A look back at origin of toll roads
If you are traveling to eastern Pennsylvania, let’s say to Harrisburg, from our western counties, you have several route options.
You could take Interstate 79 South to Morgantown, W.Va., get on Interstate 68 East and then make a quick switch to Interstate 81 North to reach your destination.
If you prefer a more scenic drive, then taking Route 30 from Greensburg is the best choice. Not only is it a beautiful ride, but it is also quite historic. By doing so, you will be traveling roughly the same route taken by Brig. Gen. John Forbes as he marched west with his army of British regulars to remove the French from the forks of the Ohio River in the later stages of the French and Indian War.
However, most people choose to take Interstate 70 East to New Stanton and then hop on the Pennsylvania Turnpike. As you enter the turnpike, you come to a toll booth. After a quick stop to grab your ticket, you continue your journey eastward. Finally crossing the Susquehanna River, you reach your destination and exit the turnpike, but not before stopping at another toll booth to pay the fee for traveling the road.
Although you have not traveled a historic route, such as Route 30, by paying your toll you have nonetheless had a similar experience to frontiersmen traveling east in the 19th century.
In the 19th century, frontier settlers had limited options when it came to choosing a route to the east. They could travel the dilapidated Forbes Road, whose sole purpose when cut in 1758 was to move an army west – not to provide a sustainable trade route.
By the early 1800s, Forbes Road was rutted and eroded to the point that travel was impossible in some areas.
That left travelers with one option – to take the newly constructed National Road. The National Road was the first federally funded road in the United States.
When construction was approved in 1806, the goal was to connect the trade centers of Cumberland, Md., and Wheeling, Va. (now West Virginia).
As construction began in 1811, the plan for the route was to generally follow Braddock’s Road, another military road cut by a British general in an attempt to remove the French from what is now Pittsburgh.
By the time the road had reached Wheeling in 1818, there was already talk of extending it further west. In 1820, Congress approved the extension of the road to the Mississippi River at St. Louis, Mo.
The National Road would never reach its destination, though, as a vote for further appropriations in 1840 was unsuccessful. The road would stop in Vandalai, Ill., with sections of the road in Illinois and Indiana left uncompleted.
In 1835, the U.S. government had already decided the cost of maintaining the eastern portions of the road had become too much of a burden, and Congress voted to transfer responsibility for the portions of the road in Maryland, Virginia (now West Virginia) and Pennsylvania over to those states. It now fell to them to fund the maintenance of their portions of the road.
In Pennsylvania, toll booths were built approximately every 15 miles along the extent of the road in the state to raise funds. From the point the road crossed into Pennsylvania from Maryland traveling west, to the point at which the road entered Virginia, six toll booths were built: one in Addison; one near the Mt. Washington Tavern; one outside of Uniontown; one in Beallsville; one in Pancake, and one outside of West Alexander. Of the six, only two are still standing – the Petersburg Tollhouse in Addison and Searight’s Tollhouse outside of Uniontown.
As travelers made their way along the road, they stopped at each tollhouse. The tollkeepers lived in the tollhouses with their families and were on call 24 hours a day.
When a traveler came to a tollhouse, it was the job of the tollkeeper to determine the amount owed and collect it. It was not at the discretion of the tollkeeper to determine the amount owed.
Tolls were calculated based upon the amount of potential damage that particular traveler could inflict upon the road. The collected toll would then be applied to repairs and upkeep of the road. A sign hung outside each tollhouse that clearly marked the amount that would be owed.
A drover walking his livestock to market would pay a toll based on the type and quantity of livestock he had. A score (20) of sheep cost 6 cents, while a score of cattle would cost 12 cents because they were heavier and would cause more damage to the road as they walked it. How carts and wagons were charged is of particular interest.
Here, the toll was based on the width of the wheels. The sign read:
“Every cart or wagon whose wheels exceed three inches and does not exceed four inches in breadth, for every horse or pair of oxen drawing the same – 4¢
Every cart or wagon whose wheels exceed four inches and does not exceed six inches in breadth, for every horse or pair of oxen drawing the same – 3¢
Every cart or wagon whose wheels exceed six inches and does not exceed eight inches in breadth, for every horse or pair of oxen drawing the same – 2¢
Every cart or wagon whose wheels exceed eight inches in breadth – FREE”
The wider the wheels, the cheaper the toll, unless the wheel width exceeded eight inches. Wheels that wide were unlikely to cause ruts or damage, so there was no need to charge for anticipated repairs.
For those who chose to travel by stagecoach (there were many stagecoach lines along the National Road), the toll was included in the fare. The way in which stagecoach lines, such as the Good Intent Stage Line, would charge for passage is especially interesting. The line would base the fare on how quickly it could get its passengers from point A to point B. Basically, the faster they got you there, the more they charged.
Looking at inflation, using monetary equivalents for 2016, a drover in 1835 walking a score of cattle the length of the National Road in Pennsylvania would pay $16.99. A traveler in a cart with three-inch wheels and a team of oxen would pay $5.66, or about 8 cents per mile.
Just like today, there were those who wished to avoid paying tolls. This was accomplished by taking alternate routes or taking the turnpike and simply rushing past the tollhouse without paying. Those who opted for the latter (and were caught) were fined $3, which would have been about one week’s wages.
Each year, the history and heritage of this road are celebrated during the National Road Festival. This year marks the 44th anniversary of the festival.
On May 20, in downtown Washington, there will be tours of the Bradford and LeMoyne houses, historic walking tours of Washington, an antiques show, period vendors, crafts, period demonstrators and activities for all ages.
For more information, visit www.wchspa.org.