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Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike

Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike is a Pennsylvania historical marker in just E of Coatesville, Chester County, dedicated 1999.

E Lincoln Hwy. (Bus. Rt. 30), near Veterans Dr., Cain Twp., just E of Coatesville

Get directions ↗Start a road trip Historical trails

This was the nation's first major toll road, built by a private company incorporated 1792 by the state legislature. Completed two years later and praised as the finest highway of its day, the stone-and-gravel turnpike stretched 62 miles. The 35th milestone out of Philadelphia was placed here. Early in the 20th century, this road was acquired by the state; it became part of the transcontinental Lincoln Highway and U.S. 30.

Maps this old were drawn largely by eye, so places on them can sit miles from where they really are. The pin is ours and marks the marker's location today.

TodayHistorical map

Slide toward Today to fade the historical sheet and see the modern map underneath.

David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries

Historical maps covering this location

1792 · A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1794 · A new and general map of the middle dominions belonging to the United States of America… (Digital Commonwealth, Boston Public Library)
1795 · Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1795 · State of Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)
1796 · Pennsylvania. (David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries)

A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania, 1792, covering the location of Philadelphia & Lancaster Turnpike, with a pin at the marker's coordinates — A Map Of The State Of Pennsylvania, 1792, covering this location. David Rumsey Map Collection, Stanford Libraries. The pin is ours, placed from the marker's coordinates.

Example

For example, one family's tree showed the Articles of Confederation marker in Pennsylvania standing under a mile from where William Gabby lived in the 1760s.

What that marker records spans 1777 to 1789, overlapping William Gabby's years there.

From one family's 77-marker roster

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Marker data: Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission via data.pa.gov

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