The Three Notch'd Road (also called Three Chopt Road) was a major east-west route across central Virginia prior to the 20th century. Originally known as the Mountain Road or Mountain Ridge Road and utilizing the route of a preexisting Native American trail, the road was cleared in several segments throughout the 1730s and completed by the early 1740s. Its final name first appeared in 1743 and is derived from the sets of three notches which were first used to mark the route around the same time. Upon completion, the road extended from the city of Richmond westerly to the Shenandoah Valley, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains at Jarman Gap. It remained in active use until the 1930s, when U.S. Route 250 was constructed over its routing. The newer Interstate 64 also reflects its path.
History
editPrior to the Three Notch'd Road's construction, its corridor was occupied by a Native American trail which replicated its general route to the Shenandoah Valley. It began at the site of a Powhatan village just east of Richmond, cut through what is now Downtown Richmond and continued along the Three Notch'd Road's future path starting at its eventual terminus near the modern-day Country Club of Virginia.[1]: 13–14 The first documented segment of the road, from the Southwest Mountains to near present Goochland Court House, was ordered to be cleared in 1733 as the "Mountain Road". In 1737, Michael Woods was authorized to build what would become another portion of the Three Notch'd Road from Jarman Gap (then Woods Gap) in the Blue Ridge Mountains to modern-day Ivy.[2]: 10 During the same year, the Mountain Road became the only thoroughfare in its area to have mile markers, which were measured eastward from the D.S. Tree near Ivy.[2]: 12
Throughout the American Revolutionary War, the Three Notch'd Road served as a key artery for military movements. In January 1779, captured British soldiers en route to Ivy from the Battles of Saratoga were directed along the road after traveling through Woods Gap, marking its first documented wartime use.[3]: 63 Jack Jouett utilized a portion of the road during his 3 June 1781 ride from Cuckoo to Charlottesville to alert Thomas Jefferson of incoming British forces led by Banastre Tarleton. Upon receiving this warning, the Virginia legislature (then based in Charlottesville) fled westward to Staunton via another segment of the road.[3]: 64 Marquis de Lafayette, the General commanding the French troops supporting the Continental Army, camped in Albemarle County along the Three Notch'd Road at Giles Allegre's Tavern (Later named Lafayette Hill Tavern, 37°59′17″N 78°18′50″W / 37.988085°N 78.31379°W) on Mechunk Creek while guarding important munitions stored at the Old Albemarle County Courthouse located at Scottsville on the James River.[4] Lafayette's officers reported the areas surrounding the road as poor and impoverished.[5]: 119
In 1828, a portion of the road was converted into the Rivanna and Rockfish Gap Turnpike.[6]: 179–180
U.S. Route 250
edit
Much of the current U.S. Route 250 (established in the 1930s) from Short Pump in Henrico County west to Crozet in Albemarle County closely follows its path. In the City of Charlottesville, which was established near the headwaters of the Rivanna River, West Main Street and part of University Avenue near the University of Virginia follow its original course.[7] In the 1960s and 1970s, Interstate 64 was completed nearby, also closely paralleling the Three Notch'd Road.
In Henrico County, Richmond
editAnother portion of the old road, now known as Three Chopt Road, runs from Short Pump through western Henrico County and the City of Richmond, ending at the former unincorporated town of Rio Vista at the intersection of State Route 147. Research by the Henrico County Historical Society revealed a map of Henrico County dated 1819 showing the road marked as "Three Chopped Road". Years later, they found the spelling of the road changed to Three Chopt on a map of 1853.[8]
References
edit- ^ Kern, M. Ethel Kelley (1929). The Trail of the Three Notched Road (revised and final ed.). Richmond, Virginia: William Byrd Press. OCLC 5795426.
- ^ a b Pawlett, Nathaniel Mason; Newlon, Howard H., Jr. (January 1976). The Route of the Three Notch'd Road: A Preliminary Report (PDF) (2003 revised ed.). Charlottesville, Virginia: Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council.
{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link) - ^ a b Pawlett, Nathaniel Mason (January 1981). Albemarle County Roads 1725-1816 (PDF) (2003 revised ed.). Charlottesville, Virginia: Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council.
- ^ Virginia Historical Highway Marker Program (1999). Three Notch'd Road (Virginia Historical Highway Marker). Virginia Department of Historic Resources. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
- ^ Harris, Malcom H. (1936). A History of Louisa County, Virginia. Richmond, Virginia: Dietz Press.
- ^ Moore, John Hammond (1976). Albemarle: Jefferson's County, 1727-1976. Charlottesville, Virginia: University of Virginia Press. ISBN 0-8139-0645-8. LCCN 76-13860.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
charlottesvillewas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Henrico County (Virginia) Historical Society - Henrico County's Three Chopt District". Henricohistoricalsociety.org. Retrieved April 16, 2015.
