Transportation in PA Prior to 1860

Transportation in Pre-Civil War Pennsylvania : 

Transportation in Pre-Civil War Pennsylvania

Roads in Pennsylvania : 

Roads in Pennsylvania “The King’s Highway” was a road “path” that stretched from Boston, Massachusetts to Charleston, South Carolina. Originally starts as the Boston Post Road stretching from Boston to Trenton, New Jersey in the late 1600’s. With expansion of the colonies and the need for communication the road expands as an overland route to Philadelphia, Chester (PA), Annapolis Maryland, Fredericksburg Virginia, Norfolk Virginia and down to Charleston South Carolina.

First Paved Roads : 

First Paved Roads Philadelphia to Lancaster Turnpike Opened in 1794 60 miles stretch of road to open commerce between the two cities and also open the opportunity for western portion of the state to bring their goods to the east. 1st paved roadway in the nation– built of base of cobble stones filled in with crushed stones and sloped in the middle to allow drainage. (John McAdam the creator) 1st toll road in the nation (every ten miles a toll house was constructed with a pike (long shaft) in front of it to stop the traveler who had to pay a toll.

Other Turnpikes built : 

Other Turnpikes built Click on the link to go to the ExplorePAHistory page to view a map of other turnpikes built in this timeframe.

National Road : 

National Road Thomas Jefferson's Secretary of Treasury, Albert Gallatin (remember him from the Whiskey Rebellion) created the vision to create a National Road which would connect Cumberland Maryland to the Ohio River. The National Road (paid for by the Federal government) ran through Western PA (where Gallatin was from) and was completed in 1820 connecting Washington D.C. and Wheeling West Virginia.

Construction of the Roads : 

Construction of the Roads 3 methods The crushed stones method used in the Philadelphia Lancaster Turnpike Corduroy roads where logs were laid down across the road and dirt put on top Plank roads where planks were laid down and supported by crossbeams

Building Bridges : 

Building Bridges Early travel across rivers was done by ferries or fording (crossing where the water is low) the river. Pennsylvania became known as the “state of bridges” as it built bridges to cross. The first major highway bridge built in the Nation was outside of Philadelphia to cross the Schuylkill (made of wire suspension) in 1817. Others were built to cross the Monongahela and the Allegheny near Pittsburgh not long after the bridge over the Schuylkill.

Canals : 

Canals Cheapest way to get goods to the market was the waterways. The background to this slide shows the major waterways of PA (remember the Delaware River runs between PA and NJ on the eastern border). Connecting the rivers with canals became the goal to combat New York State’s construction of the Erie Canal and retain the eastern seaboard commercial market for Philadelphia.

Schuylkill Navigation System : 

Schuylkill Navigation System Construction was started to connect Philadelphia with Port Carbon in the upper Schuylkill River Basin to transport goods from the north to Philadelphia in 1815 (opened in 1825). View the map to see the towns along the way.

Lehigh Canal : 

Lehigh Canal Built by the Lehigh Coal and Navigation Company up to the Lehigh River to Stoddartsville (Northeastern Pennsylvania) to transport goods from the Pocono’s to the Lehigh Valley.

Pennsylvania Canal : 

Pennsylvania Canal Goal was to connect Philadelphia to Pittsburgh using the Schuylkill, Susquehanna, Juniata, Allegheny, Kiskiminetas, and Conemaugh Rivers.

Allegheny Portage Railroad : 

Allegheny Portage Railroad One of the most difficult problems was getting over the Allegheny mountains. System of inclined planes built to transport the canal boats up over the moutains.

Railroads of Pennsylvania : 

Railroads of Pennsylvania

Slide 14: 

The Pennsylvania Railroad was established in 1846 and at first it travelled from Harrisburg to Pittsburgh and later purchased the Columbia-Philadelphia line so a person could travel from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh in 15 hours.

Pennsylvania Transportation : 

Pennsylvania Transportation Just before the start of the Civil War, Pennsylvania had almost 2,600 miles of railroad tracks – the most in the nation. The railroads replaced the canal system as many of the railroads were built alongside the rivers that made the canals. This improved transportation system is driven by the growth of industry in PA.