"The Great Wagon Road" of Virginia

[NW Mailing List]

Abram,
Surveying was a highly regarded profession. Geo. Washington the most
well-known. He used an early version of a transit which can yield very
precise results.
Mike Pierry Jr.

On Sunday, July 31, 2011, NW Mailing List <nw-mailing-list at nwhs.org> wrote:

> Ed Painter mentions "The Great Wagon Road" in his recent response to "N&W

in 1911--Two Christmas items."

>

> Wikipedia features a great reproduction of the 1751 "Fry-Jefferson Map"

locating the Great Wagon Road with respect to the various mountains in the
Shenandoah Valley.  To make the image full-screen, double click on the
thumbnail, then click "Full Resolution," then click again to magnify it even
more.  What is amazing about this map is how accurately those old birds had
figured out the configuration of the mountain ranges, even at that early
date, probably long before any serious surveying had been done of that
frontier part of the state.  (How do you think they did it?  Sextant and
compass only...?)

>

>  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Wagon_Road

> If anyone knows of a more detailed map of the Great Wagon Road, perhaps

locating its path with respect to present day towns and features, I'd love
to see it.

> Sorry if this ain't "pure railroadin' ...," but it's about as close to

railroadin' as one could have come in the Year 1751 Anno Domini !

>      -- abram burnett, a piker

>

>

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