That was the "Staunton and James River Turnpike" which one of my distant neighbors thought too long for an address to put on an envelope. We ended up with "Plank Road", the first paving material used on the turnpike. Rain generally made it impassable for a wagon before that.
I was fortunate that the guy we bought our land from had books on the history of the road to give me.
Did you use the cable ferry (Hatton Ferry) just upstream from Scottsville? Pretty sure it's still operating.
The James is still the best route from Howardsville to Scottsville, usually canoe or innertube now. Howardsville is where the Rockfish River flows into the James. Rockfish Gap is where the turnpike went over the Blue Ridge, as do US 250 and I 64 today. We live at Israel's Gap, through the Ragged Mountains. The road at the Gap was re-routed a bit in the 1930's by a chain gang. Asphalt came along several decades later.
We sell tractor parts! We have the parts you need to repair your tractor - the right parts. Our low prices and years of research make us your best choice when you need parts. Shop Online Today. [ About Us ]
Today's Featured Article - Timing Your Magneto Ignition Tractor - by Chris Pratt. If you have done major engine work or restored your tractor, chances are you removed the magneto and spark plug wires and eventually reached the point where you had to put it all back together and make it run. On our first cosmetic restoration, not having a manual, we carefully marked the wires, taped the magneto in the position it came off, and were careful not to turn the engine over while we had these components off. We thought we could get by with this since the engine ran perfectly and would not need any internal work. After the cleanup and painting was done, we began reassembly and finally came to t
... [Read Article]
Latest Ad:
1964 I-H 140 tractor with cultivators and sidedresser. Starts and runs good. Asking 2650. CALL RON AT 502-319-1952
[More Ads]
All Rights Reserved. Reproduction of any part of this website, including design and content, without written permission is strictly prohibited. Trade Marks and Trade Names contained and used in this Website are those of others, and are used in this Website in a descriptive sense to refer to the products of others. Use of this Web site constitutes acceptance of our User Agreement and Privacy Policy
TRADEMARK DISCLAIMER: Tradenames and Trademarks referred to within Yesterday's Tractor Co. products and within the Yesterday's Tractor Co. websites are the property of their respective trademark holders. None of these trademark holders are affiliated with Yesterday's Tractor Co., our products, or our website nor are we sponsored by them. John Deere and its logos are the registered trademarks of the John Deere Corporation. Agco, Agco Allis, White, Massey Ferguson and their logos are the registered trademarks of AGCO Corporation. Case, Case-IH, Farmall, International Harvester, New Holland and their logos are registered trademarks of CNH Global N.V.
