Three Notch Road facts for kids
The Three Notch Road is a historic road that is about 233 miles (375 km) long. It runs mostly through the state of Alabama, connecting Pensacola, Florida, to Fort Mitchell in Russell County, Alabama.
History of the Road
The U.S. military built the Three Notch Road in 1824. It started at Fort Barrancas in Pensacola, Florida, and ended at Fort Mitchell, Alabama. We know how it started from letters between two important army leaders: Thomas Jesup and Captain Daniel E. Burch. In June, Burch suggested building a wagon trail. By September, Jesup gave him permission to start planning the route. This happened after Burch finished mapping out another road called the Federal Road.
The road later became part of U.S. Road No. 6. The name "Three Notch Road" has a cool story! One idea is that Captain Burch, while planning the route, would cut three notches into trees. This helped his crew follow the path he had marked.
The road was finished in 1824. It cost about $1,130 to build back then, which would be over $31,000 today (as of 2021). The road generally follows a sandy ridge. This ridge separates the areas where water flows into the Conecuh River from areas where it flows into the Yellow River and the Pea River.
The main reason the road was built was for military purposes. The U.S. Army, led by John C. Calhoun, paid for it as an urgent military project. Soldiers needed a way to get supplies to Fort Mitchell, which protected settlers. They had to travel over land through the homeland of the Creek people. This was because the Chattahoochee River wasn't yet deep enough for steamboats to travel easily. Soon, the Three Notch Road became a popular way for many settlers to reach this part of Alabama.
Where the Road Went and Its Namesakes
The exact path of the Three Notch Road isn't fully known today. For example, it's not clear if it went through Andalusia, Alabama. However, many streets and buildings in Andalusia still have "Three Notch" in their names. There's "East Three Notch Street" and "South Three Notch Street," which have been around for over a hundred years! There's also the "Three Notch Museum," which is in an old train station.
Troy, Alabama, also has an East Three Notch and South Three Notch Street. In Bullock County, Alabama, there's a small community and a train station named "Three Notch." Peter A. Brannon, from the Alabama Department of Archives and History, said that local people remembered seeing the three notches on old trees along the road south of Troy.
You can find a historical marker for the road in Blues Old Stand, Alabama.
