A Roadway

While checking on some historical facts on the County's history in the local Court House, I came upon several books which were of interest to me.

I learned that when citizens in certain communities wanted a road built or relocated, they would present a petition to the General Quarter Session of the Peace stating that they, the petitioners, labored under great inconvenience for want of a road. The Court would then appoint a number of prominent persons to make the survey, computed down to the compass direction with the distances between certain points in perches and miles. It is amusing, too, that the starting point was usually a post, stump or stone.

We found references in several surveys where the mark was a ‘lokust’, a ‘lokist’, an 'allum' (elm) or perhaps a 'rune'. After the survey was completed the men then returned to the Court and presented their reports and recommendations. If the survey indicated that in the opinion of the viewers, a road was needed, the Court then approved the petition. A number were refused.

Of local interest we found that on the first Monday in September 1804, a petition was presented 'for the want of a road leading from the Borough of Bedford to the Mineral Springs which from the mineral qualities of the waters and the benefit received by many who have visited them, your petitioners consider an object worthy the General attention'. The petitioners requested the Courts to appoint appropriate men to view and lay out a road. The Court appointed Thomas Vickroy, James Anderson, Anthony Smith, William Griffith, John Kinton, and William Wilson to view the ground over which the said land was petitioned for and to make a report of their proceedings. The survey was made. It started at a hickory stump near the Mineral Springs, proceeded north through Henry Wertz' and George Funk's fields to the south end of Juliana Street in the Borough of Bedford.

The six men made their report and recommendation to the Court on November 27, 1804 and is recorded in Book 1, page 20 of the Road Docket. "The distance was one mile and a half and eleven perches." In May 1806, on motion confirmed, the public road was ordered to be opened at a breadth of 30 feet.

Another interesting survey is on a road commencing at Schellsburg, running through Napier township until it intersects the line at Somerset County "at or near the city of Germany." This petition cited the need of a better road because the existing road was not sufficiently laid out to admit passage of loaded carriages, thus it had become useless. The Court approved the road on August 5, 1819, to be opened at a "breadth of 33 feet, except where digging and bridging causeways, then the openings must be 16 feet." The Court also noted the road must be kept in repair by the Townships through which it passes.

We found one survey made in 1814 starting at 'Two Taverns' on Glade Road which extended a distance of twenty-two miles and forty perches, ending at the Maryland line. The survey also shows the compass readings and distances between points, crossing over 'Buffalo Rune', 'Little Wils Creek', 'Wolf's Camp Run', 'Big Wills' and 'Gladons Run'.

Road Dockets 1 and 2 contain many recorded road surveys. Among them- "Ake's Mill to Johnstown Road in 1825, Bloody Run to Hopewell Township line, Bedford to Indiana, Dry Ridge to Schellsburg, Glade Turnpike to Hersheizers in 1828, Martinsburg to Schellsburg Road in 1819, Quaker Road from Schellsburg in 1827, Mineral Spring to Friends Cove, McConnelsburg to top of Cove Mountain, Rainsburg to Handcock, Tusseys Mountain to Huntingdon line, Bob's Creek to intersect Road to Allegheny Mountain and dozens of other locations in and around Bedford County."

All make interesting reading. Perhaps the longest survey made and recorded took place in 1817-1818. It is recorded on 26 pages. The survey began at the bridge crossing the Juniata River, on Juliana Street in Bedford and extended north and northwest for a distance of 130 miles, ending at Franklin in Venango County.

Bedford County played an important part in the road building program leading east to west. In 1755 the Provincial road was made from Carlisle to the top of the Allegheny Mountains. In 1773 a road was opened from the town of Bedford to the Youghiogheny River, and in 1792 a state road was built from 'Millers Spring', in Cumberland County to Fort Pitt, passing through Bedford.

I also found a notation that in 1795, the County Commissioners resolved to build three bridges near Bedford. This is the first record of bridge building in the County. Thus far, I have been unable to find the exact locations.