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Tollgate Sign, 1814-1816
Peru, Vermont
Wood, paint
Gift of Stoddard Bates, 1923.16
Turnpikes were an 18th and 19th century answer to the problem of building difficult-to-maintain roads in rural New England. States could charter companies with private shareholders to build and maintain roads with the understanding that those companies could then charge tolls to travel on the roads. Such companies were rarely as profitable as their investors had hoped, but they did connect communities and achieve several innovations in road building and maintenance.
The Peru Toll Road, chartered in 1814, was the last road in New England with a true toll-gate; travelers in 1914, one hundred years after its creation, still had to stop and pay a toll to the private owner. It was purchased by the state soon afterwards.Label
The Peru Turnpike was the last private toll road in Vermont and ran from outside of Manchester Depot to Peru. The turnpike was closed in 1916 after operating for 102 years. The sign dates from the early 1800s.