Upper Road

United States   Migration    Trails and Roads    Fall Line Road

The Upper Road or "Piedmont Road" splits off from the King's Highway at Fredericksburg, Virginia. It is roughly parallel to, but farther inland than the coastal King's Highway 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.

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 into the interior of Virginia and the Carolinas was needed. By 1848 the original trails were improved enough to 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
Fredericksburg, VA Hillsboro, NC Salisbury, NC Charlotte, NC Spartanburg, SC Greenville, SC It passed through the current Virginia counties of Spotsylvania, Louisa, Goochland, Powhatan, Amelia, Nottoway, Lunenburg, and Mecklenburg. From the North Carolina line, it is nearly the same as Interstate 85 and continues into South Carolina.

Settlers and Records
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