Historic Highways of America (Vol. 9)

Summary

The first chapter of this volume presents an introduction to the two volumes of this series devoted to Pioneer Roads and Experiences of Travelers. The evolution of American highways from Indian trail to macadamized road is described; the Lancaster Turnpike, the first macadamized road in the United States, being taken as typical of roads of the latter sort. An experience of a noted traveler, Francis Baily, the eminent British astronomer, is presented in chapter two. The third chapter is devoted to the story of Zane’s Trace from Virginia to Kentucky across Ohio, and its terminal, the famous Maysville Pike. It was this highway which precipitated President Jackson’s veto of the Internal Improvement Bill of 1830, one of the epoch-making vetoes in our economic history. The last chapter is the vivid picture of Kentucky travel drawn by Judge James Hall in his description of “The Emigrants,” in Legends of the West.