Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike

From West Virginia (WV) Cyclopedia

Largely due to the efforts and influence of General Alfred Beckley, on March 1, 1837, the Virginia General Assembly passed an act which incorporated the Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike Company. The company was formed to construct a road from the Kanawha salt works in Kanawha County, to the falls of the Kanawha River and Vandal's in the Loop in Fayette County, to Giles Courthouse, Virgina (VA).

Subscription books were opened under the direction of the following:

In Charleston, under James A. Lewis, William Whitaker, Sr., John Welch, John F. Fore, and Thomas R. Fie.

At the house of John Jones in Kanawha County, under Felix G. Hansford, Benjamin Morris, Philip Buster, John Richards, and Luke Wilcox.

In Peterstown, Monroe County, under John Peters, James McLaferty, Jr., James Byrnsides, Conrad Peters, and Jacob Peck.

At the house of Dillon Vandal in Fayette County, under Oliver Waite, Hiram Hill, Dillon Vandal, John Marrs, and William Blake.

At Giles Courthouse in Virginia.

On March 19, 1841, the Virginia General Assembly authorized the Giles, Fayette, and Kanawha Turnpike Company to extend their road to the furnace of Foar and Peyton on the south side of the Kanawha River. The Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike was complete in 1848, according to West Virginia Highways -- State and National Highway-Related Milestones (http://www.wvdot.com/3_roadways/rp/facts/Chapter%201/State%20and%20National%20Highway%20Related%20Milestones.pdf)], a list compiled by the West Virginia Division of Highways.

Route of the Giles, Fayette and Kanawha Turnpike

Pearisburg, Giles Co. to Peterstown and Red Sulphur; crossing New River at Indian Creek to Bluestone; along Bluestone Mountain to John's Knob and Jumping Branch; across White Oak Mountain to Glade Creek; to Mount Hope, Fayetteville, Cotton Hill and Kanawha River.