Conestoga Road, also called "Conestoga Pike" or "Allegheny Path", is a historic road dating from at least 1684 in what is now the U.S. state of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

. It starts as Allegheny Avenue in

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

to the west through Morgantown,

Harrisburg Harrisburg is the capital city of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Dauphin County. With a population of 50,135 as of the 2021 census, Harrisburg is the 9th largest city and 15th largest municipality in Pe ...

and west towards the Allegheny Valley. Originally the road was a walking path that was 12-18 inches in width. During the era of horse drawn Conestoga wagons, the road was widened. During most of its existence as a

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 ...

, it served as the alternate route to the Lancaster Pike and Ridge Road (present day Pennsylvania Route 23). The route gained notoriety as the shortest route from Philadelphia to Harrisburg.

Route description

Conestoga Road passing by Bryn Mawr Hospital as County Line Road, 220px, right From Philadelphia, the road follows modern-day Montgomery Avenue through Wynnewood, Ardmore, and Haverford. In Haverford, Conestoga Road then follows Old Lancaster Road in Bryn Mawr where it is briefly concurrent with

Lancaster Avenue Lancaster may refer to: Lands and titles *The County Palatine of Lancaster, a synonym for Lancashire *Duchy of Lancaster, one of only two British royal duchies *Duke of Lancaster *Earl of Lancaster * House of Lancaster, a British royal dynasty ...

(then called “the turnpike”) and follows Old Lancaster Road again past the Bryn Mawr Hospital to County Line Road, where it becomes Conestoga Road. In St. David’s, the road merges again with Lancaster Avenue before splitting back off as East and West Conestoga Road in Devon. The road merges back onto Old Lancaster Road and eventually back to Lancaster Avenue (Lancaster Pike) near the Daylesford train station. The road today is discontinuous at this point due to the road being useless between Berwyn and East Whiteland Township where today it traverses many local roads. Conestoga Road continues as

Pennsylvania Route 401 Pennsylvania Route 401 (PA 401) is a east–west state route in Berks and Chester counties, located in southeast Pennsylvania. The western terminus is at PA 23 in Caernarvon Township, across the county line from Elverson. The eastern ter ...

until Elverson. PA 401 WB past US 30

From Elverson, the road continues to Harrisburg and the Allegheny Valley according to sources. As a turnpike, the road was the fourth in Pennsylvania. Routing-wise, the road bypassed the town of Lancaster.

History

The Conestoga Road dates back to 1684, when the Allegheny Path ran from Philadelphia west to the Allegheny Valley; this path became known as the Conestoga Pike or Old Conestoga Road. The path was used by the Susquehannock and other Native American tribes to trade with people in Philadelphia in the 1700s. The eastern section of the road closer to Philadelphia was improved by settlers of the Welsh Tract. A road petition was granted in 1718 to improve a portion of the road in present-day Chester County. The Conestoga Pike was incorporated in 1811 as a

. The turnpike was wide to carry wagon traffic. The Little Conestoga Turnpike Company was formed in 1809 to construct a turnpike from the Lancaster Pike west to the base of the Welsh Mountains near Morgantown, where connecting turnpikes would continue west to Lancaster. The turnpike, which was built to be wide, was completed in 1819. The turnpike was not profitable and after 30 years the Little Conestoga Turnpike Company was disbanded and the toll gates were removed.

References

{{coord, 40.02880, -75.35920, type:landmark_globe:earth_region:US-PA, display=title Roads in Pennsylvania Auto trails in the United States 1684 establishments in Pennsylvania