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] ] The Barre Turnpike was one of over 60 toll roads in operation throughout Massachusetts in the first half of the 19th century. As described in the Act of Incorporation, February 5, 1822, the road ran
“Edward Goodenow’s” was a inn located on Goodnow Road in Princeton, Massachusetts approximately 1.5 miles (2.6 km) northwest of the center of Princeton. It is the present-day location of the (Wachusett Meadow Wildlife Sanctuary ) of the Mass Audubon. The turnpike era in Massachusetts began in 1796 with the incorporation of the First Massachusetts Turnpike which ran from Warren through Palmer to Wilbraham. However, by 1807 the turnpike movement in New England was passing its peak. After 1808 the number of charters granted and the mileage under construction declined.〔Parks, Roger N., “(Roads in New England, 1790-1840 )”, Old Sturbridge Village Research Paper, (1965)〕 == Petition to the Legislature == In spite of the fact that by the 1820s the turnpike era was nearing its end, the sponsors of a turnpike between Barre and Princeton felt justified in appealing to the Massachusetts State Legislature for an act of incorporation. In a letter in late January, 1821, to the Massachusetts Senate and the House of Representatives presented their justification:
They indicated that a county road had previously been proposed, but was rejected by the Worcester County Court of Sessions due to the “great expense” to the towns through which it would pass. Prior to the advent of the turnpike era, roads had been maintained through a system of labor conscription. Each rate payer owed the town a certain amount of time, generally two days each year, during which they could be called upon for road maintenance. This proved to be an unsatisfactory system.〔Taylor, Philip E. ''The Turnpike Era in New England'', Mss. Thesis in Yale University . (1934), p. 70〕 For a period of twenty years following the Revolutionary War, a tax-supported plan was authorized the Legislature. This required ”that each town…shall vote and raise such sum of money, to be expended in labour and materials on the highways and townways…”〔''Acts and Resolves of Massachusetts, 1786-87'', Chapter 81.〕 Following as it did a war based partly on issues of unfair taxation, this system also proved unpopular. Thus the idea of “user-supported” highways was an attractive alternative. To generate income for the maintenance of the Barre Turnpike, petitioners requested the “liberty to erect one gate on said road when made for the purpose of taking toll with such other privileges as are usually granted to Turnpike Corporations."〔 The “privileges” referred to were laid out in an “Act Defining the Powers and Duties of Turnpike Corporations”〔''Laws of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts'',( March 16, 1805)〕 The letter was signed by Seth Lee of Barre and “62 others”. The formal request for incorporation was presented to the Senate Committee on Turnpikes on January 27, 1821 and read by the House of Representatives two days later. In accordance with the Turnpike Act of 1805, the petition was published in two Worcester newspapers, the Masssachusetts Spy, and the (National Aegis ). 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Barre Turnpike」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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