Conestoga River Scenic Drive PDF Download

Excerpt from The First Long Turnpike in the United States, Vol. 1 A history of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike seems to me to involve the whole early system of transportation in this Colony and State from Philadelphia to the West, and I have, therefore, concluded that the most appropriate way to treat the subject will be, first, to describe the King's Highway, which preceded the Turnpike, and then to give a narrative of the Turnpike itself. I will then follow, at a later time, with a sketch of the prominent houses and locations along the Turnpike Road, during the period that the travel was at its zenith. With this brief introduction I begin my story. At a very early date, roads began to be laid out from Philadelphia to the westward, and it is certain that, in 1714, there was a road which was said to be "the directest and best" that led from that city to the Dutch settlements at Conestoga and Susquehanna. This or another early road entered what is now a part of this county near the Gap hills, and proceeded westward, through Strasburg, the Big Spring, and on to Conestoga River, "at the usual ford leading to the Manor." It, therefore, may be fairly asserted that the first well-defined road or combination of roads from Philadelphia to Lancaster county was known, at least in part, as "The Great Conestoga Road." The town of Lancaster had then no existence, and the road to which I refer ran considerably to the south of where that town was afterwards located; but, when Andrew and James Hamilton laid out the townstead of Lancaster, and when, on the formation of the county, it was fixed upon as the county town, necessity, of course, arose for more direct communication between the provincial capital and the new town. A movement was, therefore, started with a view of securing a suitable road. In this early day, roads which were known as "King's Highways" were laid out by the Governor and the Provincial Council, and the other roads were laid out under statutes by the Courts of Quarter Sessions of the respective counties. As the projected new road was intended to be a main artery to the West, it was deemed best to have it laid out as one of the King's Highways, and, for this reason, a petition for that purpose was, on January 29, 1730-31, presented to the Honorable Patrick Gordon, Lieutenant-Governor, and the Provincial Council, at a meeting held in Philadelphia. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.