Excerpt
Chapter 1: Roads Before Highways
Before there were honking horns, speeding tires, or glowing traffic lights, roads looked very different. They weren’t wide lanes of smooth black pavement with neat white lines. They were rough, bumpy, muddy paths—if they existed at all. In some places, especially near small towns or through the countryside, there weren’t roads as much as there were just worn tracks in the dirt, created by people walking or riding horses in the same direction over and over again.
In those days, traveling wasn’t something people did for fun. A “road trip” wasn’t something you planned with snacks and music. Moving from one town to the next could take hours—or even days—on foot or in a wagon pulled by horses or oxen. Even short distances were tricky. The wheels of wagons would sink into mud when it rained. If it snowed, forget it—your trip might be canceled completely.
Some roads were made of wood, especially in swampy areas where wagons would get stuck. People would lay logs across the ground like giant planks. These were called “corduroy roads,” and they looked a little like the corduroy pants some kids wear. But even though they helped wagons stay above the mud, they were super bumpy to ride over. Every thump made teeth rattle and bones ache. Traveling on one of those for hours? Yikes.
In cities, roads were sometimes cobblestone, made from smooth, round rocks packed tightly together. Horses could clop over them more easily, and wagons had a better chance of staying steady. But cobblestones were still noisy, slippery when wet, and hard on the hooves of the horses. People walking in the streets had to dodge wagons and horse-drawn carts while trying not to step in puddles—or worse, the piles that horses left behind.
Most small towns didn’t even have streets with names or signs. If someone gave directions, they might say something like, “Take the path past the old oak tree, then turn left at the big red barn.” Not exactly helpful if the oak tree had fallen down last year or the barn was now blue.
Mail delivery was one of the first big reasons people cared about better roads. Back in the early 1800s, sending a letter could take weeks. Riders on horseback would carry messages from town to town, often on trails through forests, up mountains, or across rivers. It was slow, dangerous, and exhausting. Later, stagecoaches carried both people and mail, bouncing across rutted trails, stopping at stations along the way. These routes were called “post roads,” and they were often the best-maintained roads in an area, simply because people depended on them to stay connected.
One of the most famous of these early routes was called the National Road. It started being built in the early 1800s to help connect the East Coast with the growing towns in the West. It stretched through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and kept going from there. Compared to dirt paths, this was a big deal—it was wider, smoother, and even had stone bridges. But it still wasn’t anything like highways today. It took a lot of time and work to build, and it was still traveled mostly by wagons and carriages.
Weather was a huge problem for travel. Rain could turn a dirt road into a swamp. Snow and ice made it dangerous for horses to walk. In hot, dry weather, roads would get dusty and uncomfortable. Travelers had to deal with sunburn, sore muscles, bug bites, and the chance of their wagon wheel breaking in the middle of nowhere. There were no cell phones to call for help. If something went wrong, you’d hope a kind stranger came along—or you’d be fixing things yourself.
Travel was slow. A person on foot might only walk 10 to 15 miles in a day. A wagon could go a bit faster, maybe 20 miles a day if the roads were decent. That means if you were trying to go from one state to another, it could take weeks. Families packed supplies, slept in tents or wagons, and planned carefully. Towns were often built about a day’s travel apart, so people could stop to rest, eat, and feed their animals.
And then there were toll roads. Yes, even back then, some roads cost money to use. Small gates were set up along popular roads, and travelers had to pay a fee to pass through. These were often called “turnpikes” because of the turning bar—or pike—that blocked the road until payment was made. The money was supposed to help fix and maintain the road, although sometimes it didn’t go as planned.
People who lived in isolated places often didn’t use roads at all. They walked through woods, paddled along rivers, or rode on horseback across fields. Boats were often faster and smoother than land travel, especially for carrying heavy goods. That’s one reason rivers were so important to early towns—they were like the highways of the past.
When trains started becoming popular in the mid-1800s, they changed everything again. Suddenly, it was possible to move across the country much faster, even in just a few days. Train tracks didn’t need roads, but they showed everyone just how much faster travel could be. That made people think harder about building better roads for the things trains couldn’t do—like take you right to your own town or deliver goods to farms far from the tracks.
As more people moved west and new towns popped up, the need for better roads became obvious. Farmers needed ways to bring crops to market. Families needed ways to visit other towns. Traveling salesmen needed to get from place to place. And once bicycles became popular in the late 1800s, riders really started pushing for smoother, paved surfaces.
One of the biggest surprises in the story of roads is that it was cyclists—not drivers—who were some of the earliest road-improvement activists. Groups like the League of American Wheelmen (yes, that was a real thing) pushed hard for cities and towns to start paving roads. They said it was time to stop bouncing along muddy ruts and start gliding smoothly through the countryside.
Bit by bit, towns started fixing up their main streets. Bricks, stones, even early types of concrete were laid down. But once you left town? Back to dirt. Unless it was a major route, it probably wasn’t paved, and that made travel unpredictable. You never knew what the next turn might bring—a fallen tree, a flooded ditch, a stretch of sticky mud, or a patch of sharp rocks that could pop your wagon wheel or throw your horse off balance.
