the value of a byway

What is the value of a National Scenic Byway?

By Mary Rayme To have an historic house on the National Register of Historic Places is considered a point of pride by homeowners. It means that the house you have chosen to live in has a history, a back story that is valuable and helps to tell the story of who we are and where we come from.

In much the same way, a National Scenic Byway is an historic road that tells the story of the settlement of the United States. The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike was created to give early pioneers and settlers access from the Shenandoah Valley in eastern Virginia, across the Allegheny Mountains to the Ohio River in Parkersburg western Virginia. The Turnpike was finished by 1847, before the creation of West Virginia and before the dawn of the railroad that was to upstage the road.

While today we may take our network of roads for granted, over 160 years ago just having a cleared path from Point A to Point B was quite an accomplishment. The Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike helped to unite the industrial western portion of Virginia to its agricultural neighbor of eastern Virginia.

Much of the Turnpike history mirrors that of our country. The Turnpike route was designed by Claudius Crozet a French immigrant to America and a veteran of Napoleon's Army. Many of the people who helped to build the Turnpike were recent immigrants such as the Irish who fled the Potato Famine that started in 1845.

Although the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike united both sides of Virginia, the advent of the Civil War split the states into two. West Virginia, with the most irregular border of any state, also remains the only state in the union that was created from war.

In the early 21st century, a group of historic minded volunteers did the exhaustive legwork necessary to successfully nominate the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike to become a National Scenic Byway as designated by the United States Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration. Also known as The America's Byways program, this designation was created to “recognize roads having outstanding archaeological, cultural, historic, natural, recreational and scenic qualities.”

The designation of Scenic Byways and the 501(c)(3) status of the Staunton- Parkersburg Turnpike Alliance allows grants to be written and funds to be applied for through the West Virginia Department of Transportation, Division of Highways. One of the first Turnpike projects that was grant funded was the writing of a Corridor Management Plan, an exhaustive document that details the unique selling points or intrinsic properties of the Turnpike region. The CMP also outlines how the Turnpike is to be managed and used to promote tourism, recreation, history and awareness. This invaluable document was created by volunteers, historians, academics, and other professionals who share an interest in the value of the road.

Today the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike’s mission statement is to:

• Identify and preserve historical, archaeological, cultural, natural, recreational, and scenic intrinsic qualities along the Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike Byway corridor.

• Educate and raise public awareness of stakeholders and visitors along the Byway about the history of the Turnpike and value of the intrinsic resources.

• Encourage public involvement and stewardship for the Turnpike Byway and it’s intrinsic resources.

• Encourage visitation and heritage tourism to the Byway, in order to provide public education and to build support for the stewardship of the Turnpike resources.

We have done this through bi-annual meetings, through the writing and production of a 36-page full color brochure, and through the research, writing and placement of new interpretive signs in the western counties of the Turnpike.

The road that was built to connect eastern Virginia to West Virginia is now serving the purpose of pleasure, enrichment and education as well as transportation. Come travel on our beautiful Staunton-Parkersburg Turnpike and experience the value of this historic road for yourself.