{{short description, Pre-freeway turnpike in West Virginia
The Springfield Grade Road was an early
turnpike
Turnpike often refers to:
* A type of gate, another word for a turnstile
* In the United States, a toll road
Turnpike may also refer to:
Roads United Kingdom
* A turnpike road, a principal road maintained by a turnpike trust, a body with powers ...
between
Springfield, West Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place (CDP) in northwestern Hampshire County in the U.S. state of West Virginia. As of the 2010 census, Springfield had a population of 477. Springfield is located north of Romney along West Virginia Route 28 a ...
and
Capon Bridge, West Virginia
Capon Bridge is a town in eastern Hampshire County, West Virginia, United States, along the Northwestern Turnpike ( U.S. Route 50), approximately west of Winchester, Virginia. The population was 418 at the 2020 census. Originally known as "Gle ...
.
Springfield Grade Road was originally known as the Great Wagon Road or Great Wagon Turnpike that connected
Winchester
Winchester is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs Nation ...
,
Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
to
Cumberland
Cumberland ( ) is a historic county in the far North West England. It covers part of the Lake District as well as the north Pennines and Solway Firth coast. Cumberland had an administrative function from the 12th century until 1974. From 19 ...
,
Maryland
Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Later, in the 18th century, the wagon road became known as the Springfield Grade and when county routes were established in West Virginia in the 1920s, the road was signed as Springfield Grade Road. From Springfield to
Slanesville on
West Virginia Route 29
West Virginia Route 29 is a north–south state highway located in the Eastern Panhandle of West Virginia. The southern terminus of the route is at West Virginia Route 55 and West Virginia Route 259 (Corridor H) in Baker, Hardy County. The n ...
(then
West Virginia Route 45
West Virginia Route 45 (WV 45) is a state highway in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The state highway runs from the Virginia state line near Glengary east to WV 230 and WV 480 in Shepherdstown. WV 45 connects the communities of Glengary a ...
), Springfield Grade was County Route 3. From Slanesville to the village of
North River Mills, the grade was County Route 45/20. And finally, from North River Mills to Capon Bridge, the grade was County Route 15.
In 2003, the Hampshire County 911 Center was given the responsibility of completing a database of Hampshire County roadnames to ensure that there were no duplicate names that would interfere with emergency services and the county's new addressing system. It was decided that because Springfield Grade Road was made up of several Secondary Routes, it would be divided and renamed. On the section of Secondary Route 3 between Springfield and Points, the grade was renamed Springfield Pike. The remainder of County Route 3 between Points and Slanesville was renamed Slanesville Pike. County Routes 45/20 and 15 were renamed Cold Stream Road between Slanesville and Capon Bridge.
Today, while the newly assigned addresses to the residents living on the old Springfield Grade Road reflect the road's newly minted names, the people of Hampshire County continue to refer to it as Springfield Grade.
Transportation in Hampshire County, West Virginia
Pre-freeway turnpikes in the United States
Turnpikes in West Virginia