Searching for an Ancient Road

In the search for the 1759-60 Crown Point Road, contemporary maps have been a good source for finding its general location. Those maps published in the late 1700’s are very rudimentary since there were few established townships then in the area later to be known as Vermont. A straight line drawn across the territory from the Connecticut River to Lake Champlain is little more than a tantalizing clue to the actual route.

Early town charters, surveys, lotting maps and deeds provide valuable information but details are often vague; for instance, a landmark may have been a tree stump or stone pile which has long since been lost to time.

Military documents such as maps, letters and journals provide some answers but also raise intriguing questions.

The remembrances of early settlers, passed down to their descendants, often contain useful information but are sometimes dismissed by modern-day researchers as hearsay. In the early 1900’s, when chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution and several townships were erecting markers for the road, it is possible that, in some cases, they may have relied on these recollections. However, without their efforts much of the road would have been lost and forgotten and most of the markers are well positioned.

A major breakthrough came about with the discovery of the works of early surveyors such as William Cockburn and Archibald Campbell. Cockburn and Campbell, surveying for the state of New York in 1771, carefully noted in their logs and on their maps the points at which they crossed the “old military road” or Road from No. 4. Utilizing their coordinates and description of landmarks, CPRA historian Al Ransom set about locating and documenting these points.

This research has been most valuable in establishing the original course of the Crown Point Road and its later branches as shown on the maps in the Crown Point Road Association’s publication, “Historical Markers on the Crown Point Road – A Driver’s Guide”. So, even centuries later, it is possible to locate an ancient road.  

The search continues. Expanding technology; including GPS mapping, GIS, remote sensing, and the ability to share information via web based mapping applications will continue to advance and refine the search for the trace of the old military road.

Click on the links below to view important points of interest and locate markers along the Crown Point Road in GOOGLE MAPS .

THE CROWN POINT ROAD – EMBARKATION & DESTINATIONS

CROWN POINT ROAD MARKERS – Melville 2008 GPS Survey