A History of the Weston & Gauley Bridge Turnpike

Abstract : In 1849 work was begun on a turnpike road through a wild and largely unsettled area of western Virginia. Considering the very limited resources and lack of any local engineering experience it was a bold undertaking indeed. What the proponents of this enterprise lacked in technical and financial resources they made up by a display of broad based local support and great enthusiasm. There was nothing unique in this approach to building a national transportation system since it had been used earlier for roads, canals and railways in both Britain and America. In an Age of Progress turnpikes in both countries were built in response to local institutions and not according to any national plan. Little wonder that many failed to provide the expected financial returns, but they did provide the arteries for industry and commercial development, and in that sense they were successful. The Weston and Gauley Bridge Turnpike, stretching nearly 110 miles through a very rugged appalachian landscape, provides an excellent example of how turnpike roads were conceived, designed, financed, constructed and operated. To appreciate fully the history of this turnpike and its influence on the region through which it passed, its story is presented in the larger context of the history road construction and as part of a larger enterprise in Virginia. (Author)