Upper Road

United State] [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[United States Migration Internal|Migratio]  [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[US Migration Trails and Roads|Trails and Road]  [[Image:Gotoarrow.pn]  [[Upper_Road|Upper Road

The Upper Road or "Piedmont Road" splits off from the King's Highwa] at Fredericksburg, Virginia. It was roughly parallel to, but farther inland than the coastal [[King's Highwa] and more inland [[Fall Line Road until it rejoined that later road at Macon, Georgia. The Upper Road was especially popular among the Scots-Irish (or Ulster Irish) colonists who settled the backcountry mountains. In Virginia there is no modern equivalent road because reservoirs now cover the old trail. Interstate 85 is roughly the same as the Upper Road in the Carolinas. The length of the Upper Road from Fredericksburg, Virginia to Macon, Georgia was approximately 585 miles (940 km).

As roads developed in America settlers were attracted to nearby communities because the roads provided access to markets. They could sell their products at distant markets, and buy products made far away. If an ancestor settled near a road, you may be able to trace back to a place of origin on a connecting highway.

Historical Background
By the 1740s another road beside the Fall Line Road into the interior of Virginia and the Carolinas was needed. By 1748 the original trails were improved enough to be considered wagon roads. This set of trails came to be called the Upper Road or Piedmont Road and provided major access to interior farm lands. During the Revolutionary War these roads were important to both sides moving troops in the campaigns of the southern states.

Both the Upper Road, and the Fall Line Road ended at Macon, Georgia. In 1806 the federal government signed a treaty with the Creek Indians authorizing a "horse path" (mail route) through Indian land from Macon to New Orleans, Louisiana. The Creek Indians were postmasters along this extension to the west.

Route
Important Towns on the Upper Road (northeast to southwest)


 * Fredericksburg, VA
 * Amelia Court House, VA
 * Hillsboro, NC
 * Salisbury, NC
 * Charlotte, NC
 * Spartanburg, SC
 * Greenville, SC
 * Tugaloo, GA
 * Athens, GA
 * Macon, GA

Upper Road Counties

Overlapping routes. From about the Virginia-North Carolina border to Charlotte, the Upper Road and the Occaneechi Path followed the same route. From Salisbury to Charlotte, North Carolina the southern fork of the Great Valley Road was also the same as the Upper Road. And from Charlotte, North Carolina to Tugaloo, Georgia, the Upper Road followed the Lower Cherokee Traders' Path. For a map showing these overlapping trails see [[South Carolina Emigration and Immigration#Settlement_Patterns|South Carolina Emigration and Immigratio].
 * Virginia:  Fredericksbur], [[Spotsylvania County, Virginia|Spotsylvani], [[Louisa County, Virginia|Louis], [[Goochland County, Virginia|Goochland, [[Powhatan County, Virginia|Powhata], [[Amelia County, Virginia|Ameli], [[Nottoway County, Virginia|Nottowa], [[Lunenburg County, Virginia|Lunenbur], and [[Mecklenburg County, Virginia|Mecklenbur].
 * North Carolina:  Granvill], [[Orange County, North Carolina|Orang], [[Alamance County, North Carolina|Alamanc], [[Randolph County, North Carolina|Randolph, [[Davidson County, North Carolina|Davidso], [[Rowan County, North Carolina|Rowa], [[Cabarrus County, North Carolina|Cabarru], [[Mecklenburg County, North Carolina|Mecklenbur], [[Gaston County, North Carolina|Gasto].
 * South Carolina:  York, [[Cherokee County, South Carolina|Cheroke], [[Spartanburg County, South Carolina|Spartanbur], [[Greenville County, South Carolina|Greenvill], [[Pickens County, South Carolina|Picken], [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Ocone].
 * Georgia:  Stephen], [[Franklin County, Georgia Genealogy|Frankli], [[Madison County, Georgia Genealogy|Madiso], [[Clarke County, Georgia Genealogy|Clark], [[Oconee County, Georgia Genealogy|Ocone], [[Morgan County, Georgia Genealogy|Morga], [[Putnam County, Georgia Genealogy|Putnam, Jone], [[Bibb County, Georgia Genealogy|Bibb.

Connecting routes.

At the north end of the Upper Road three main roads converge at [[Fredericksburg, Virgini]:


 * [[King's Highwa] which connects Boston, Massachusetts to [[Savannah, Georgi]
 * Fall Line Road connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Montgomery, Alabam]
 * Upper_Road connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Macon, Georgi]

Trails that meet the Upper Road near Tugaloo, Georgia area include:


 * Savannah River
 * Lower Cherokee Traders' Path a pre-historic trail connecting the Lower Cherokee Village to the Catawba Indians ([[Charlotte, North Carolin)
 * Old Cherokee Path a pre-historic trail from the Lower Cherokee Village to [[Washington County, Virgini on the [[Great Valley Road]] (also known as the Great Indian Warpath)
 * Coosa-Tugaloo Indian Warpath was a pre-historic path that went toward [[Birmingham, Alabam]
 * Tugaloo-Apalachee Bay Trail was a pre-historic trail headed for the Florida panhandle and probably [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Luis_de_Apalachee Mission San Luis de Apalache
 * Augusta and Cherokee Trail was a pre-historic trail from Tugalo originally to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Savannah_Town,_South_Carolina Savannah Town, South Carolin and later [[Augusta, Georgi
 * Old South Carolina State Road 1747 a fork of this road apparently connected Tugalo, Georgia to [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fort_Prince_George_(South_Carolina) Fort Prince Georg, to [[Columbia, South Carolina|Columbi and to [[Charleston, South Carolin].
 * Fort Charlotte and Cherokee Old Path after 1765 followed the northeast side of the Savannah River from the Old Cherokee Path in [[Oconee County, South Carolina|Oconee Count] down to old Fort Charlott in northwest [[McCormick County, South Carolin
 * Upper_Road about 1783 (overlapping the Lower Cherokee Traders' Path) connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Macon, Georgi]
 * [[Unicoi Trail|Unicoi Turnpik] opened to a few European traders 1690, but the wagon road was not opened to settlers until 1813 from near Tugalo headed northwest to the [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Overhill_Cherokee Overhill Cherokee village and [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knoxville,_Tennessee Knoxvill in [[Tennessee Genealogy|Tennesse

At the south end of the Upper Road it connects with:


 * Fall Line Road connecting [[Fredericksburg, Virgini] to [[Montgomery, Alabam]
 * Federal Horse Path which extends from Macon, Georgia toward New Orleans, Louisiana.

Settlers and Records
No lists of settlers who used the Upper Road are known to exist. However, local and county histories along the road may reveal that many of the first pioneer settlers arrived from places to the northeast along the route.

Most settlers would have moved from the northeast to the southwest along the Upper Road. People from Pennsylvania (especially around the major port city of Philadelphia), southern New Jersey, eastern Maryland, and northern Virginia would be the most likely starting places for early Upper Road travelers. They would have settled in places like Amelia Court House in southern Virginia. Eventually travelers also reached Hillsborough, Salisbury, and Charlotte, in North Carolina, or Greenville in South Carolina. The Georgia portion of the Upper Road from the important Indian settlement of Tugaloo to Athens, and Macon was opened to most white settlers after a series of treaties and Georgia land lotteries from 1790 to 1826.

Websites

 * The Upper Road (RootsWeb). Map, description, fact sheet.
 * The Old Upper Road, The Historical Marker Database.