Hope, Oak Hill, and Fayetteville, and joined the James river and Kanawha Turnpike at Kanawha Falls. Many of the farmers living along the route subscribed sums of money to aid in its construction. From Kanawha Falls this road now extends along the south bank of the Kanawha river on across Fayette county to Montgomery at the Kanawha county line, and thence to Charleston. It also extends from Beckley, Raleigh county, through Mercer county and into Giles county, Virginia. An early writer who traveled over the James River-Kanawha route pronounced it "one of the principal chains destined by nature to bind together the eastern and western portions of this great republic". To provide better facilities for travel and traffic between east and west along this route was an enterprise presented for the consideration of the government of Virginia after the close of the Revolution. The subject was a favorite one with Washington, who in 1784 first brought it to the attention of the legislature, which promptly passed an act incorporating the James River Company, and in 1785 authorized the construction of the "state road" for wagons which was completed to the navigable waters of the Kanawha by 1790 and opened to the Ohio by 1800. In October 1785 a new act authorized the opening of bids for opening within two years a wagon road at least 30 feet wide from Lewisburg to the lower falls of the Kanawha. This road, probably with a width considerably less than the specifications, was constructed in 1786. It completed what was known in the statutes as early as 1790 as the "Old State Road" the first communication by wagon from the east to the navigable waters of the Kanawha. In 1791 the terminal point of overland travel westward to Kentucky and other points on the Ohio was on the Great Kanawha twenty miles above the mouth of Elk at Kelly's creek. Here the travelers secured small flat-boats built to carry them by water for the remainder of their journey. In 1796, and again in 1803, appropriations were made for the repair of this road from Lewisburg to the Kanawha. In, 1787 a new act authorized the construction of a wagon road from Kanawha Falls to Lexington, Kentucky. This road probably opened as early as 1800, was completed to the Ohio under authority of the county courts of Kanawha which as early as 1802 provided for surveys from which some kind of a road was constructed by 1804. Mails were carried from Lewisburg to Scioto salt works as early as 1804, and from Lewisburg to Chillicothe by 1807. By 1808 many drovers from Ohio and Kentucky passed over the Kanawha route to find a market for hogs and other live stock. Lewis Summers recorded that the drovers and travellers used nearly all the surplus grain along the route and that many sheep and hogs were destroyed by wolves and bears. By act of February 1, 1809 tolls were authorized. Net proceeds of all tolls were applied to the maintenance of the road. An attempt was made to fix tolls on an equitable basis according to damage done the road. The following rates were established: Wagon, team and driver 25 cents Four-wheeled riding carriage 20 cents Cart or two-wheeled riding carriage 12 1/2 cents Man and horse 6 1/4 cents Cattle per head 1/4 cents Sheep or hogs, per score 3 cents In 1814 the chief route of those going westward from southern and middle counties of Virginia was via Lewisburg, across New river at Bowyer's Ferry, through "Vandalia," now Fayetteville, thence over Cotton Hill to the Great Falls of Kanawha, thence continuing along the south side of the Kanawha. In January, 1817, the legislature authorized the construction of a road from Montgomery's Ferry, now Montgomery, via Gauley river near its mouth, to intersect the state road between Fleshman's Plantation and the top of Sewell mountain. Among the prime factors which urged upon the legislature the needs of road improvement was the salt industry in the Kanawha valley, which was restricted in its operations and suffered considerable loss through lack of proper facilities for transportation. In December 1814 the construction of a more permanent road was urged and attention directed to the advantages in suitable road materials along the route. In 1815-16, with a view to the improvement of the communication between the James and Kanawha, the General Assembly asked the aid of the federal government. By act of February 17, 1820, the legislature secured a modification of the charter of the James River Company that would authorize it also "to make a convenient road by the most practicable route from the James to the Great Falls of the Kanawha, and to improve the latter from the falls to the Ohio. For superintending these works the General Assembly appointed by joint ballot nine commissioners, a majority of whom should decide all questions. By act of February 28, 1821, the number of commissioners was reduced to five and the company was empowered to graduate the tolls on salt from one to two cents according to circumstances. In 1821 the route of the new Kanawha road was located westward through Greenbrier and beyond. The right side of both the New and the Kanawha was chosen because that route required fewer bridges and furnished better grade at less cost. A year later, the bridges between Lewisburg and Gauley were about completed. The covered bridges over the Greenbrier and the Gauley cost $18,000 each. In 1822 the company finding it difficult to procure "labor of proper kind" were forced to consider whether it could purchase slaves to complete the work. By 1824 the road was completed between Lewisburg and the falls with an extension partly constructed from the falls to Montgomery's Ferry, and was much used by wagons transporting salt to Greenbrier, which thereby promised to become the main source of supply for Monroe and Pocahontas and for part of Nicholas. Salt, which cost twenty cents per bushel at the works, was conveyed to Lewisburg for twenty-five cents. By 1824 the large quantities of salt hauled east drove out foreign salt which previously had been shipped from the seaboard, or reduced the price more than half. In order to extend the benefits of the trade the General Assembly was asked to extend the road to the lower end of the salt works. Three years later the road was completed only to a point about twenty-six miles above Charleston, and thence westward to the Big Sandy. Travel was only by horseback and light carriages. Much of the completed road had been badly damaged by heavy wagons and by hogs. Early collection of tolls was attended with considerable difficulty In 1825 the toll was five cents for each person, excepting those exempted by living within four miles of a gate and not traveling over four miles. Complaint was made that those who enjoyed free tolls assisted others to evade the law. Some gates were so situated that roads could be made around them to avoid payment of tolls. A private road opened in order to turn Metzker's Toll Gate, fifty miles west of Lewisburg, enabled the people to enjoy fifty miles of turnpike free from tolls. An act of February 28, 1829, exempted from tolls persons going to mill or returning from mill. The destruction of Gauley bridge by fire on July 11, 1826 by persons interested in the ferry at that point necessitated the employment of a ferryman who was paid one-third of the collections at that point. A new bridge, uncovered to reduce the danger from fire—a structure which stood until 1849—was completed in 1828. To keep the road in repair from Lewisburg west cost $1000 per year. The toll gathers were paid 9 per cent of the collections. In 1835 there was an increasing travel resulting from the wide and increasing popularity of the springs east of Lewisburg. By 1836 the buildings at White Sulphur could accommodate 400, and in 1838 it was estimated that 6000 persons visited the resort during the entire season. The Kanawha turnpike was an incentive to the opening of several later lines. By 1827 there was a post-road from Gauley Bridge to Nicholas county, but the mail contractor complained to the justices of Kanawha county that its width was less than the twelve feet required by law. About 1848, the Giles, Fayette and Kanawha turnpike, begun in 1838, was completed. About 1850 a turnpike, begun in 1848, was constructed from Gauley Bridge, via Summersville, Sutton, Flatwoods, and Bulltown, to Weston. A new bridge over Gauley was completed in 1850 and continued in use until its destruction in 1861 during the struggle between the North and the South. We are indebted to Jas. M. Callahan's "Semi-Centennial History of West Virginia" for most of the data included in this chapter. Additional Comments: Extracted from: HISTORY OF FAYETTE COUNTY WEST VIRGINIA BY J. T. PETERS AND H. B. CARDEN 1926 JARRETT PRINTING COMPANY CHARLESTON, W. VA. Copyright, 1926. BY THE FAYETTE COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, INC. All Rights Reserved. File at: http://files.usgwarchives.net/wv/fayette/history/1926/historyo/chapterv16gms.txt This file has been created by a form at http://www.genrecords.org/wvfiles/ File size: 10.8 Kb