Strasburg Road was an early road in

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, ...

connecting

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

to Strasburg in Lancaster County. The route was surveyed by John Sellers and others in 1772-3 under the colonial administration of Governor Richard Penn and completed under the new administration of the independent state of Pennsylvania., p.719 The route started at the "second ferry" on the

Schuylkill River The Schuylkill River ( , ) is a river running northwest to southeast in eastern Pennsylvania. The river was improved by navigations into the Schuylkill Canal, and several of its tributaries drain major parts of Pennsylvania's Coal Region. It fl ...

, today's Market Street in Philadelphia, and went through West Chester, East Fallowfield Township, and Gap, before ending in Strasburg. Earlier roads travelled much the same route, including a Native American path in use as early as 1620.

Earlier routes

A road following much of the same route had existed at least since the 1750s, but the area around the road only began to develop as the state constructed, or re-constructed, the road in the 1790s. The use of wagons on this road began as early as 1714 as it developed out of the earlier '' Great Minquas Path''. Wagons on this road were the first to be called Conestoga wagons. A Native American path, known as the '' Great Minquas Path'' went through much of the same area as early as 1620. Confusingly, there were several branches of this path, and it and some other early roads are also called the ''Conestoga Path'' or ''Conestoga Road''. From the

Susquehannock The Susquehannock people, also called the Conestoga by some English settlers or Andastes were Iroquoian Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries, ranging from its upper reaches in the southern p ...

village near the confluence of the Susquehanna and

Conestoga River The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed August 8, 2011 tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the cente ...

s the path travelled east to European traders and early settlers on the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock (village), New York, Hancock, New York, the river flows for along the borders of N ...

. The path went east from the Conestoga to the area of the present day town of

Willow Street Willow Street is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,578 at the 2010 census. In the early part of the 20th century the main thoroughfare in town was ...

, then Strasburg, and Gap, then entered present day

Chester County Chester County may refer to: * Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States * Chester County, South Carolina, United States * Chester County, Tennessee, United States * Cheshire or the County Palatine of Chester, a ceremonial county in the North Wes ...

. There it continued east via Atglen, Parkesburg, Mortonville, and West Chester, crossed into Delaware County and there led through

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

and Rose Valley, where it could go south to Chester or east to Darby, and finally to Philadelphia.Map of the Great Minquas Path
Explorepahistory.com Parts of

Pennsylvania Route 741 Pennsylvania Route 741 (PA 741) is a state highway that runs through western and southern Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The western terminus is along Rohrerstown Road north of an intersection with Commercial Avenue near Ea ...

follow the path in Lancaster County, and parts of

Pennsylvania Route 162 Pennsylvania Route 162 (PA 162) is a state highway in southeast Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at PA 82/ PA 842 in Unionville, Chester County. The eastern terminus is at U.S. Route 322 Business (US 322 Bus.) in West Chest ...

follow the path in Chester County. These modern roads are generally named "Strasburg Road" and are connected by smaller roads carrying street signs of "Strasburg Road" or "West Strasburg Road." East of West Chester, the Minquas Path travelled well south of

Pennsylvania Route 3 Pennsylvania Route 3 (PA 3) is a state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route runs from U.S. Route 322 Business (US 322 Bus.) in West Chester east to PA 611 in Philadelphia. The route begins in downtown West C ...

, the West Chester Pike, which today carries traffic between Market Street in Philadelphia and Market Street in West Chester. The name Strasburg Road is not used today east of West Chester except for a short stretch of road which branches off of the West Chester Pike going east, named "Strasburg Road". After about a mile, this road becomes Goshen Road, which goes east to Darby Paoli Road, in Radnor Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania.

Historic buildings

Humphry Marshall House, State Route 162 (Strasburg Road) (West Bradford Township), Marshallton (Chester County, Pennsylvania)

Due to the commercial use of Strasburg Road during the Colonial and Early Federal periods, at least twenty-three buildings or historic districts along the road have been listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...

in Chester County.Jane Davidson, 1985, From east to west, these are: *West Chester Downtown Historic District includes Market Street, with a dozen individually listed buildings nearby *Taylor-Cope Historic District *Cope's Bridge *Taylor House *Marshallton Historic District *Marshallton Inn *Humphry Marshall House *Baily Farm *Mortonville Hotel *Bridge in East Fallowfield Township *Mortonville Bridge *Rev. Joshua Vaughan House *White Horse Tavern *Robert Young House *Drovers Inn *Robert Wilson House *Isaac Pawling House *Harry DeHaven House *Asa Walton House *Philip Dougherty Tavern *Philip Dougherty House *Parkesburg National Bank *Parkesburg School In Lancaster County *the

Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741. It is administered by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museu ...

, which contains 25 NRHP listed locomotives and train cars, and *Strasburg Historic District are located on Strasburg Road.

Earlier routes

Historic buildings

References

Further reading