Highways to health and pleasure: the antebellum turnpikes and trade of the mineral springs of Greenbrier and Monroe Counties, Virginia

Abstract

Turnpike building in Greenbrier and Monroe counties coincided with the period of their springs' greatest development and prosperity. The development of both the springs and the turnpikes in this region reflected the cyclical nature of the national economy. The springs of Greenbrier and Monroe counties at the heart of the antebellum Virginia Springs Tour provided a seasonal internal marketplace for the region. Turnpikes were built primarily to connect these springs with each other and with the state's major road arteries through southwestern Virginia. Without other internal improvements prior to the Civil War, this region fared comparably with the rest of western Virginia and the state as a whole in their bid for state assistance for turnpikes. Generally turnpike investments at both the local and the state level provided better access to the springs. Though inextricably connected through the springs tour, Greenbrier and Monroe Counties fared differently in their struggle for internal improvements.