I recently visited with an amazing gentleman named Melvin Williams, his sister, Juanita, Roland Kniceley, and Dee Ash. All outstanding citizens of Doddridge County in or near the Upper Buckeye Community taxed with the responsibility of maintaining and preserving the precious historic treasure, Upper Buckeye Community Building, located along the old Northwestern Turnpike. (I plan to write an article detailing this beautiful historic building in the very near future.)
We discussed the urgent needs of the Upper Buckeye Community Building such as a full cleanup and the need for the painting of it on the inside and out and how the Historical Society could help.
During the discussion, we touched on the history of the Old Northwestern Turnpike that began in Winchester, VA and winded through the mountainous terrain of the Appalachian Mountains of WV to reach the Ohio River. At the time, all territory beyond the Ohio was considered the untamed west.
Mr. Williams informed me that there was a mile marker nearby of which I was not aware. He said it was covered with weeds and small brush, making it difficult to locate, but he was certain it was still there. I told him that I planned to find it and after two attempts, I was able to locate it with the help of members of the Davis family living nearby. It was a little battered and scuffed from state mowing over the years, but it still told us that going east we were 19 miles from Clarksburg. There was a letter “C” and below it was the number 19… traveling west, the mile marker told us that it was 66 miles to Parkersburg. There was the letter “P” and below the letter were the numbers 66.
Thank you, Mr. Williams for keeping our history alive. We who love and honor our history are fading from life. Who will carry on when we can no longer do it is a frightening question for which I have no answer.
Like you, I have heard about “George Washington’s Highway”, the Northwestern Turnpike most of my life, but I thought I’d do a little research on the subject to see what I could discover about the Northwestern Turnpike.
In fact, most of us have heard about the ‘Ole’ Northwestern Turnpike at some point in our lives. During our school years, we heard it called “George Washington’s Highway”. Why did they call it that? Was it named as such to honor his memory? Was it because he was in part, responsible for the creation of this historic highway? I believe it was all of the above.
It was in the 1780s that George Washington, the father of our beloved country, realized the possibility that the great Allegheny Mountains could split the new nation, possibly even cause another country such as England or France to form beyond the mountainous barrier. In order to prevent this, George Washington knew several roads including the Northwestern Turnpike, which would be an all-Virginia (then included WV) route to the Ohio River would negate that possibility. At that time, the Ohio wilderness was considered the West.
The Northwestern Turnpike was chartered in 1827 by the Virginia General Assembly. While toll roads were a common means of creating inroads through the new nation, this one was different in that it was 100% government funded. It was built by the Commonwealth of Virginia to compete with U.S. Route 40 which ran parallel to the north through PA.
Virginia finally managed to complete the Northwestern Turnpike in the 1830s as a turnpike with toll gates and toll houses scattered at designated locations for stagecoaches, horseback riders, as well as teams of mules. It became known as “America’s Main Street. We know this turnpike today as U.S. Route 50. An experienced researcher can spot an 1840s stone inn or the remains of an old toll gate or toll house. One such toll house site can be found at Upper Buckeye Community. (Will be covered in a future article.)
There is a sketch by Joseph H. Diss Debar named “The Northwestern Turnpike, from Winchester to Parkersburg, fifty years later.”
French engineer, Claudius Crozet, who had served under Napoleon and taught at West Point was the surveyor and principal engineer for the Virginia Board of Public Works on the Northwestern Turnpike project. He was also responsible for much of Virginia’s early infrastructure. He had to overcome many difficulties that I’m certain must have seemed impossible to conquer day after day during the laying out of the road. The mountains must have been a daunting task. He had to keep the construction within the standards of grade and road width while contending with inclement weather.
When the Northwestern Turnpike was finished, it served as an irreplaceable link between the civilized east and the wilds of the west just beyond the Ohio River. It allowed for the increase in the economy causing the standard of living to rise dramatically in the many small settlements and small towns all along its length. The population soon began to grow larger. Inns and stagecoach offices, livery stables and other businesses popped up along the length of the turnpike.
In Doddridge County, the toll house at Upper Buckeye was established near the old mile marker we referred to at the beginning of this article. West Union had the Ephraim Bee Tavern made famous by J.H. Diss Debar’s account of his time there, eating at the table while the blue-eyed, blonde-haired children playing and running about in the kitchen made him think of a “beehive”, as well as the Stagecoach Stop which was at the former J & J Flowers building built by Nathan Davis in 1845. Going westward, we come upon the Luke Jaco’s Inn on the west side on Jaco Hill. He used his inn as part of the Underground Railroad and was shot and left for dead possibly for that reason.
We come upon Greenwood and the Dotson log house which accepted travelers for overnight guests, including the famous alleged evening guest, George Washington, during his time surveying this turnpike. Several years ago, I was honored to have been shown the upstairs bed in which Washington slept by Martha Dotson in the early 1970s. The interior of her log house was much the way it was originally. The beds upstairs were handmade of unfinished wood and topped with tick mattresses. It was unbelievable for this history buff.
Of course, there is Toll Gate that was established on the Doddridge/Ritchie line. It is true that the majority of the toll gate was on the Ritchie County side, but there was a section of it that was on the Doddridge side.
As I said earlier, today U.S. Route 50 is now a 4-lane highway from Clarksburg to Parkersburg and follows the general route of the Northwestern Turnpike across West Virginia. In many areas where the two diverge, you can more often than not find signs of the original turnpike nearby.
We know that there have been many turnpikes constructed throughout the early landscapes of this nation. After a particular state granted their approval and a charter, a private company raised about two-fifths of the necessary funds and the state government would pay the remainder of the funds required. Once the funds were raised, the private company would be responsible to build and maintain the road and the right to collect tolls. Actually, very few of the turnpikes were financially successful, especially here in West Virginia where the mountains brought even more challenges. In time, the roads became the property of the government.
Of all the turnpikes throughout our history, only the Northwestern Turnpike held the honor of being called “George Washington’s Highway.”
God Bless
Patricia Harris, President
Doddridge County Historical Society