A plank road or puncheon is a dirtpath or road covered with a series of planks, similar to the wooden sidewalks one would see in a Western movie. Plank roads were wildly popular in the U.S. Northeast and U.S. Midwest in the first half of the 19th century. They were often built by turnpike companies. In English, dirt can refer to several things: Soil on the ground. ... The word path has a variety of meanings: a path is a route between two points. ... A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations. ... Plank may refer to many different things: A plank is a flat piece of timber, sawn and planed; it is technically distinguished from a board by its greater thickness, and should measure from 2 to 4 inches (~5 to 10 cm) in thickness and from 10 to 11 inches (~25... Broncho Billy Anderson, from The Great Train Robbery The Western movie is one of the classic American film genres. ... The U.S. Northeast is a region of the United States of America defined by the US Census Bureau. ... Midwest States (United States of America, ND to OH) The Midwest is a common name for a region of the United States of America. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ...
Plankroads were seen as a practical means for agricultural products to reach markets, since farmers could use their own vehicles and such roads were cheaper to construct than railroads.
The earliest plankroad to be chartered and surfaced in Wisconsin was built between Lisbon and Milwaukee in 1846.
Plankroads were typically constructed of wood planks two inches thick and eight feet long, which were nailed to four-inch-square stringers at a 90-degree angle.
The building of roads to open the country for settlement and military purposes was one of the first concerns of the settlers and the government.
Elisha Eldred, the president of the Watertown plankroad, and Eliphalet Cramer, a member of the board, were also members of the board of directors for the Milwaukee and Watertown railroad.
In 1863 the plankroad was depicted as being in wretched condition.
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