USA > Pennsylvania > Pennsylvania, colonial and federal : a history, 1608-1903, Volume Three > Part 18
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due administration of justice therein, be it enacted," etc. So far as the records show, this was the first State road laid out and con- structed at the general expense, but it was not the only effort in that direction. In the following year a similar thoroughfare was authorized to be opened between the northern inhabited parts of Northampton county and the settlement at Wyoming, on the Sus-
Fountain Inn
Near summit of mountains on old Philadelphia and Pittsburgh turnpike. Famous in old Port- age road days and still standing. Engraved for this work from a negative by W. J. Hamor
quehanna river. In later years frequent applications were made for State roads, and several of them were constructed, resulting in the rapid settlement and development of the localities through which they were laid out. They were maintained at the public expense until the counties had become sufficiently populous to as- sume their care, upon which they lost their original character and gradually merged in the more modern system of county roads.
In less than ten years after the first State road was authorized a new class of public highways was brought into existence. In
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1792 an act was passed by the legislature to enable the governor to "incorporate a company for the making of an artificial road from the city of Philadelphia to the borough of Lancaster." At the time this was an important undertaking and somewhat experi- mental in character, in that it involved a large outlay of money on the part of its originators, while the returns in the way of tolls was wholly a matter of speculation. However, the legislature authorized the road, the governor incorporated the company, and after some delay the work of construction was completed. In the enabling act, in conformity to the law requiring a statement of the purpose and substance of a proposed measure, was a pre- amble which will be of interest in this connection : "Whereas, the great quantity of heavy articles of the growth and produce of the country, and of foreign goods, which are daily transported be- tween the city of Philadelphia and the western counties of the State, requires an amendment of the highway, which can only be effected by artificial beds of stone and gravel, disposed in such manner as to prevent the wheels of carriages from cutting into the soil, the expenses whereof will be great, and it is reasonable that those who will enjoy the benefits of such highway should pay a compensation therefor, and there is reason to believe such highway will be undertaken by an association of citizens, if proper encour- agement be given by the legislature," etc.
The incorporation of the Philadelphia and Lancaster turn- pike company was the result of the above act, and the toll road1 put in operation by it substantially followed the route of the King's
1The act authorized the maintenance of toll gates and the collecting of tolls for each ten miles of road as follows: For every score of sheep or hogs, 1-8 of one dollar; for every horse and rider, or led horse, 1-16 of one dollar; for each sulky, chair or chaise, with one horse and two wheels, 1-8 of one dollar; for each chariot, coach, stage-wagon, phaeton or chaise with two horses and four wheels, 1-4 of one dollar; for either of the vehicles last men-
tioned, with four horses, 3-8 of one dollar; for every other carriage- of pleasure, under whatever name, the like sums according to the number of wheels and horses; for each cart or wagon whose wheels do not ex- ceed the breadth of 4 inches, 1-8 of one dollar for each horse drawing the same; for each eart or wagon whose wheels ex- ceed the breadth of 4 inches, 1-16 of one dollar for each horse drawing the same; for each eart or wagon the breadth of
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highway, which originally was laid out in 1733. It was the first toll road in the State and the example set by its projectors was dili- gently followed in later years until the whole territory of Pennsyl- vania was as completely grid-ironed by highways of that class as it is now with steam railroads. Within twenty years next follow- ing the incorporation of the Philadelphia and Lancaster company about thirty similar enterprises were undertaken through char- tered companies, and records show that in 1832 two hundred and twenty such corporations were in existence, although not all of them actually constructed the roads authorized by their charters. In all about three thousand miles of road were built, many of them being constructed with macadamized stone, and at one time there was an unbroken line of stoned turnpike extending westward from the Delaware river (at Trenton) to the Ohio State line, a distance of nearly three hundred and fifty miles. The Philadelphia and Lancaster road was begun in 1792 and was finished in 1794, at a total cost of about $465,000.
