The Mountain Road Lottery was a project conceived in 1767 by

George Washington George Washington (February 22, 1732, 1799) was an American military officer, statesman, and Founding Father who served as the first president of the United States from 1789 to 1797. Appointed by the Continental Congress as commander of ...

, Captain

Thomas Bullitt Thomas Bullitt (1730 – February 1778) was a United States military officer from Prince William County, Virginia and pioneer on its western frontier. Early and family life Thomas was born to Benjamin and Sarah (Harrison) Bullitt in 1730 in Princ ...

, and others. Captain Bullitt had served with Washington in the

Virginia Regiment The Virginia Regiment was formed in 1754 by Virginia's Royal Governor Robert Dinwiddie, as a provincial corps. The regiment served in the French and Indian War, with members participating in actions at Jumonville Glen and Fort Necessity in 1754, ...

during the

French and Indian War The French and Indian War (1754–1763) was a theater of the Seven Years' War, which pitted the North American colonies of the British Empire against those of the French, each side being supported by various Native American tribes. At the ...

(1754–1763). The idea was to build a road through the

Allegheny Mountains The Allegheny Mountain Range (; also spelled Alleghany or Allegany), informally the Alleghenies, is part of the vast Appalachian Mountain Range of the Eastern United States and Canada and posed a significant barrier to land travel in less devel ...

in Virginia and to construct a resort in the area now known as The Homestead,

Hot Springs, Virginia Hot Springs is a census-designated place (CDP) in Bath County, Virginia, United States. The population as of the 2010 Census was 738. It is located about southwest of Warm Springs on U.S. Route 220. Hot Springs has several historic resorts, f ...

. George Washington was involved in many lotteries throughout his life. The Mountain Road Lottery failed, in part due to there being numerous other lotteries at the time, and that the King then banned all lotteries in 1769. However, Captain Bullitt eventually went ahead with the plan, and the resort became a reality without the aid of the lottery or George Washington. The lottery tickets which were signed by George Washington became collector's items. There are about 25 known tickets in various libraries, etc. The latest price of one being sold was for $13,500 in 2006. George Washington's diaries contain several entries concerning Captain Bullitt and the sale and distribution of the Warm Springs Mountain Road Lottery tickets. One notable credit entry dated January 1, 1770, remarks "Tickets that it is presumed will not be sold - but are not yet returned."Ron Shelley, ''The Lottery Encyclopedia'' (1986) Advertisements for the lottery were placed in ''

The Virginia Gazette ''The Virginia Gazette'' is the local newspaper of Williamsburg, Virginia. Established in 1930, it is named for the historical ''Virginia Gazette'' published between 1736 and 1780. It is published twice a week in the broadsheet format. Historical ...

'' that offered 6,000 tickets to be sold at one pound each. 85% of the money was to be paid out in the form of prizes, and the remainder kept for the project. Unlike today's lotteries, people would not accept the lottery sponsors making large profits. On February 21, 1771, Captain Bullitt placed a notice in ''The Virginia Gazette'' that notified Washington and others that the "Hot Springs, Augusta County" project agreement between them was rescinded. The road was never built with this lottery endeavor. However, the Mountain Road was built in 1772 when the Virginia legislature voted a sum of 300 pounds for the purpose of "clearing a safe and good road from the Warm Springs in Augusta County to Jennings Gap." That road is now part of Virginia Routes 629 and 39 from Jennings Gap into Warm Springs Valley, site of the famous Homestead Hotel. Bullett went on alone and later built the road and spa in Hot Springs. The general idea behind the project was to build a resort similar to that with hot springs in

Bath, England Bath () is a city in the Bath and North East Somerset unitary area in the county of Somerset, England, known for and named after its Roman-built baths. At the 2021 Census, the population was 101,557. Bath is in the valley of the River Avon, ...

. Augusta County in Virginia eventually was renamed Bath County, and is the home to a magnificent resort and numerous hot springs. The historical reference to the Mountain Road Lottery as being a project to head west by Washington is incorrect. This was a commercial lottery venture that never got off the ground. When Eric Bender (Tickets To Fortune, 1938) made the incorrect statement that George Washington's Mountain Road Lottery "was to build a road over the

Cumberland Mountains The Cumberland Mountains are a mountain range in the southeastern section of the Appalachian Mountains. They are located in western Virginia, southwestern West Virginia, the eastern edges of Kentucky, and eastern middle Tennessee, including the ...

," he had no idea that his unsubstantiated conclusion would find its way into the

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

, and thus become an erroneous reference source for lottery historians. A complete history and research article written by Ron Shelley appeared in ''Lottery Players Magazine'' in 1989. Part of that research appears in the promotional book and brochure issued by '' The Homestead Resort and Hotel'' in

. A lottery ticket from the Mountain Road Lottery was featured on

History History (derived ) is the systematic study and the documentation of the human activity. The time period of event before the invention of writing systems is considered prehistory. "History" is an umbrella term comprising past events as well ...

Pawn Stars ''Pawn Stars'' is an American reality television series shown on History and produced by Leftfield Pictures. The series is filmed in Las Vegas, Nevada, where it chronicles the daily activities at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop, a 24 ...

at the World Famous Gold & Silver Pawn Shop in

Las Vegas, NV Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. The item appeared in Episode 19 of Season 2, "Chopper Gamble."

References

{{George Washington George Washington Colony of Virginia Lotteries