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Title
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Plank Roads in Missouri
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Description
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Article contains information on the development and use of plank roads for transportation in Missouri during part of the nineteenth century. "Beginning in 1849, and running through the administrations of Governors Austin A. King and Sterling Price, the people of Missouri had almost a mania for organizing plank road companies, and for the building of such roads." Although the plank roads were around for only a short while, they provided a start to the good roads that later developed.
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Date
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1937-04
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
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Title
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The Columbia-Providence Plank Road
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Description
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In 1850 the means of transportation in Missouri were dirt roads and river travel. River traffic was slow and dangerous at this time and dirt roads were often muddy and unusable. So the idea of plank roads seemed like a solution for better commerce and trade. At one point there were 49 plank road companies chartered in Missouri. Eventually the railroads dominated, and the use of plank roads declined. The roads warped and twisted in bad weather, got washed away in floods, and became traffic worn. Article mentions the Glasgow to St. Louis project and the last one built in Missouri being the Columbia-Providence plank road. Includes an illustration of the plank road.
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Date
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1962-10
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Object Type
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Magazine Article
