Roads of the 1700s (Charlotte, Greensboro: living in, centers, moving to)

[southbound_295]

After the Regulators, some of the Quakers who had moved to NC and were living in Orange County. (modern day Orange & Guilford Counties) decided to go to a new settlement in Georgia. Would they have come through Charlotte on the Wagon Road? If so, what modern road would roughly be the equivalent of that road?

[SunnyKayak]

Is this trivia or curiosity of what the possible answer could be?

I am going to say Highway 49 it one of the most direct routes to the Orange County area but if they was in Guildford use to be the main mail centers. I am not sure what it was called then and this way before I-85.
If you are ever in Greensboro pay attention to how alot of the streets are laid out they have this S design for the stage coaches back then it was a major gate city at the time.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by SunnyKayak

Is this trivia or curiosity of what the possible answer could be?

I am going to say Highway 49 it one of the most direct routes to the Orange County area but if they was in Guildford use to be the main mail centers. I am not sure what it was called then and this way before I-85.
If you are ever in Greensboro pay attention to how alot of the streets are laid out they have this S design for the stage coaches back then it was a major gate city at the time.

Thanks, Sunny.

It's a real question, honest. Some of my ancestors were in that group.

I've tried to read up on NC history in that time period, & I've seen some mentions that sound like they went through Charlotte, but not positively.

Around here you can go places to get exact maps of colonial roads, but the old roads all go by names even if they have a number. When I get moved I'll go hunting for information, but thought someone might know some of the information.

[Clt1774]

The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road essentially followed the route of I-77 through the Carolinas, ending near present day Augusta, GA. It did not go immediately through the center of Charlotte (i.e. it is not the Wagon Road you see at the corner of Trade and Tryon), but very close to it, so yes, it was the major way that people came into the area in the 18th century.

There are places that still remain throughout the area where you can see traces of the actual Wagon Road - sometimes down to the wagon wheel ruts, but much of this is now on private property. I've had a chance to see some of these, and it is amazing to see the lines of ruts still in the ground as the multitude of wagons began to ford the areas rivers. There are several maps of the Great Wagon Road, such as this one Map: The Great Wagon Road. If you are interested in going to a NC site that does a great deal of work around this time period and sat right on the Wagon Road, I would recommend Bethabara (near Winston Salem). In Charlotte, the museum that best covers the timeframe is the Charlotte Museum of History - which actually has a huge wall size map of the Wagon Road. Hope that helps.

[brokensky]

Originally Posted by Clt1774

The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road essentially followed the route of I-77 through the Carolinas, ending near present day Augusta, GA. It did not go immediately through the center of Charlotte (i.e. it is not the Wagon Road you see at the corner of Trade and Tryon), but very close to it, so yes, it was the major way that people came into the area in the 18th century.

There are places that still remain throughout the area where you can see traces of the actual Wagon Road - sometimes down to the wagon wheel ruts, but much of this is now on private property. I've had a chance to see some of these, and it is amazing to see the lines of ruts still in the ground as the multitude of wagons began to ford the areas rivers. There are several maps of the Great Wagon Road, such as this one Map: The Great Wagon Road. If you are interested in going to a NC site that does a great deal of work around this time period and sat right on the Wagon Road, I would recommend Bethabara (near Winston Salem). In Charlotte, the museum that best covers the timeframe is the Charlotte Museum of History - which actually has a huge wall size map of the Wagon Road. Hope that helps.

What great info! This is actually a topic I had researched (f/ the aspect of stage coach routes in the 18th C) and you provided me more info in one post than I had been able to put together. Obviously, I had not found the right sources - wh/ you have now shared w/ us! Thank you so much for taking the time to post this info. I should have gone straight to the Charlotte Museum of History and will do that, in the future!

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Clt1774

The Great Philadelphia Wagon Road essentially followed the route of I-77 through the Carolinas, ending near present day Augusta, GA. It did not go immediately through the center of Charlotte (i.e. it is not the Wagon Road you see at the corner of Trade and Tryon), but very close to it, so yes, it was the major way that people came into the area in the 18th century.

There are places that still remain throughout the area where you can see traces of the actual Wagon Road - sometimes down to the wagon wheel ruts, but much of this is now on private property. I've had a chance to see some of these, and it is amazing to see the lines of ruts still in the ground as the multitude of wagons began to ford the areas rivers. There are several maps of the Great Wagon Road, such as this one Map: The Great Wagon Road. If you are interested in going to a NC site that does a great deal of work around this time period and sat right on the Wagon Road, I would recommend Bethabara (near Winston Salem). In Charlotte, the museum that best covers the timeframe is the Charlotte Museum of History - which actually has a huge wall size map of the Wagon Road. Hope that helps.

Thank you Clt! Ill check both when I get moved.

The new settlement that they went to was just beyond Augusta, so they must have taken the Great Philadelphia Wagon Road. The reason that I wondered if they went through Charlotte was I corresponded with someone who had an unrelated ancestor who also went from NC to the same settlement in Georgia. His ancestor married in Charlotte.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Clt1774

. There are several maps of the Great Wagon Road, such as this one Map: The Great Wagon Road. If you are interested in going to a NC site that does a great deal of work around this time period and sat right on the Wagon Road, I would recommend Bethabara (near Winston Salem).

I can't thank you enough for that map!!! I've found maps, but none with that detail, & it even shows early settlements that I've dealt with for myself & others.

[Rdanville]

The Great Wagon road did not follow I-77. It followed state route 11 through Virginia to Roanoke there it took 220 south into NC. Winding up originally in Winston Salem .Later it extended to Salisbury and Charlotte.

[southbound_295]

Originally Posted by Rdanville

The Great Wagon road did not follow I-77. It followed state route 11 through Virginia to Roanoke there it took 220 south into NC. Winding up originally in Winston Salem .Later it extended to Salisbury and Charlotte.

Thanks. I'm always interested in more information. I've seen bits & pieces on the routes taken, but I know,from living in South Jersey, that a lot of the colonial roads still exist but the road beds are frequently modified.

I'm sure that that's the route that the Mordecai Mendenhall branch took into NC, as they had gone to the Shenandoah Valley before moving to NC. My branch, the James Mendenhall branch, went directly from the Brandywine area of PA to NC. My ancestor Phineas, took his family & accompanied his father, James, & a half-brother to Wrightsboro GA. That was the leg that I was referring to.

[Native_Son]

The great north trade trail ran along present day Tryon Street. It was a major trading route from Pre-Columbian times.

Trade Street is where an ancient East-West trail ran, crossing the Catawba River and heading to points westward at Cowan's Ford. The new white water center, unfortunately, is built smack on the old trail. Trade Street was THE east-west trail in the region.