It Happened Here -- Pay As You Go
All across New York State there are NYSHMs
identifying old Turnpikes; The Highland Turnpike ran through central Columbia County.
The Columbia Turnpike linked to the Susquehanna Turnpike was the main road west for thousands of southern New Englanders on their way to find new homes and lives in Connecticut's "Western Reserve" or the Northwest Territory.
For Northern New Englanders, before the Erie Canal, often the Great Western Turnpike (US 20) was their road to a new life.
Before 1790 the construction and maintenance of most roads was the responsibility of the local townships that they ran through. New York State law required all eligible males to contribute three days labor a year or pay a fee of 62 ½ cents per day to the local towns for the upkeep of roads. Fines for avoiding the tax were $1 per day. The shortcomings of a system like this were obvious. While towns might undertake limited repair projects, the difficulties in creating a coordinated system of roads for farmers to bring produce to market was nearly insurmountable. The coordination of labor and political agreements necessary to run a road through multiple townships could be difficult and stretches of road running through sparsely populated areas would be under-funded. Added to these difficulties were the necessity of working around planting and harvesting seasons which occupied most able body citizens in New York's agrarian based economy.
America, however, had an alternative model in the English system of turnpikes. ("Turnpike" comes from the long pole or "pike" used to bar traffic on the road. Once a toll was paid, the pike was swung or "turned" out of the way allowing traffic to continue.)
Small towns would often spring up around toll gates
In 1792 the first American turnpike was built from Lancaster to Philadelphia, financed by the selling of shares in a joint stock company,. It was a large success and attracted widespread attention. By 1800 13 companies had incorporated to build and operate turnpikes in New York. By 1810 this number had swelled to 126 companies and this number continued to rise until after 1820. The costs of road construction and maintenance were high, however, and only 35 to 40% of the turnpike corporations succeed in creating an operational turnpike.
Bridges were only one of several major expenses. Covered bridges kept
snow and rain off the road surface, helping to preserve it. Their reinforced box structure was inherently strong, making center piers often unnecessary, and the enclosed box helped calm horses distracted by the rushing water.
Mile Marker on the Susquehanna Turnpike
("26 Miles to Catskill"-in Cooksburg)
And there were other problems. State governments fearing the monopolistic power of turnpike interest, placed limits on the rates that could be charged. They limited the frequency of toll stations, and gave many exemptions. People living within a mile of the tollgates were often exempt, as were people engaged in local activities-- going to or coming from church, attending militia musters; going to vote, attending court or attending funerals. People were exempt when going for a doctor or a midwife, going on business to the local grist mill or blacksmith or on family business. Much local traffic was allowed to travel for free. Stage coach companies and other major users often had their tolls deeply discounted, as were some freight wagons if their wheels were wider than six inches. It was felt these wagons helped pack the road bed and contributed to its upkeep.
Once in operation, many travelers became adept at avoiding the toll gates. Paths, called "Shunpikes," often quickly developed around toll gates and their existence became public knowledge, winked at by the local authorities.
The White Creek Shunpike received official recognition, becoming a paved town road. Here is where it intersects with the Great Northern Turnpike, south of the Cambridge tollgate.
From almost the beginning it was apparent that turnpikes would not bring their shareholders much in the way of direct profits, yet plans for turnpikes proliferated and investors continued to invest. Community pride and neighborhood pressure motivated most investors to buy shares, and most investors realized the indirect dividends of better access to markets and increased property values that more than made up for the slim or non-existent direct profits they might see.
Jacob Crounse had a prosperous inn and livery business in West Guilderland (Altamont) on the Albany/Schoharie Turnpike
One of the first of many taverns built along New York's turnpikes.
After the Susquehanna Turnpike declined, this crossroads, outside of Conesville declined as well; its businesses never rebuilt.
It was only after the network of canals and railways captured most of the turnpikes' heavy freight business that these private/public roads fell into disrepair and were allowed to slip into the public domain.
Marker of the Week -- The Inn by the Side of the Road
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