Pittsylvania County Road Orders 1767-1783

About the project

Road history projects undertaken by VTRC establish the feasibility of studies of early road networks and their use in the environmental review process.  This proposed volume marks the 33rd entry in the Historic Roads of Virginia series, initiated in 1973 by the Virginia Highway & Transportation Research Council (subsequently VTRC). Pittsylvania County Road Orders 1767-1783 will further the coverage of the early southern Virginia transportation records begun in the previously published Brunswick County Road Orders 1732-1749, Lunenburg County Road Orders 1746-1764, Amelia County Road Orders 1735-1753, and Halifax County Road Orders 1752-1767.

This volume covers the period of Pittsylvania County’s greatest extent, from its creation from Halifax County in 1767, through its division to create Henry County in 1777, and extending to the end of the Revolutionary War, which saw significant military contributions, including essential supply centers, in Pittsylvania. By the second half of the 18th century, Pittsylvania County contained important east-west and north-south transportation routes. The county’s early transportation records provide information relating to transportation connections not only with neighboring counties and other counties farther to the north, east and west in Virginia, but also with with neighboring North Carolina. This publication will have particular application to the cultural resource research relating to transportation projects in this area of southern Virginia.

If questions arise about early roads once a VDOT road improvement project is already underway (or nearly underway), primary historical research of this nature can take 6 to 12 months to complete. Therefore, this volume can be a source of potentially significant cost savings for VDOT, including the avoided costs of project delays and avoided consultant costs for cultural resource studies should questions arise. 

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