Jersey Shore Pike
Sweden Township, Potter County, Pennsylvania
Marker Inscription
Lymansville was the north terminus for the early pack trail and wagon road south to Jersey Shore. In 1834 a Turnpike toll road was completed between the two points. For many years it was a major trade route.
Erected by Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission
The Story
Long before paved highways, goods and travelers moved over rough pack trails and wagon roads carved through the mountains. Lymansville served as the northern end of the route running south to Jersey Shore, and in 1834 a turnpike toll road finally linked the two towns. For decades this pike was a vital trade artery threading through the rugged Pennsylvania highlands.
Why it matters
Early turnpikes like this one knit isolated frontier settlements into the commercial life of the young nation, one toll gate at a time.
Own a business near here? Add it to the map.
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
Allegheny River
Allegany Township, PA ¡ est. 1947
High in Potter County rises the modest headwater of the Allegheny, a river whose importance far outstrips its quiet source. For centuries it carried Native travelers, and later French and British traders and westward-bound settlers, deep into the interior. Winding hundreds of miles to Pittsburgh, it joins the Monongahela to form the mighty Ohio, one of the great arteries of the American continent.
Allegheny Portage
Port Allegany, PA ¡ est. 1949
Here the waters of two great river systems nearly meet, and travelers long exploited the gap. The roughly 23-mile Allegheny Portage carried canoes and cargo overland from the West Branch of the Susquehanna, up Portage Creek to a "canoe place" near this point, where boats could be relaunched down the Allegheny toward the Ohio country. Native people and, later, pioneers used this crossing to move between the eastern and western drainages of Pennsylvania.
Port Allegany
Port Allegany, PA ¡ est. 1948
Where the overland route from the Susquehanna met navigable water, early travelers reached the spot they called "Canoe Place" and traded foot travel for the current. The settlement that grew here thrived on the twin frontier industries of lumber and tanning, drawing on the region's vast forests. By about 1840 it had taken the descriptive name Port Allegany, marking its role as a gateway between valleys.
Port Allegany
Port Allegany, PA ¡ est. 1948
Where the overland route from the Susquehanna met navigable water, early travelers reached the spot they called "Canoe Place" and continued their journey by boat. The community that took root here grew on lumbering and tanning, industries fed by the surrounding forests, and became a busy transfer point for people and goods. Around 1840 it adopted the fitting name Port Allegany.