Before there were honking horns, speeding tires, or glowing traffic lights, roads looked very different. They weren’t wide lanes of smooth black pavement with neat white lines. They were rough, bumpy, muddy paths—if they existed at all. In some places, especially near small towns or through the countryside, there weren’t roads as much as there were just worn tracks in the dirt, created by people walking or riding horses in the same direction over and over again.
In those days, traveling wasn’t something people did for fun. A “road trip” wasn’t something you planned with snacks and music. Moving from one town to the next could take hours—or even days—on foot or in a wagon pulled by horses or oxen. Even short distances were tricky. The wheels of wagons would sink into mud when it rained. If it snowed, forget it—your trip might be canceled completely.
Some roads were made of wood, especially in swampy areas where wagons would get stuck. People would lay logs across the ground like giant planks. These were called “corduroy roads,” and they looked a little like the corduroy pants some kids wear. But even though they helped wagons stay above the mud, they were super bumpy to ride over. Every thump made teeth rattle and bones ache. Traveling on one of those for hours? Yikes.
In cities, roads were sometimes cobblestone, made from smooth, round rocks packed tightly together. Horses could clop over them more easily, and wagons had a better chance of staying steady. But cobblestones were still noisy, slippery when wet, and hard on the hooves of the horses. People walking in the streets had to dodge wagons and horse-drawn carts while trying not to step in puddles—or worse, the piles that horses left behind.
Most small towns didn’t even have streets with names or signs. If someone gave directions, they might say something like, “Take the path past the old oak tree, then turn left at the big red barn.” Not exactly helpful if the oak tree had fallen down last year or the barn was now blue.
Mail delivery was one of the first big reasons people cared about better roads. Back in the early 1800s, sending a letter could take weeks. Riders on horseback would carry messages from town to town, often on trails through forests, up mountains, or across rivers. It was slow, dangerous, and exhausting. Later, stagecoaches carried both people and mail, bouncing across rutted trails, stopping at stations along the way. These routes were called “post roads,” and they were often the best-maintained roads in an area, simply because people depended on them to stay connected.
One of the most famous of these early routes was called the National Road. It started being built in the early 1800s to help connect the East Coast with the growing towns in the West. It stretched through Maryland, Pennsylvania, Ohio, and Indiana, and kept going from there. Compared to dirt paths, this was a big deal—it was wider, smoother, and even had stone bridges. But it still wasn’t anything like highways today. It took a lot of time and work to build, and it was still traveled mostly by wagons and carriages.
Weather was a huge problem for travel. Rain could turn a dirt road into a swamp. Snow and ice made it dangerous for horses to walk. In hot, dry weather, roads would get dusty and uncomfortable. Travelers had to deal with sunburn, sore muscles, bug bites, and the chance of their wagon wheel breaking in the middle of nowhere. There were no cell phones to call for help. If something went wrong, you’d hope a kind stranger came along—or you’d be fixing things yourself.
Travel was slow. A person on foot might only walk 10 to 15 miles in a day. A wagon could go a bit faster, maybe 20 miles a day if the roads were decent. That means if you were trying to go from one state to another, it could take weeks. Families packed supplies, slept in tents or wagons, and planned carefully. Towns were often built about a day’s travel apart, so people could stop to rest, eat, and feed their animals.
And then there were toll roads. Yes, even back then, some roads cost money to use. Small gates were set up along popular roads, and travelers had to pay a fee to pass through. These were often called “turnpikes” because of the turning bar—or pike—that blocked the road until payment was made. The money was supposed to help fix and maintain the road, although sometimes it didn’t go as planned.
People who lived in isolated places often didn’t use roads at all. They walked through woods, paddled along rivers, or rode on horseback across fields. Boats were often faster and smoother than land travel, especially for carrying heavy goods. That’s one reason rivers were so important to early towns—they were like the highways of the past.
When trains started becoming popular in the mid-1800s, they changed everything again. Suddenly, it was possible to move across the country much faster, even in just a few days. Train tracks didn’t need roads, but they showed everyone just how much faster travel could be. That made people think harder about building better roads for the things trains couldn’t do—like take you right to your own town or deliver goods to farms far from the tracks.
As more people moved west and new towns popped up, the need for better roads became obvious. Farmers needed ways to bring crops to market. Families needed ways to visit other towns. Traveling salesmen needed to get from place to place. And once bicycles became popular in the late 1800s, riders really started pushing for smoother, paved surfaces.
One of the biggest surprises in the story of roads is that it was cyclists—not drivers—who were some of the earliest road-improvement activists. Groups like the League of American Wheelmen (yes, that was a real thing) pushed hard for cities and towns to start paving roads. They said it was time to stop bouncing along muddy ruts and start gliding smoothly through the countryside.
Bit by bit, towns started fixing up their main streets. Bricks, stones, even early types of concrete were laid down. But once you left town? Back to dirt. Unless it was a major route, it probably wasn’t paved, and that made travel unpredictable. You never knew what the next turn might bring—a fallen tree, a flooded ditch, a stretch of sticky mud, or a patch of sharp rocks that could pop your wagon wheel or throw your horse off balance.