Turnpikes

In many areas, especially where other transport modes were unavailable, roads were built by private turnpike companies. These companies collected tolls and used gates consisting of pikes or spears to let the toll payer pass to and from the road at selected points. The turnpike era began in 1789 with the construction of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike; it ended about 1830, after which only a few private highways were attempted as business ventures. During this period, Pennsylvania chartered 86 companies that built

More than 2,000 miles of road. By 1811, New York had 1,500 miles of highways constructed by 135 companies, and New England had granted some 180 companies the right to build turnpikes. Despite toll collections, few of the companies that constructed roads for public use were profitable ventures; in fact, it is doubtful that even one earned close to the going rate of return on its capital. Teamsters avoided the tolls if at all possible, and dishonest gatekeepers often pocketed the receipts. But the chief difficulty—one unforeseen by most promoters—was that the only long-distance trade the roads attracted was stagecoach passengers and emigrants. Freight would not, for the most part, stand the cost of land carriage over great distances, and without freight traffic, turnpikes simply could not earn a profit. They eventually faced extensive competition from steamboats, canals, and railroads, but by this time returns on invested capital had already proved disappointing. Some turnpikes were abandoned and later acquired by the states for the rapidly growing public road system; others were purchased by local governments and made into toll-free highways.45

A special kind of toll road was the plank road, developed shortly after the decline in turnpike construction. Plank roads were built by laying wide, heavy planks or “rails” on stringers or ties placed in the direction of travel and were superior for all-weather use. The first plank road in the United States was built in Syracuse in 1837, and over the next 20 years, several thousand miles of plank roads were built, the heaviest concentration being in timber-abundant New York and Pennsylvania. Some were subsidized by the states, although most were privately and locally financed.46