Roads in Western Maryland, 1765-1794
by Pat Melville 

An overview of laws passed during this period can be found in a previous Bulldog article: "The increase in legislation enacted by the General Assembly came in response to the growth in population, a divergence in the transportation needs of the different sections of the state, and the demands for improved and shortened roads. As settlements moved westward the need for roads to transport crops to major markets, such as Baltimore City and Georgetown, became greater. This factor alone resulted in the passage of numerous laws applicable to the northern counties from Baltimore County westward and to the central counties of Anne Arundel and Montgomery." 

Concerns with transportation westward from Baltimore County were evidenced before the Revolution and resumed with greater vigor afterwards. In a law (Ch. 26) dealing with bills of credit in 1773, the General Assembly appropriated funds for the cutting and clearing of a wagon road from Fort Cumberland to the 
 

nearest waterway, navigable by a bateau, on the western side of Allegany Mountain. Supervisors were appointed to execute the act; they included well known men in the area - Thomas Johnson, Jr., Henry Griffith, Charles Beatty, Thomas Sprigg Wootton, Joseph Sprigg, Thomas Price, and Jonathan Hagar. 

The preamble to Ch. 21, Acts of 1774, summarized the general purposes of providing good transportation routes to Western Maryland. "Whereas an Improvement of the Principal Market Roads in the said Counties [Anne Arundel, Baltimore, and Frederick] will render the Intercourse and Carriage between the Parts of this Province distant from Navigation, and the Places from whence the Produce of those Parts are and may be most conveniently exported, much easier and cheaper, whereby Trade will be increased and the Settlement, Cultivation, and Improvement of Lands will be encouraged and promoted." The proprietor was authorized to loan money to the counties for the opening, straightening, and repairing of specific routes, including one from the mouth of Conococheague Creek to Frederick Town crossing South Mountain at Turners Gap and another from Hagerstown to the west side of South Mountain. 

Road laws after the Revolution increased in number and in detail. An act (Ch. 41) passed in 1782 provided for a road from Hagerstown through Charltons Gap in South Mountain to the road between Frederick Town and Yorktown, PA. Two sets of commissioners were appointed, one for each side of the mountain. They were directed to lay out the routes and call on the county road overseers to gather residents to clear the roadways. The citizens received payment in the form of exemption from militia muster duty equal to the number of days devoted to road work. The commissioners were authorized also to ascertain damages to landowners, to be paid by the county justices through taxes. 

A law (Ch. 19) enacted in 1790 contained slightly different provisions for getting a road built. Several citizens had petitioned the General Assembly for a road from Swearingens ferry on the Potomac River to the iron works and mills at the mouth of Antietam Creek and then to the main road to Frederick in order to transport farm produce to market. Commissioners were designated to lay off and open the road and to determine damages to landowners. The petitioners were required to pay all expenses through legally binding subscriptions.

A lack of uniformity and standardization meant that each piece of legislation had to specify the process for the accomplishment of the tasks and the means of meeting expenses. Another 1790 act (Ch. 32) to straighten and repair roads in several counties outlined one procedure for Cecil, Frederick, Montgomery, and Washington counties and another for Baltimore County. The latter is described in another Bulldog article. The law listed eighteen routes and, except for Baltimore County, appointed commissioners for each one, who were directed to lay out, survey, and mark the roads. They were required to file the plats and descriptions with the county justices who could approve the returns or specify changes. Then the justices would appoint a supervisor to superintend and contract for the building of the road. Expenses would be funded through annual county taxes. 

At the next session in 1791 (Ch. 82) the General Assembly revised the list of roads. The additions
demonstrated the movement of settlements 
 
 

further west in the state with the following roads being designated - Hancock along the old road to Sideling Hill, Hancock to Cumberland, Cumberland to the Turkey Foot Road on the Pennsylvania line, and Knipton's mill on George's Creek to the road at Savage River. 

Continuing with the theme to open "a better communication with the western country", the legislature authorized the straightening of a road from Cumberland to one at Winding Ridge that came out of Uniontown, PA. The procedures were identical to those in Ch. 19, Acts of 1790. 

Legislation between 1765 and 1794 demonstrate the increasing settlement of Western Maryland and its importance to the rest of the state. Road activity at the local level should reflect the same factors. A future article will examine information derivable from the minutes of the judges of the county courts in Western Maryland. In all counties the justices functioned as the county government until 1794. 

Photographs in Mental Health Care Reform

On the 21st of January, Rob Schoeberlein, Director of Special Collections, gave a PowerPoint lecture on certain photographs drawn from the Archives' vast and important holdings. He did not focus upon the works of great aesthetic merit nor those that might be of particular interest to local history. Frankly, the photographs that he chose to discuss were especially ugly and quite disturbing. At the same time, these pictures can be counted among the more important held by the Archives. The photographs had the power to influence politicians and open the eyes of ordinary Marylanders through images portraying the intolerable living conditions found in state institutions housing the mentally ill during the early to mid twentieth century. 

Rob's talk: The Use of Photographs for Mental Health Care Reform: Progress and Advocacy During the Twentieth Century, described the 

the content of the third folder. Before his eyes, in stark black and white, an elderly African American man lay upon a thin mattress on the floor, his manacled hands attached to a chain secured to a sturdy metal window grate. Repulsed at this sight, Rob could only wonder and ask himself: "Why?" 

Curators and Archivists help reveal aspects of Maryland's past that have not been fully explored. Whether it be presentations on the history of mental health care, research on the Underground Railroad in Maryland, or simply placing digitized newspapers online, the Archives is here to assist Marylanders in understanding the diverse, and even uncomplimentary, aspects of our state history. It is our mission--and is the real, lasting value of what we do on a daily basis.