The Evolution of Transportation in Appalachia
Nicholas Hamilton
Intro to Appalachian Studies 11 am
Final Research Paper — Creative Option
During my research process, I have discovered and confirmed that the evolution of transportation in the Appalachian region can be best described in phases or waves. I found he vast majority of this information by looking through many of the Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Reports dating back to 1968. These reports give details on the past, present, and future of many different aspects of the region; including transportation. The first wave begins way back when the first settlers of the region began to cut through the wilderness and clear paths. They used these paths for trade and travel. While most of these “roads” became overgrown over the past few centuries, remnants of some are still maintained and active. Three such roads are Braddock’s Road, Pittsburgh Road and Conestoga Road. Braddock’s Road is rightfully named after General Edward Braddock. In 1755, Braddock and his troops cut and cleared the forests of Cumberland, Maryland during the French and Indian War. Referred to in the modern day “National Road”, it became the first federally built National Highway. In 1757, shortly after Braddock’s Road was founded, England General John Forbes and his men followed suit in constructing a military trail from Chambersburg to Pittsburgh which would become Pittsburgh Road and Conestoga Road. There was a brief period of a surge in the importance of water as a method of transportation in Appalachia. The most significant development project of this time was the Kanawha Canal. George Washington intended to connect the Potomac River and the James River with this canal. John Quincy Adams was president when ground was broke in 1828. It followed the Potomac River’s course but was halted because of the new age of transportation, railroads.
Railroads were a momentous step in the evolution of transportation in Appalachia. The first major railroad to enter the region was the Baltimore and Ohio. Completed in 1853, it connected Piedmont, Fairmont, and Wheeling, Virginia. It was instrumental in the distribution of the natural resources of coal and timber. Shortly after this railroad, huge strides were made on the Norfolk and Western Railway as well as the Southern Railway. However, this project was put on hiatus due to the start of the Civil War in 1857. These railways linked major population hubs in North Carolina, South Carolina, and Tennessee. After a 10 year period of slower development, the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway slowly but surely found its way to the Ohio Valley in 1880 as part of a Cincinnati expansion project though West Virginia and Kentucky. The year 1880 saw lots of action in the evolution of transportation. Staying with the railroads, the WV Central and Pittsburgh Railway was begun. It ventured west into Maryland and met up with the aforementioned Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and National Road. The other major event was surrounding the highway system that was starting to take form in the region.
The Good Roads Movement was founded in 1880. It’s focus was on the roads outside of cities. Previously, these roads consisted mostly of dirt, sand, and gravel. According to the ARC’s Annual Report of 1980, “Development activity in Appalachia cannot proceed until the regional isolation has been overcome. Its cities and towns, its areas of natural wealth and its areas of recreational and industrial potential must be penetrated by a transportation network which provides access to and from the rest of the nation to the Region itself” (15).The first highway to cross the Appalachian region was the Lincoln Highway. It was built in 1913. The following year, the Dixie Highway was planned to be constructed from the midwest into the southern regions of the United States, crossing directly through Appalachia. An equally large program was adopted in 1926. The US Highway System replaced the two highways mentioned in the previous few sentences as well as smaller highways that connected cities within short distances. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, opened partly in 1940, aimed to cross Pennsylvania as the first controlled-access highway in the US. Additional segments of the PA Turnpike were opened in years following the original Development. The Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 led to the development of seven interstate highways crossing Appalachia east to west. The most recent large evolutionary program to the transportation industry was the Appalachian Development Highway System, or ADHS. The ADHS was created in 1965 by the Appalachian Regional Commission as an effort to create economic development in remote areas within the region (Parker 5–6). The most recent construction added 65 miles back in 2004.
A much smaller, but still important, piece of the story is the Appalachian Trail. It was created in 1963 and allows travelers to traverse from Georgia to Maine. It is a large source of tourism in the region and draws visitors from around the world.
The timeline that I have created and included shows the most prominent events in the evolution of transportation in Appalachia. I used multiple sources for the timeline. It was compiled from the Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Reports over the period of time it represents. The earlier events that date back to before the ARC’s formation are referenced in reports at a later date.
Appalachian Development Highway System. Julie Wiatt. ARC Annual Report of 1980
Works Cited
Appalachian Regional Commission. “Appalachian Regional Commission Annual Report, 1968”. Appalachian Regional Commission, 6 December 1968, Washington, D.C.. EBSCOhost. https://files-eric-ed-gov.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/fulltext/ED029734.pdf
Appalachian Regional Commission. “1974 Annual Report of the Appalachian Regional Commission.”. Appalachian Regional Commission, 31 December 1974, Washington, D.C.. EBSCOhost. https://files-eric-ed-gov.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/fulltext/ED107415.pdf
Appalachian Regional Commission. “Appalachian Regional Commission: 1980 Annual Report”. Appalachian Regional Commission, 30 September 1980, Washington, D.C.. EBSCOhost. http://login.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED209057&scope=site
Appalachian Regional Commission. “Appalachian Regional Commissions 1987 Annual Report.”. Appalachian Regional Commission, 31 March 1988, Washington, D.C.. EBSCOhost. https://files-eric-ed-gov.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/fulltext/ED300178.pdf
Parker, Franklin. “Development and Education in Appalachia and Tanzania”. 30 May 1973. EBSCOhost. http://login.ezproxy.lib.vt.edu/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eric&AN=ED085140&scope=site
