GERMANNA_COLONIES-L Archives

From: John Blankenbaker <>
Subject: (608)Germanna Colonies, History of
Date: Thu, 13 May 1999 07:28:40 -0400

The sixth hundred and eighth note in a series on the Germanna Colonies

In colonial America, civilization was confined for many decades to the
coastal areas or to the waterways that flowed into the Atlantic. Thus,
civilization moved quickly enough up the Hudson, the Connecticut, the
Delaware, the Potomac, and the James Rivers. The major towns developed where
there were harbors. To go from one town to another was usually a trip by
ship not by land. Even as late as 1722, when Lt. Gov. Spotswood in Virginia
wanted to attend a conference with the Indians at Albany, New York, he went
all the way by ship. Except for the penetration of the interior along the
rivers, civilization was confined to the coast. There was no desire to
migrate to the west where travel was difficult and the Indians lived.

The first road system in America was a coastal route which generally
followed the course of the ocean. It was not until Charles II in 1664
decided there should be a road connecting New York and New England that any
significant road was built. But the first route was hardly a road. It was
more nearly a riding trail for a person on horseback. The general route of
this first "road" was west from Boston to today's Springfield, thence down
the Connecticut River Valley to the ocean and along the coast to New York. A
route that followed the ocean more closely did not come until later because
the ocean or its bays came inland so far in Rhode Island.

Though the name of Boston Post Road was applied early, the path was hardly a
road. It was meant to carry the post or mail, not cargo. It would have been
much cheaper to ship cargo by water. In 1704, a woman on horseback
accompanied the postman along this route and her comment was, "Unless
someone followed a mail carrier, a traveler would not be able to find the
Boston Post Road." Ships remained the primary mode of travel. From the main
cities, located at the harbors, short roads branched to the interior.

By 1750, a road existed (with ferries) from Boston to Charleston. However,
one should plan one's trip carefully because the weather might destroy the
road and make it impassable. In much earlier notes, we followed along with
the Moravian Brothers who were moving from Pennsylvania to North Carolina
and we saw that in many places they had to make their own road as they went.
By the time of the Revolution, the coastal route (known up to then as the
King's Highway) had been extended from Maine to Georgia. The road was one
link that helped to unite the colonies.

>From New York City, the road went overland to Trenton (on the Delaware
River) and hence to Philadelphia (also on the Delaware). From there it went
to Baltimore where it turned to Annapolis and hence to Alexandria (on the
Potomac River). The next city was Fredericksburg (at the head of navigation
on the Rappahannock River) then back to the ocean at Williamsburg (between
the James and the York Rivers). From Norfolk, it turned inland a bit to
avoid the major bays of North Carolina. Then it went to New Bern,
Wilmington, Georgetown and Charleston. At many points, ferries had to be used.

John Blankenbaker, PO Box 120, Chadds Ford, PA 19317
Beyond Germanna, A Newsletter/Journal of Germanna Information
http://www.germanna.com/
http://homepages.rootsweb.com/~george/johnsgermnotes/germhis1.html
http://www.inficad.com/~genelea
http://www.pretext.com/mar98/shorts/short3.ht

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