Virginia Department of Transportation History of Roads

A HISTORY OF ROADS IN VIRGINIA

"THEMOSTCONVENIENTWAYES"

SPECIAL CENTENNIAL EDITION

A HISTORY OF ROADS IN VIRGINIA "THEMOSTCONVENIENTWAYES"

Produced by the Virginia Department of Transportation

Office of Public Affairs 1401 E. Broad Street Richmond, VA 23219 (804) 786-2802 (TTY users, call 711) vdotinfo@

? 2006, Commonwealth of Virginia, 7.5m/October 2006

A HISTORY OF ROADS IN VIRGINIA "THEMOSTCONVENIENTWAYES"

A HISTORY OF ROADS IN VIRGINIA 3

TheVirginiasettlers,whoarrivedatJamestownIslandaboardthreesmallshipson May13,1607,hadlittleneedforaroadsystem.

Barelymorethan100innumber,theirfirstconcernsweredisease,hunger,shelter,and protectionfromtheoftenhostileIndianswhohadlivedonthelandforgenerations.In thosefirstrigorousyears,survivaldemandedthefullenergyofthecolonistsin thewilderness.

Thewaterwaysweretherefortransportation--thegreatriversthatemptiedintothe ChesapeakeBayandthatweretobecomeknownastheJames,theYork,the Rappahannock,andthePotomac.

Asthecolonistshuntedforfoodandcautiouslybeganexploringtheforest,they discoveredacrudenetworkofpathsmadelongbeforebyIndiansandwildanimals. Thecolonistsusedthese,andmanyofthepathsweretoshapetheVirginiaroad patternforyearstocome.

Thesettlersalsofoundroughlybuiltbridgesmadeoftreetrunksandlimbs,whichthey atfirstbelievedtobeIndian-plantedtrapsratherthanbridges.By1610,withnew arrivalsfromEngland,thecolonynumbered210.

TheroadalongtheRiverBank,probablyaformerIndianpath,wasusedtohaulsupplies fromtheshipstotheJamestownFort.

TheGreateRoadappearstohavebeenJamestown'smainstreet,anditwasofearly commercialimportance.Itcrossedtheisthmusconnectingtheislandwiththe mainlandatGlassHousePoint,wherein1608glasswasmanufacturedforexport. FainttracesoftheroadareevidenttodayatGlassHousePoint.

Early colonists considered waterways to be the most important transportation links.

4 A HISTORY OF ROADS IN VIRGINIA

Eventually,theGreateRoadextendedonthemainlandtoMiddlePlantation,a settlementtobecomeknownasWilliamsburganddestinedtobethecapitalofthe Virginiacolonyandthehubofthecolonialroadsystem.

ThefirstbridgerecordedashavingbeenbuiltbytheEnglishsettlerswasconstructed in1611atJamestownIsland.Itwasn'treallyabridge,butawharfabout200feetlong fromthebankoftheJamestotheriverchannel,wherethesettlersdockedtheirships. Thecolony'sfirstagriculturalcropsraisedforexportwererolledtotheseships.

JohnRolfehadbegunexperimentingwiththecultivationoftobaccoin1612andtwo yearslaterexportedashipmenttoEngland.Inlessthan20years,tobaccoexportshad reached500,000poundsannually;tobaccowouldremainthefoundationfortheVirginia economythroughoutthecolonialperiod.

Inevitably,thesuccessofthetobaccocropwastoinfluencethecolony'stransportation needsaswell.

Thetobaccofieldsspreadonthemainland,andanumberoftheoldIndianpathsbecame tobaccorollingroads.Thenamecamefromthepracticeofpackingtheharvestedtobacco inbarrelscalledhogsheadsandrollingthemtothewharves,frequentlyadistanceofmiles. Therollersordinarilytriedtofollowthehighgroundandavoidthefords,orshallow streamcrossings,becausewaterleakingthroughthebarrelswoulddamagethetobacco. Thepracticeoffollowingtheoldpathsandbranchingofffromtimetotimeonhigher groundaccountsformanyoftheearlymeanderingcountryroads.

Aftertwodecades,thecolony'spopulationwasnear5,000andgrowing.Thefrontier hadbeenpushedwellbeyonditsoriginalboundaries,andwhilemuchofthesettlers' travelwasstillbyboat,anincreasingproportionwasonland.

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