The Fayetteville and Western Plank Road was a

plank road A plank road is a road composed of wooden planks or puncheon logs. Plank roads were commonly found in the Canadian province of Ontario Ontario ( ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada.Ontario is located in the geog ...

from Fayetteville, NC to the Moravian settlement at

Bethania, NC Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and was most recently incorporated in 1995, upon the reactivation of the original 1838/1839 town charter. In 2009, Bethania celebrated the 250th anniversary of ...

. The road was constructed from 1851-1852 using funds raised by boosters and accompanying funds provided by the state of

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia a ...

. There were 80 such projects for internal transportation authorized by North Carolina by 1860, and this was the only one that reached its goals. Originally planned to go from Fayetteville to

Salisbury, North Carolina Salisbury is a city in the Piedmont region of North Carolina, United States; it has been the county seat of Rowan County since 1753 when its territory extended to the Mississippi River. Located northeast of Charlotte and within its metropoli ...

, the community in Salisbury was lukewarm to the plank road because they planned to lure a railroad to their community. Instead, the members of the

Moravian Church , image = AgnusDeiWindow.jpg , imagewidth = 250px , caption = Church emblem featuring the Agnus Dei.Stained glass at the Rights Chapel of Trinity Moravian Church, Winston-Salem, North Carolina, United States , main_classification = Proto-Pr ...

Salem, North Carolina Salem is a census-designated place (CDP) in Burke County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,218 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Hickory–Lenoir– Morganton Metropolitan Statistical Area. History The town of Sale ...

planned for the terminus in their town, and they raised sufficient stock investments to make this possible. The route was changed so that it went from Fayetteville to Carthage, North Carolina,

Ashboro, North Carolina Asheboro is a city in and the county seat of Randolph County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 25,012 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Greensboro–High Point metropolitan area of the Piedmont Triad and is home of the sta ...

and then to

High Point, North Carolina High Point is a city in the Piedmont Triad region of the U.S. state of North Carolina. Most of the city is in Guilford County, with parts extending into Randolph, Davidson, and Forsyth counties. High Point is North Carolina's only city that ex ...

. The plank road was stopped just outside the town limits because the Moravians did not want the sounds of wagons on the road to disturb their church services. The plank road was then continued north of town to

Winston, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

, and then west to

Bethania, North Carolina Bethania is the oldest municipality in Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States, and was most recently incorporated in 1995, upon the reactivation of the original 1838/1839 town charter. In 2009, Bethania celebrated the 250th anniversary of ...

, as its terminus. Travel from Salem to Fayetteville by two horses and a wagon cost about $2.25, and took four days. Travel by the much faster

Stagecoach A stagecoach is a four-wheeled public transport coach used to carry paying passengers and light packages on journeys long enough to need a change of horses. It is strongly sprung and generally drawn by four horses although some versions are draw ...

cost $9.00 one way and took about 18 hours. Plank Road historical marker

Because Fayetteville is at the head of the navigable waters of the

Cape Fear River The Cape Fear River is a long blackwater river in east central North Carolina. It flows into the Atlantic Ocean near Cape Fear, from which it takes its name. The river is formed at the confluence of the Haw River and the Deep River (North Ca ...

, it was planned to make Fayetterville a center for transportation for the eastern part of the state. Other projects included the Fayetteville and Raleigh Plank Road, Fayetteville and Center Plank Road (to Center, now re-named Norwood, North Carolina, the Fayetteville and Northern Plank Road, and the Fayetteville and Warsaw Plank Road, which would meet up with the Wilmington and Weldon Railroad. The cost of the road construction was about $1,300.00 per mile. Harnett County, North Carolina, was along the route. The only toll house in the county was at Round Top, North Carolina. The first toll keeper was Malcolm Clark, and his salary was $100.00 per year. During the mid-1850s, business on the toll-based road provided as much as $27,419.77 income in one year, but by the turn of the decade income no longer met maintenance costs and the road was unprofitable. However, the 129 mile long plank road opened up central North Carolina rural areas to larger markets and economic opportunities. But during the Civil War, the roads were not maintained and fell apart.Brown, Charlotte V. 2006
The Remarkable Potters of Seagrove: The Folk Pottery of a Legendary North Carolina Community
Sterling Publishing Company, Inc. Pages 13-14. The roadbeds continued to be used, even with a rough top, and the roadbeds were the basis for later transportation development.

References

External links

North Carolina History Project : Plank Roads

* ttps://web.archive.org/web/20070203005158/http://www.itpi.dpi.state.nc.us/counties/cumberland/cumberland/plankroads1.html Cumberland County History Sites : Plank Road
Randolph County History Sites : Plank Road

Visit Historic Bethania, Western Terminus of the F&W Plank Road

Bibliography

st Psychological Operations Battalion ST, St, or St. may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Stanza, in poetry * Suicidal Tendencies, an American heavy metal/hardcore punk band * Star Trek, a science-fiction media franchise * Summa Theologica, a compendium of Catholic philosophy ...

1971. roduced by the 2d Psychological Operations Group, Fort Bragg, N.C. Illus., layouts and designs created by Graphics Department of the 1st PSYOP Bn. Historic trails and roads in North Carolina Plank road {{NorthCarolina-road-stub