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/65

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COLUMBIA AND MONTOUR COUNTIES

coming county, was built in 1828, and made a n u il route at the same time. It bore its share of the traffic of the coaching era. in 1856 the State Legislature made an ap­ propriation for the construction o f a road through the valley o f I.iiile Fishing crcck from Bloomsburg to Laporte, Sullivan county. T ilK N .aT IO N A L KOAU

T h is article would be incomplete without a description of the great National Road, or Cumberland Pike, as it w as sometimes called. Passing as it does through a considerable por­ tion 01 Pennsylvania, and built at the time of the commencement o f Uic coaching era, it is o f vast historical importance in the present age, when good roads are being demanded by all the parties and the people. T Jiis road w as proposed in Congress in 1797, an act for its construction w as passed nine years later, and the first coach carrying the United States mail passed over it in A u g ^ t, 18 18. It w as a splendid road, sixty feet wide, built o f broken stone over bedstones o f enor­ mous size, with a covering o f gravel, rolled by an iron roller. Mordccai Cochran w as the contractor for the section from Cumberland, Md., lo Wheeling, W. V a., through the south­ ern part o f Pennsylvania, and Tic employed over a thousand Irishmen to build (lu t route o f 130 miles. T he intention w as to build the road clear through to Alton, 1)1., but it w as completed only a s far as Vandalia, 111., although the route was laid out (he rest of the w ay. O ver this road passed most of the prominent persons of the days before the railroads, and fo r years there was a constant stream o f vehicles o f all kinds traveling along this fine route towards the West. Since the H ighw ay Commission has been established in this State the Nation­ al Road has been improved greatly. S o well was the work of the original contractor done tliat in m any.places the old foundations are still in place. Not only w as this road macadamized, but stone bridges were built over the rivers and crocks, the distances indexed by iron mileposts, and the tollhouses supplied with strong iron gates. T H R “ CONESTOGA" WAGON

The first appearance o f this wagon in his­ tory w as at the time o f Brarldock's expedi­ tion ill 1755, when Benjamin Franklin issued an advcrtiwrncnt for 1 50 four-horse wagons

and 1,300 saddle or pack horses fo r the arm y’s use. He agreed to pay fifteen shillings for the use of the wagons each day, and to com­ pensate the owners if the wagons were lost or damaged. T his offer later on w as almost the cause o f Franklin's bankruptcy, a s the battle resulted in tlic capture by the English of almost all ilie wagons and stock. A t the lime o f Braddock’s expedition the pack horse was the most common means o f transporting goods, but after that date the roads were widened and (lie wagons entered the field, much to the disgust o f (he pack driv­ ers, who fiercely resisted the invasion. Pennsylvania may rightly be proud of the Dutchman who designed the Conestoga wagon, for even in (his day it is the ideal wagon for the transportation o f goods over the roads. It gained its name from the township in Lanc.istcr county where the first vehicle of the kind w as made. These wagons had a boatshaped body with a curved canoc-shapcd bot­ tom which fitted them especially fo r m ounuin u se; fo r in them freight remained firmly in place at whatever angle the body might be. The body of the wagon was arched over with six or eight hickory bows, o f which the center ones were the lowest, covered with a strong white hempen cloth, corded strongly down at the sides and ends. Underneath hung the tar-lodel or greascpot, and the water pail. A t the rear w as the great feed box, with a wood­ en cover, slanted to shed the rain. On the sides were the long tool box and storage box. T he wheels had broad tires, often a foot wide, many of the turnpike companies giving re­ bates to the teamsters who had wide tires on their wagons. Sleek, powerful horses to the number o f six to ten drew these heavy wagons, which could be loaded to the top 01 the cover with a mis­ cellaneous freight o f from four to six tons. T he horses were clad in handsome harness of fine leather, bore hells, and were driven mostly by word o f mouth. The drivers rode some­ times on the “ near w hcclcr," who bore a .sad­ dle, or on the "lazy board," a scat inserted on (he left side, but it was more often the case that the driver walked alongside his team. T h e number of these wagons on the main roads w as vast. A t one time Over 3.000 ran constantly out o f Philadelphia to the surround­ ing towns. Most of the teamsters made freighting their regular vocation, and lived on the road with their teams. They carried their own “ grub” a s well as feed for the horses, and also a long mattress fo r their use in the tav­ erns or on the road, sleeping usually on the