During the long period of their existence the toll roads served a useful purpose in attracting settlement to remote localities, and by them, both directly and indirectly, thousands of acres of lands have been brought into occupation and successful cultivation. Pre- vious to the advent of railroads, they, with the old State roads, navigable rivers and canals, were the popular thoroughfares of travel and traffic, and it is a question whether agricultural pursuits were not then more prosperous than within the last forty years. The railroads have worked destruction among the toll road com- panies in this State, and of the many which once did a prosperous
whose wheels shall be more than 7 inches and not more than 10 inches, 5 cents for each horse drawing the same; for each cart or wagon with wheels wider than 10 and not more than 12 inches, or being 10 inches shall not roll more than 15 inches, 3 cents for each horse drawing the same; for each cart or wagon the breadth of whose wheels shall be more than 12 inches,
2 cents for each horse drawing the same. Wagons and carts with wheels less than 4 inches wide were not permitted to pass along the road between Dec. I and May I following, nor at any time with a greater weight than two and one-half tons. Two oxen were estimated as equal to one horse in charging tolls.
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business few remain in existence at the beginning of the twentieth century.
It is evident that the operation of the Philadelphia and Lan- caster toll road was successful for its proprietors, as in the act ( 1794) incorporating the Lancaster and Susquehanna turnpike road company, whose line of road extended from Lancaster bor- ough to the Susquehanna river, the preamble states as follows : "Whereas. the improvement of roads and highways is of the first importance to the interests of agriculture and commerce, and the rapid progress of the improvement of the road from Philadelphia to Lancaster evinces a laudable spirit of enterprise among the good people of this State, and affords a reasonable ground of expecta- tion that an extension of the same westward may be effected, therefore be it enacted," etc. In 1796 two other turnpike roads were projected and incorporated; first, that of the Lancaster, Elizabethtown, Middletown and Harrisburg company, and sec- ond, that extending from a point on the Philadelphia and Lancas- ter turnpike near "Gap tavern," to Newport and Wilmington, in Delaware. In subsequent years similar acts became more fre- quent until the means of travel and transportation were furnished to the people of all settled portions of the State.1
1Among the early turnpikes opened by incorporated companies, in addition to those mentioned, were the Germantown and Perkiomen, 1801; Cheltenham and Willow Grove, 1803; Chestnut Hill and Spring House, 1804; Philadelphia, Bristol and Morrisville, 1804; Philadelphia, Bran- dywine and New London, 1810; Perkiomen and Reading, 1811; Ridge, 1812; Spring House and Bethlehem, all in southeastern Pennsylvania. The York and Maryland line, 1807; Centre, 1808; Gettysburg and Petersburg, 1809; Gap and Newport, 1809; Chambersberg, 1812; Hanover and Car- lisle, 1812; Little Conestoga, 1812; Dan- ville, 1814; Chambersburg and Bedford, 1815; Harrisburg, Carlisle and Chambers- burg, 1816; York and Gettysburg, 1818, all
in the central and southern region of the state. The Susquehanna and Lehigh, be- gun 1804; Easton and Wilkesbarre, 1805; Coshocton and Great Bend, 1806; Milford and Owego, 1809; Bethany and Dingham's Choice, 1812; Bridgewater and Wilkesbarre, 1813; Bellmont and Easton, 1817; Susque- hanna and Tioga, 1818, all in northern and northeastern Pennsylvania. The Erie and Waterford, begun 1807; Greensburg and Pittsburg, 1814; Bedford and Stoys- town, 1815; Huntingdon, Cambria and In- diana, 1815; Stoystown and Greensburg, 1816; Mercer and Meadville, 1818; Susque- hanna and Waterford, 1818; Pittsburg and New Alexandria, 1819, all in western Penn- sylvania.
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The National road, still occasionally referred to as the "old Government road," was one of the most important early internal improvements projected in the interests of the general government and the people of the States through which it was constructed. The road was built by the government, presumably at the general expense, but in part as the result of an agreement with the newly admitted State of Ohio, by which the latter agreed not to impose
.
Conestoga Wagon
Reproduced especially for this work from a drawing by Darnley in possession of the His- torical Society of Pennsylvania
a tax within five years on United States lands sold in that State ; and in consideration therefor the government promised to apply two per cent. of the proceeds of those sales toward the construc- tion of a national highway. The work was begun on the line from Cumberland, Md., to Wheeling. W. Va., in 1806, but owing to the war of 1812 it was not completed until 1822, and then not fully according to the original plan, as four roads were projected and only one was built. In this State the road crossed the coun- ties of Somerset. Fayette and Washington, and was a famous thor- oughfare for emigrant travel in early days. It was abandoned
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by the government in 1836, and for several years afterward was maintained by the States through which it passed, the tolls collect- ed being used in making necessary repairs. Later on this State released its rights in the road to the counties, and it thenceforth was maintained as part of the common road system.
