Boydton and Petersburg Plank Road

The mud and sorry conditions of the roads in the area reduced farm products by one fourth of their value due to delays and damage to the wagon cargoes.

Pine and oak planks, 8 feet [2.4 m] long, 1 foot [0.30 m] wide and 3 to 4 inches [7.6 to 10.2 cm] thick were laid across paralleled beams slanted toward a ditch.

The all-weather toll road increased the transportation of crops to market and also carried stagecoach traffic between Boydton and Petersburg.

The road was constructed of pine and oak planks eight feet [2.4 m] long, one foot [0.30 m] wide, and three to four inches [7.6 to 10.2 cm] thick laid across parallel beams, slanted slightly to improve drainage.

By 1860 the road, except for an 1856 extension to Clarksville, was declared unsafe, due to heavy wear, poorly suited untreated lumber, and the collapse of the Meherrin River Bridge.