Perhaps more than any other natural feature, the Allegheny Mountains shaped the settlement of Pennsylvania's people and the development of its transportation systems. From the first paths blazed by Native Americans to the Portage Railroad and Pennsylvania Turnpike, Pennsylvanians have always sought better, faster ways to cross this great divide.
Continue the Story...
Bring this subject into focus through the following chapters. These stories take exploration of the main story further by providing more detail for you to learn and explore.
Take your students back in history with these discussions and activities for the classroom
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1730 - 1731 |
Citizens of Lancaster County petition the colonial government of Pennsylvania to establish a "King's Highway" between Philadelphia and Lancaster Counties |
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1754 |
George Washington's Virginia militia troops ford the Youghiogheny River at Great Crossings in Western Pennsylvania |
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1792 |
circa 1792: Development of Simpson Ferry Road west of the Susquehanna River in Cumberland County |
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1792 |
Construction of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike begins |
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1794 |
Opening of the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike |
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1811 |
Construction of the National or Cumberland Road begins |
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1818 |
The National Road is completed through to Wheeling, in what was then Virginia |
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1826 |
Construction begins on the Pennsylvania Canal |
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1828 |
Construction begins on the Staple Bend Tunnel as part of the Allegheny, Portage Railroad, the first railroad tunnel built in the United States |
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1831 - 1834 |
Development of the Allegheny Portage Railroad to link the eastern and western divisions of the Main Line of the Pennsylvania Canal |
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1835 |
Pennsylvania takes over control of the National Road within its borders |
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1836 - 1839 |
First metal arch bridge in the United States is constructed over Dunlap's Creek along the National Road in Fayette County |
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1847 |
J. Edgar Thomson named Chief Engineer of the Pennsylvania Railroad |
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1852 |
Thomson named President of the Pennsylvania Railroad |
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1883 |
William Vanderbilt begins construction of the South Pennsylvania Railroad, as a direct challenge to the Pennsylvania Railroad |
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1886 |
Vanderbilt agrees to sell the South Pennsylvania Railroad to the Pennsylvania Railroad before the line is ever completed |
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1893 |
Bicycle mechanics J. Frank and Charles E. Duryea of Springfield, Massachusetts invent the first successful gas fueled automobile in the United States |
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1899 |
Over 30 different companies in the United States produce automobiles |
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1903 |
Pennsylvania legislature establishes the State Highway Department |
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1911 |
Pennsylvania legislature passes the Sproul Act creating a new statewide system of public roads |
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1913 |
Nation's first drive-in filling station opens in Pittsburgh |
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1931 |
Governor Gifford Pinchot initiates the state's rural road improvement program |
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1935 |
Pennsylvania officials begin considering the construction of a distance highway utilizing the right of way of the old South Pennsylvania Railroad |
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1938 |
The state breaks ground for the original 160 mile stretch of the Pennsylvania Turnpike between Cumberland and Westmoreland Counties |
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1940 |
The Pennsylvania Turnpike opens to the public |
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Historical Markers In the Story
Original Documents