Incident to the establishment of State roads, turnpikes and county and town roads, the operation of mail and stage coaches formed an important element of early domestic life, and contrib- uted largely to the prosperity of their time ; and the arrival of the weekly and afterward tri-weekly stages with their loads of pas- sengers and newspapers from the city was an occasion of much re- joicing in every hamlet and borough along the route. Generous hospitality always awaited the travel-worn passenger at the way- side tavern, and the papers furnished new subjects for discussion at the fireside and at the gathering places of the worthies of the town. The coming and going, too, of the heavy, lumbering wagon with its load of merchandise, drawn by teams of four and sometimes six horses, gave added interest to rural life, and like- wise contributed to the profit of the farmers in the sale for ready cash of the surplus products of their lands. These were indeed the prosperous days of husbandry, and the foundations of thou- sands of comfortable fortunes were then laid by the thrifty tillers of the soil. With the advent of steam railroads a new and more speedy means of travel and transportation was provided, manufac- turing interests were fostered, greater benefits accrued to the set- tled localities, but the day of prosperity of the stage coach and the freight wagon was at an end.
The opening of highways and turnpikes gave rise to the incor- poration of bridge companies, although generally the turnpike companies built and maintained the bridges along the line of their own roads. It was the custom of early times to establish fording places across the smaller rivers and creeks, yet the first companies built bridges in case no safe fording place was found and a ferry could not be successfully operated.
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Bridges were erected in Pennsylvania as early as 1786, in which year a "horse bridge" was built across Crum creek, near Chester, on the route of the King's highway. A drawbridge, undoubtedly the pioneer of its class, was built over the same stream in 1700. These structures were built at public expense, whereas the bridges built by incorporated companies were main- tained by the tolls charged passengers for crossing them. As early as 1798, according to Hazard's Register, a bridge was built over the Schuylkill, on Market street in Philadelphia, and it is claimed that this was the "first great structure of its kind in America." It was of wood and cost $300,000, and while not the first bridge in the country, it was the first great bridge, and its successful construction at that time was regarded as little short of marvelous. It was the result of enterprise on the part of an in- corporated company, and the example set was industriously fol- lowed until all the large streams of the State were spanned with substantial bridges.
Among the more important bridges built and owned by com- panies these may be recalled and mentioned (the year indicates date of incorporation) : The bridge1 across the Susquehanna river, four miles below Wrightsville, 1793 ; over the Delaware, at Easton, 1795 ; over the Lehigh, near Bethlehem, 1795; over the Schuylkill, at Market street, Philadelphia, 1798; over the Dela- ware, at Trenton, 1798; over the Susquehanna, at Wilkes-Barre, 1807; at Northumberland, 1809;2 at Harrisburg, 1809; over the Monongahela, at Pittsburg, 1810; at Brownsville, 1810; over the Allegheny, at Pittsburg, 1810. At the Callowhill street crossing over the Schuylkill, in Philadelphia, in 1842, Charles Ellet built the first wire suspension bridge in the United States. It was 343 feet long, and 27 feet wide ; cost, $50,000. It was torn down in 1874.
1Compiled from "Pennsylvania and the Centennial Exposition," Vol. I.
2This bridge stood until June 28, 1863, when it was destroyed by order of Col.
Frick to prevent the advance of the con- federate forces, who then were at Wrights- ville. It was of wood, one and one-fourth miles long and stood on 23 piers.
