Taking its toll

The first project was created by an act of the Pennsylvania Assembly on March 20, 1787, when a route was proposed for a road between the navigable waters of the Frankstown Branch of the Juniata River and the Conemaugh River, crossing into Westmoreland County near Blairsville and continuing through New Alexandria, Salem Crossroads (now Delmont), and Franklin Township (now Murrysville) to Pittsburgh. This east-west route was originally known as the Frankstown Road.

Later, the Harrisburg, Lewistown, Huntingdon and Pittsburgh Turnpike Company was chartered to build a new highway over this route. The road was called the Northern Turnpike, and somewhat paralleled the earlier Forbes Road. At the same time, another company was formed to build a turnpike over a more southern route through Greensburg; it was known as the Philadelphia-Pittsburgh Turnpike, or Pennsylvania Road, approximating the later route of the Lincoln Highway.

There was competition between these companies to obtain the necessary funding, and this rivalry delayed road construction. It wasn't until 1818 that portions of the Northern Turnpike were opened for travel; it was finally completed in 1819. The town of Murrysville was founded in 1820, a year after the road was constructed through Franklin Township.

The road was, basically, a widened dirt and stone pathway, enabling passengers and goods to be hauled between Philadelphia and Pittsburgh. Conestoga wagons, stagecoaches, wagons drawn by oxen, men and women on horseback, droves of cattle and sheep passed by or stopped for the night at bustling inns along the turnpike.

The name "turnpike" originated from the use of a pole or "pike" being placed across the road at a tollhouse, preventing the traveler from passing until the toll was paid. When the pole was turned, the traveler was permitted to pass through. Tollgates were, generally, placed at 10- to 12-mile intervals on the Northern Turnpike and toll rates depended on the items being shipped.

The rates of toll didn't vary throughout the life of the road. Representative rates between tollgates were:

• Every score of cattle, 10 cents

• Every horse or mule, six cents

• Wagon with two horses, 25 cents

• Every score of swine or sheep, 10 cents

If a wagon was drawn by oxen, then two oxen were charged the same as one horse.

The turnpike's rate schedule stated, "No toll shall be demanded from any person or persons passing or re-passing from one part of their farm to another, nor from any persons attending funerals or going to and from places of worship."

The tollgate keeper was usually a farmer who owned the land. From the tolls collected, the stockholders were to be paid their dividends. However, with most of the revenue used to pay for road maintenance, the dividends accrued very slowly.

Dr. Joseph Duff, in his "Gold Dollar," described the scene on the Northern Turnpike: "Along it rolled the traffic of a common wealth in high-ribbed, white-canvassed Conestoga wagons, drawn by four or six horses, lumbering and rumbling in long and brave array, a sight and sound for every youngster; while the lighter and gayer stage coach, crammed with travelers from the old and new world, swung along galloping teams, relayed at frequent intervals -- horn blowing, dust flying, whip whirling and cracking, village children scampering out of harm's way, or standing wide-eyed by the roadside."

Salem Crossroads, later known as New Salem, and finally as Delmont, was a stagecoach stop along the Northern Turnpike. A north-south road, originally known as the Greensburg-Kittanning Pike (now Route 66) was built around 1800. The Northern Turnpike was completed through town in 1818, forming a busy crossroads.

A Salem Crossroads tollgate was once located along what is now West Pittsburgh Street at the intersection with Tollgate Lane. According to The Awakening of a Crossroads Village, published by the Salem Crossroads Historical Restoration Society, "Tollgate keepers used the revenue from the tolls to hire men to maintain the road, particularly to keep the holes and ruts filled with stone. Early lot owners were permitted by a borough ordinance to work out their taxes in road maintenance."

Five different stagecoach lines passed through the village, resulting in the need for innkeepers, storekeepers, blacksmiths, wagon-makers, wheelwrights, harness-makers, tanners and merchants. The large volume of freight and passengers brought prosperity to the new town.

Tired, hungry travelers patronized several inns and taverns in town. The Central Hotel was built by Robert Black as early as 1814 on the southwest corner of the crossroads. It became one of the leading hostelries along the Northern Turnpike; its barn was used by stagecoach drivers changing horses. The building remains in use by local businesses today.

The Upper Hotel, later known as the Walton House, was erected by Henry Hugus in 1840 on what is now West Pittsburgh Street. This hotel was the scene of much activity during the peak years of stagecoach travel. It was a noted resting place for travelers along the Northern Pike. Located in the path of the new, four-lane Route 66, it was torn down in the 1950's.

Just west of what is now Export, between Turtle Creek to the north and the old Forbes Road to the south, the turnpike continued past a log tollhouse. The tollhouse had a chimney on the west end of the building that had both an outside and inside fireplace. The outside fireplace was used by single men or drovers to make coffee, heat food or stay warm. The inside fireplace was used by the toll keeper's family, as well as women and small children who were permitted to stay inside.

Simeon Clark and other members of his family served as toll keepers at this location. Nancy Clark was one of the last to collect tolls here; she was permitted to continue to live in the tollhouse until her death. The log building is on private property and, although in poor condition, still stands today at the corner of Kistler Road and West Pike Street. It has been included on the Pennsylvania Bureau of Historic Preservation's list of historic sites, as well as the Historic American Buildings Survey.

The Pennsylvania Railroad was completed through Westmoreland County to Pittsburgh in 1853. Once trains became available, stagecoaches and wagons were no longer fast enough for transporting passengers or cargo and, considering the time savings, rail service was much cheaper. Two years later, the last stagecoach passed through the area. Everyone knew the stage was making its last run; people lined the road and stood on surrounding hillsides, waving "goodbye."

Traffic dwindled on the Northern Pike as it became, primarily, a local road that had fallen into disrepair, grown up with weeds and brush, and transformed into muddy ruts whenever it rained. During World War I, it was still a dirt road.

Between Delmont and White Valley, at what was called Delmont Hill, the road was much steeper than it is now. Because there were no steam shovels or bulldozers when it was built, the road went almost straight uphill, following the natural contour of the ground. Imagine the challenges of climbing that hill in an early automobile in the mud or snow.

Growing popularity of the automobile led to public demand for improved roads. By an act of the state Legislature in 1911, and amended in 1919, the abandoned turnpike became the William Penn Highway. Work finally began on grading the Export-Delmont section of the new highway in 1922. The Delmont-New Alexandria stretch followed in 1924. Construction continued from Export to Murrysville in 1925 with the final link from Murrysville to Wilkinsburg completed in 1926.

As recently as the 1950s, one of the old Northern Turnpike milestones could still be seen inside the fence at Export's Orthodox Church; the stone advised travelers that it was 22 miles to Pittsburgh. The church is now a private residence along Kennedy Avenue; the milestone, like the old road, is no longer there.

Delmont's Central Hotel and the log tollhouse west of Export remain as reminders of the bygone era of the Northern Turnpike and the way of life that went with it. Also ensuring that the pike will never be entirely forgotten are street names such as Tollgate Lane, West Pike Street and Northern Pike, a remnant of the old toll road, beginning just west of Murrysville and following its original route through Monroeville. Future generations will, undoubtedly, wonder where those names originated.

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