Seneca Turnpike facts for kids
The Seneca Road Company was a group of people who built and managed a very important road in New York State. This road, called the Genesee Road, ran west from Utica, New York to Canandaigua, New York. It later became known as the Seneca Turnpike. A turnpike is a special kind of road where you pay a fee, called a toll, to use it. This money helps pay for building and keeping the road in good shape.
The Seneca Turnpike was originally an old Native American trail. It started in Utica, near the Mohawk River, and went past where Syracuse, New York is today, all the way to Canandaigua. At 157 miles long, it was the longest toll road in New York State at that time!
Building a Big Road
On April 1, 1800, the Seneca Road Company officially started. It was a private company, meaning it was owned by people, not the government. They raised $110,000 to build the road. Some important local people, like Jedediah Sanger, invested their money in the company.
The company was given a wide strip of land, about 120 feet wide, for the road. However, the actual road surface was about 28 feet wide. They had to clear all the trees from a 6-rod (about 99 feet) wide path. The road reached Canandaigua by 1808 and was extended all the way to Buffalo, New York by 1813.
Rules for Travelers
The state of New York had some rules for how the Seneca Turnpike should be run:
- The toll (fee) was about 6 cents per mile.
- Coaches had to use four horses.
- Each coach could carry a maximum of 12 passengers.
- The speed limit for coaches was 6 miles per hour.
- Coaches also had to carry U.S. Mail.
A Busy and Important Road
The Seneca Turnpike quickly became a very busy place. Because so many people and goods traveled on it, many hotels and inns were built along the way. This helped businesses grow and made it easier for people to travel and trade.
Toll gates were placed about every 10 miles along the road. The company made good money and paid its investors 10 percent of their investment for 30 years!
The End of an Era
In the late 1830s, new railroads started to appear. These trains could carry people and goods much faster and often cheaper than coaches on the turnpike. Because of this, fewer people used the Seneca Turnpike.
By 1846, the company wasn't making enough money to keep the road in good condition. They realized they couldn't compete with the railroads anymore. So, the Seneca Road Company gave its charter (permission to operate) back to New York State. The company closed down, and the road became a public road again, meaning anyone could use it for free.
Even today, parts of the old Seneca Turnpike are still used as part of New York State Route 5. In some places, people still call it the Seneca Turnpike or Old Seneca Turnpike.
