(County map - Detail from Map of North and South Carolina exhibiting the post offices, post roads, canals, rail roads &c.  By David H. Burr (highlights mine) Library of Congress, Geography and Maps Division.)

Roadways Through Charlotte

  

The town of Charlotte was linked with many towns and villages in the Carolina Piedmont through a system of roadways.  There was no state-wide system of transportation in the early nineteenth century.  The roads were supervised by the county courts and maintained by members of the community.  Those who refused to work were fined one dollar for every allotted day that was missed.  As a result of often disjointed efforts and lack of firm oversight, the dirt roads were typically neglected and in need of repair.  In the 1840s, Charlotte was linked by roadways to Lincolnton in the west, Statesville, Salisbury, and Concord to the north, Wadesboro to the east, and Lancaster, South Carolina to the south.  Plank roads were seen as a possible solution to North Carolina's transportation problems and investors and entrepreneurs received government charters and organized dozens of plank road companies.  Although the wooden plank roads were cheap and easy to construct, they deteriorated rapidly and required constant maintenance.

 

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