Page:Historical and Biographical Annals of Columbia and Montour Counties, Pennsylvania, Containing a Concise History of the Two Counties and a Genealogical and Biographical Record of Representative Families.pdf/64

 CHAPTER V T R A N S P O R T A T IO N F A C I L I T I E S — L IG H T IN G — R O A D S, T U R N P I K E S During the period o f early settlement this portion o i Pennsylvania w as a country of "m a ^ ific c n t distances.” The means of com­ munication with distant points w as slow, te­ dious and inadequate. A s the population in­ creased and the people gained in wealth the urgent necessity fo r easier means o f com­ munication with the more densely settled por­ tions of the Commonwealth became apparent. T h e l^ n caster turnpike, the first of that class o f roads in the State, was built in 179 5, at a cost o f $ 7 ,5 16 a mile, and this a r o u s ^ the people o f this section to the possibilities of road b u ild t^ . In 178 7 ^ a n Owen, the founder o f B er­ wick, w as commissioned to superintend the construction o f a road by the State from Easton to the Nescopeck falls, and two years later the Indian trail which was part of the route w as improved sufficiently to permit the passage o f wheeled vehicles. On M arch 19, 1S04, the Susquehanna & Lehigh Turnpike & Road Company was incorporated, and in the fol­ lowing year graded and completed (he road at an enormous expense for those times. In i8o6 the Susquehanna & Tioga Turnpike R oad Company w as chartered, and by 18 18 the road was completed from Berwick to Newtown on the Tioga river, in N ew Y o rk S u tc . A fte r the completion of the bridge at Berwick in 18 14 a connecting line o f roads extended from Towanda to Easton. John M. Buckalew, one of the prominent citizens o f Columbia county, w as a stockholder in the company and graded a mile of the turnpike for the sum o f $350. T his company has never forfeited its cliartcr, and in the annual state­ ments of the treasurer of the State an item o f some thousands o f dollars appears a s an asset, consisting o f shares in the Susque­ hanna &• Tioga Turnpike Company. “ Centre” turnpike, so called from being al­ most in the center of the State, w as begun in 1808, and ran from Reading to Northumber­ land. passing through the township o f Conyng-

ham, Columbia county. T he chief promoter of this road was Gen. William Montgomery, o f Danville. In 18 14 a branch turnpike was built from Danville tq connect with this main road, and formed one of the important routes from Montour county. In 1788 the R cad ii^ road w as laid out from Catawissa to .Ashland, Schuylkill county, where it connected with the “ Centre” turnpike. In iS io it w as made a State road and partially rebuilt. About 18 17 a sum o f money was appropriated to regrade it, and in 1825 a line o f stagecoaches w'as established by Joseph W eaver. In 1839 Ben­ jam in Potts started an opposition line, both changing horses at the famous Y eag er tavern at Slabtown. It w as the most important road on the soutli side of the river and bore an immense amount o f traffic. Great covered Conestoga wagons slow ly wound their way over the tortuous route across the mountains, their limit o f loading being twenty bushels of grain for two horses. T he journey to R ead­ ing required eight or ten days then. Now an automobile can make it in three hours to Ashland, and about the same time to Reading from the latter place. T h is road is now route N o. 183 of the State highways. T he second Reading roa^ w as opened in 1 8 12 through Roaringcreek township. Colum­ bia county, and for a time bore a part of the stagecoach traffic, but the superior attractions of the older road caused a decline after a short time. T his road is now the chief route for the farm ers to the mining towns o f Schuylkill county. The turnpike from Bloomsburg to Muncy, by w ay o f Jerseytown, W hitehall and E x ­ change. w as established in 18 17. and for many years was a prominent road for travelers to that scetion, until .abandoned in favo r of the railroads. T he road from Berwick to Milton also passed through Jersej'tow n, making that town a prominent point in the days of the stagecoach. T he road from Benton to Unity'ille, Ly-

35

bv