Early Pikes and Rails of the Mid-Atlantic States

This work addresses the early turnpikes and railroads in the Mid-Atlantic States. A previous book (Early Canals of the Mid-Atlantic States) focused on the canals in this region. In a fifty-year period in the early nineteenth century the country developed three effective transportation technologies and moved relatively seamlessly between them. The impact and consequences of these on the country's development and expansion were profound. Transportation venues over that time period can be separated into three eras, all with soft dates: the turnpike era from 1792-1845, followed by the canal era from 1794 to 1855, and finally the railroad era from 1828 to 1873.