James River and Kanawha Turnpike
The James River and Kanawha Turnpike was built to facilitate portage of shipments of passengers and freight by water between the western reaches of the James River via the James River and Kanawha Canal and the eastern reaches of the Kanawha River.
The canal was an expensive project which failed several times financially and was frequently damaged by floods. It was largely financed by the State of Virginia. After the American Civil War, when funds for continued financial help were not available from the worn-torn state or private sources, it finally succumbed to the competition, and was bought and dismantled by one of the railroads in the 1870s.
Much of the route of the James River and Kanawha Turnpike through West Virginia is today the Midland Trail, a National Scenic Byway. Ironically, while the historic road was long a turnpike financed through collection of tolls, today it is a toll-free favorite of shunpikers seeking either an avoidance of tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike, a scenic and bucolic interlude, or both.