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Canals .- The idea of establishing artificial water courses in Pennsylvania is said to have been suggested within a few years after the colony was planted, although nearly a century passed be- fore any definite measures looking to that end were adopted. As early as 1761 an act was passed providing for the appointment of commissioners to improve the waters of the Schuylkill, but noth- ing was acomplished under the act, nor that of 1773, which pro-
Old Cross Roads
On the State road between Philadelphia and Baltimore and famous in staging days. En- graved for this work from a negative by D. E. Brinton
vided for the same object. In 1762 a scheme of inland navigation was proposed, the purpose of which was to unite the Delaware river with the Ohio and Lake Erie, and to that end surveys were made for a canal between the Schuylkill and Susquehanna by way of Swatara and Tulpehocken creeks; but no substantial results followed, although the plan was looked upon as practicable and much interest appears to have been awakened in favor of the un- dertaking. At that time the people were recovering from the effects of the last French and English war, and almost before that was accomplished they were confronted with the more serious struggle for independence, hence all thought of extensive internal improvements in the province was dismissed. After the Revolu- tion the subject was revived and a new spirit of progress was aroused through the efforts of the Society for Promoting the Im-
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provement of Roads and Inland Navigation, an organization including in its membership many of the most influential and wealthy men of the State.
In the early part of 1791 the society presented to the legisla- ture of Pennsylvania a memorial, setting forth the advantages to be derived from a system of inland navigation by utilizing the waters of the large rivers and connecting them with canals. The plan proposed was reasonably complete, and contemplated a sys- tem of navigable waters extending up the Susquehanna into New York State, to Lake Ontario, and even to the regions east of the Hudson river. In this grand scheme of development co-opera- tion with the efforts of a similar society in New York was prom- ised, and even a national association was suggested as having an earnest interest in the undertaking. In support of its arguments the society represented that in 1790 one hundred and fifty thou- sand bushels of grain had been brought down the Susquehanna and passed through Middletown on its way to market in Phila- delphia ; that the country bordering on the Juniata had furnished a considerable portion of this quantity, although the lands on that river were then in "an infant state of cultivation;" and, continues the memorial, "suppose them to be ever so well improved, the pro- portion they bear to the lands on the other branches of the Sus- quehanna is not more than one-fifth part."
The memorialists also represented that in 1788 large quanti- ties of wheat and flour were carried up the river for the use of set- tlers in Northumberland county, but that since March, 1790, about 30,000 bushels of wheat had come to market from that county ; and that should an easy inland communication be effected between the Schuylkill and Susquehanna, the whole produce of Cumber- land and part of York county, as well as that of the upper valley regions, would cross the Susquehanna to Philadelphia markets.
The memorial was accompanied with reports of surveys of the proposed line of improvements, estimates of cost of construction, and a plan for carrying out the purposes of the originators. The
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proceedings were laid before the proper committees of both houses, and after mature deliberation the legislature took action. not, however, in accordance with the hopes of the society, but rather in the way of partial relief, in that incorporated com- panies1 would be favored in the improvement of navigable waters in the vicinity of Philadelphia, and the gradual extension of arti- ficial waterways into interior localities, when the settlements of the country and the finances of the State would permit such action. In the year 1761-2 the legislature appropriated £36,160 for the improvement of roads and rivers, and £14,333 for the same pur- pose in 1793.
Although the chief purpose of the society was not fully accom- plished at this time much good resulted from its efforts. On Sep- tember 29, 1791, the governor was authorized to incorporate a company for "opening a canal and lock navigation" between the Schuylkill and Susquehanna rivers, utilizing the waters of Swa- tara and Tulpehocken creeks. This company was incorporated under the name of Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation com- pany. On April 10, 1792, the legislature authorized the incor- poration of the Delaware and Schuylkill Navigation company, whose purpose was to open a canal from the Delaware river at Philadelphia to the Schuylkill at Norristown. This company made considerable progress and partially completed its canal from the bridge on Columbia avenue to the intersection of Broad and Vine streets before financial difficulties compelled a suspension of its work. The State railroad to Columbia was afterward built on the abandoned line, and the same now forms a part of the route of the Philadelphia and Reading road. Still later attempts to open canal navigation between the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers met with discouraging obstacles. The Southwark canal was pro- jected and partially completed about 1830, and then was aban-
1Gordon's "Gazetteer" in 1831 states that forty-three canal and navigation companies had been incorporated previous to that year,
and that of the entire number only seven completed the improvements authorized by their respective charters.
