Program

NYS Historic

Subject

Industry & Commerce, Site, Transportation

Location

Western Ave & Highwood Cir, Westmere, NY 12203, USA

Lat/Long

42.695278, -73.88138

Grant Recipient

Guilderland Historical Society

The early nineteenth century saw a marked increase in the creation of turnpikes, or privately owned and managed roads that required a toll to travel on. Turnpikes were intended to solve the issue of road maintenance costs, which hindered westward expansion and travel inland.

One such turnpike, chartered as the Great Western Turnpike Company in 1799, was created to connect Albany, NY to Cherry Valley, NY. Per its original charter, the Great Western Turnpike Company was responsible for building a navigable passageway that would allow for improved travel from “the house where John Weaver now lives in the town of Water Vliet [sic] in the county of Albany following the State road westward to the house where John Walton now lives in the town of Cherry Valley in the county of Otsego…” The company was permitted to “erect a gate or gates as aforesaid be granted, the president and directors may appoint toll gatherers to collect and receive of and from all and every person or persons using the said road the tolls and duties…” to fund continuous repairs to the road for the safety and convenience of travelers.

The success of the Great Western Turnpike led to subsequent charters, including the 1803 Third Great Western Turnpike Charter, which extended the route to Cazenovia, NY and was completed in 1811. The Great Western Turnpike, later known as the Cherry Valley Turnpike, persevered despite general improvements in travel and widespread turnpike closures throughout the mid-nineteenth century. The former Toll Gate No. 2 was located nearby and employed a “gate keeper” or “gate tender” as late as 1875. By 1926, the turnpike was incorporated into U.S. Route 20.