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[edit] SourcesThe following is based on a paper "The route of the Three Notch'd Road" an abstract of which was provided by Mary Richardson. (See: Source:Pawlett and Newlon, 1976) Also used is ALBEMARLE COUNTY ROADS, 1725-1816 By Nathaniel Mason Pawlett, 1981 [edit] Related[edit] Text
[On 17 May 1737 O.S.] an order for what would ultimately become the other end of the Three Notchd Road was also issued. This gave Michael Wood permission to clear a road from the Blew Ledge or Blue Ridge, sometimes merely the Ledge or Great Mountains, down to Ivy Creek. This road ran from Woods Gap (now Jarmans) down along the ridge where Crozet now stands, crossing Mechums River near the depot of that name, thence to what must have been the end of the Mountain Road at the place later called D.S. An unusual circumstance surrounding this part of what was to be the later Three Notchd Road was that it exactly reversed the usual order of settlement and road building in this area, for Michael Wood had come south through the Valley into Virginia from Pennsylvania, moving eastward through the mountains to settle below Woods Gap on the eastern side. Thus the road came to be built from west to east rather than the more usual east to west direction. Pawlett, 1981 Three Notch'd Road was an important transportation route between eastern Virginia, and the Valley of Virginia. The route, also known as "Three Chopt Road", probably coalesced from individual trails and road segments beginning in the 1730's. Originally it is thought that the roadway was marked with three "blazes" to guide travelers, hence the names "Three Notch'd Road" and "Three Chopt Road". The route of the road approximates the modern US 250, portions of which still retain the original name. Interstate 64 also parallels the original route, and serves the same basic function of carrying traffic from the Richmond area of Virginia westward through Rockfish Gap, down into the Valley of Virginia. During colonial times "Three Notch'd Road" served settlers heading to the Valley of Virginia from the Tidewater and Piedmont regions, as well as providing for travel from the Valley back to the developed areas of Virginia. Those going to the Colonial Capitol of Williamsburg would have traveled Three Notch'd Road for much of the way. [1] [edit] Footnotes
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