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doned. The Conewago Canal company was incorporated in 1793 for the improvement of the Susquehanna river at and near Wright's Ferry, and for the construction of a canal around Cone- wago Falls. This undertaking was carried into actual opera- tion, although subsequent individual enterprise had much to do with its ultimate success. It was for many years an important part of the internal improvements of the State, and traces of its abandoned works are yet to be seen in that locality.
In the enterprises thus noted canal improvements in Pennsyl- vania had their actual beginning, and notwithstanding the difficul- ties which attended the work of construction, others of similar character were planned before the end of the century. In 1795 both pioneer companies were financially embarrassed, and for their relief the legislature authorized them to raise by lottery the additional sum of $400,000. In 1806 the State extended aid to the Schuylkill and Susquehanna Navigation company by the pur- chase of four hundred shares of its stock. These measures gave only temporary relief and work was suspended after about fifteen miles of canal were completed. In 18II the companies were con- solidated under the name of Union Canal company, and authority was given to extend its line to Lake Erie. The new company began work in 1821, and in 1827 opened for traffic a line of canal extending from Middletown on the Susquehanna to Reading, a distance of 77 2-3 miles. The improvement along the Schuylkill, originally contemplated by the Delaware and Schuylkill company, was made by the Schuylkill Navigation company.
In 1799 the legislature authorized the appointment of commis- sioners to ascertain the most practicable route of water communi- cation between the Delaware river and Chesapeake Bay. This was followed by an act passed in 1801, incorporating the Dela- ware and Chesapeake Canal company. The Lehigh Navigation company was first incorporated in 1798 and was re-incorporated in 1813. The Susquehanna and Conewago Canal company was incorporated in 1813, the Schuylkill Navigation company in 1815,
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and the Lackawanna Navigation company in 1817. It may be said, however, that the early attempts to establish inland naviga- tion were only partially successful, and it was not until several years afterward that the fullest hopes of canal promoters were realized. The events of the war of 1812 served as an object les- son in teaching the importance of systematic internal improve-
Canal near Old Portage Railroad
Showing both freight and passenger boats. Photographed especially for this work from an old print in possession of J. F. Sachse
1
ments, and statistics show that of the total cost of that war to the country ($160,000,000) fully one-half was expended for trans- portation of troops and army supplies. Every barrel of pork for- warded to the Canadian frontier cost eighty dollars, every barrel of flour fifty dollars, and in the transportation of cannon the cost thereof was twice that of manufacture. At the close of the war a number of prominent men urged upon the government the neces- sity of establishing a general system of artificial navigation ex- tending throughout the thickly peopled States, and while they failed to secure their objects through the national congress, their appeals stimulated action on the part of corporate companies and
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also led to the construction of trunk canals by several States. In this State the work was begun by incorporated companies about ten years before the legislature determined upon the construction of a canal and railroad line connecting its eastern and western waters.
The Schuylkill Navigation company, incorporated March 8, 1815, was the most successful enterprise of its kind to be projected and carried into operation previous to the construction of the so- called State canal. In 1826, eleven years after the act was passed, this company completed its canal along the Schuylkill from Phila- delphia to Port Carbon ( 10814 miles), and thus early established an important route of transportation from the Schuylkill coal fields to tide water. This canal has continued in operation, and since 1870 has been managed by the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad company as part of its carrying system. The portion now in operation extends from Port Clinton to Philadelphia, a distance of 89.88 miles. The outstanding capital stock of the company aggregates $3,962,250; its funded debt $8,494,872.86.
The Lehigh Navigation company was organized August 10, 1818, under authority of an act of the legislature entitled "An act to improve the navigation of the river Lehigh." The work of construction was at once begun, but in 1820 the company was con- solidated with the Lehigh Coal company under the name of Le- high Navigation and Coal company. In 1821 the name was changed to Lehigh Coal and Navigation company, as now known. Under the energetic action of its management the company suc- ceeded in opening temporary navigation on the Lehigh in 1820, and large quantities of coal were shipped down the river to the Delaware and thence to Philadelphia. The boats at first were of small carrying capacity and down trips only were made for sev- eral years. The construction of a canal to take the place of the temporary river transportation was begun in 1827, and traffic was opened from Mauch Chunk to Easton in 1829; the extension from Easton to Bristol was completed in 1830. The line to White
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