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By the
1730s, Indians had long since abandoned the area, and
European settlers quickly adapted the old trails to
their own purposes. The Sinequa Trail was widened
into a primitive road and used for rolling hogsheads
filled with cured tobacco to the port of George Town.
Known as the Great Road, it filled a critical need for
planters in the area whose livelihood depended on
exporting tobacco to Scotland.
(Click on image to enlarge.)
Library of Congress, Prints
and Photographs Division
Hogsheads full of cured tobacco were hauled down
crude "rolling roads" to the ports of George Town
and Bladensburg. The
Great Road cut through miles of dense forest and
natural meadows. Here and there a traveler
would pass fields of tobacco, the main crop, or of
wheat or corn. Fertile soil, plentiful game,
and many streams and springs made this frontier land
desirable.
In
1704, the Maryland Assembly had decreed
a standard width of 20 feet for all main roads
and further ordered that roads be kept clear and fit
for travel. In reality, these roads were
crude, rutted, and often muddy. Travel was slow
and difficult. Notches on roadside trees
signaled destinations such as chapels, courthouses,
and other roads.
Crossroads were natural places to build inns and other
small buildings. By 1750s, the tiny settlement
of Owen's Ordinary formed at the
intersection of the Monocacy-Bladensburg route and
the Great Road, which connected George Town to
Frederick Town, both newly settled. The
surrounding area was part of Prince George's County
until 1748, when Frederick County was formed.
It remained Frederick County until 1776, when
population growth justified the creation of
Montgomery
County.
What are some of the
names we call the Great Road
and the Monocacy-Bladensburg Road today?
Click on the
link for the next page to see the answers.
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