Strasburg Road was an early road in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania

The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...

 connecting Philadelphia to Strasburg

Strasburg, Pennsylvania

Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It developed as a linear village along the Great Conestoga Road, stretching about two miles along path later known as the Strasburg Road...

 in Lancaster County

Lancaster County, Pennsylvania

Lancaster County, known as the Garden Spot of America or Pennsylvania Dutch Country, is a county located in the southeastern part of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, in the United States. As of 2010 the population was 519,445. Lancaster County forms the Lancaster Metropolitan Statistical Area, the...

. The route was surveyed by John Sellers and others in 1772-3 under the colonial administration of Governor Richard Penn

Richard Penn (governor)

Richard Penn, Jr. served as the Lieutenant Governor of the Province of Pennsylvania from 1771 to 1773, and was later a member of the British Parliament....

 and completed under the new administration of the independent state of Pennsylvania.
The route started at the "second ferry" on the Schuylkill River

Schuylkill River

The Schuylkill River is a river in Pennsylvania. It is a designated Pennsylvania Scenic River.The river is about long. Its watershed of about lies entirely within the state of Pennsylvania. The source of its eastern branch is in the Appalachian Mountains at Tuscarora Springs, near Tamaqua in...

, today's Market Street in Philadelphia, and went through West Chester

West Chester, Pennsylvania

The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...

, East Fallowfield Township

East Fallowfield Township, Chester County, Pennsylvania

East Fallowfield Township is a township in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,449 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the township has a total area of , all of it land....

, and Gap

Gap, Pennsylvania

Gap is a census-designated place and town in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with a zip code of 17527. The population was 1,611 at the 2000 census...

, before ending in Strasburg. Earlier roads travelled much the same route, including a Native American path in use as early as 1620.

Earlier routes

A road following much of the same route had existed at least since the 1750s, but the area around the road only began to develop as the state constructed, or re-constructed, the road in the 1790s.

The use of wagons on this road began as early as 1714 as it developed out of the earlier Great Minquas Path

Great Minquas Path

Great Minquas Path was a 17th-century trade route that ran through southeastern Pennsylvania from the Susquehanna River, near Conestoga, to the Schuylkill River, opposite Philadelphia. The 80-mile east-west trail was the primary route for fur trading with the Minquas people...

. Wagons on this road were the first to be called Conestoga wagon

Conestoga wagon

The Conestoga wagon is a heavy, broad-wheeled covered wagon that was used extensively during the late 18th century and the 19th century in the United States and sometimes in Canada as well. It was large enough to transport loads up to 8 tons , and was drawn by horses, mules or oxen...

s.

A Native American path, known as the Great Minquas Path

Great Minquas Path

Great Minquas Path was a 17th-century trade route that ran through southeastern Pennsylvania from the Susquehanna River, near Conestoga, to the Schuylkill River, opposite Philadelphia. The 80-mile east-west trail was the primary route for fur trading with the Minquas people...

went through much of the same area as early as 1620. Confusingly, there were several branches of this path, and it and some other early roads are also called the Conestoga Path or Conestoga Road. From the Susquehannock

Susquehannock

The Susquehannock people were Iroquoian-speaking Native Americans who lived in areas adjacent to the Susquehanna River and its tributaries from the southern part of what is now New York, through Pennsylvania, to the mouth of the Susquehanna in Maryland at the north end of the Chesapeake Bay...

 village near the confluence of the Susquehanna

Susquehanna River

The Susquehanna River is a river located in the northeastern United States. At long, it is the longest river on the American east coast that drains into the Atlantic Ocean, and with its watershed it is the 16th largest river in the United States, and the longest river in the continental United...

 and Conestoga River

Conestoga River

The Conestoga River, also referred to as Conestoga Creek, is a tributary of the Susquehanna River flowing through the center of Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.-Geography:...

s the path travelled east to European traders and early settlers on the Delaware River

Delaware River

The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...

. The path went east from the Conestoga to the area of the present day town of Willow Street

Willow Street, Pennsylvania

Willow Street is a census-designated place in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 7,258 at the 2000 census. In the early part of the 20th century the main thoroughfare in town was lined with Willow trees on both sides for the length of the town. The community received...

, then Strasburg

Strasburg, Pennsylvania

Strasburg is a borough in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania, United States. It developed as a linear village along the Great Conestoga Road, stretching about two miles along path later known as the Strasburg Road...

, and Gap

Gap, Pennsylvania

Gap is a census-designated place and town in Salisbury Township, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania with a zip code of 17527. The population was 1,611 at the 2000 census...

, then entered present day Chester County

Chester County, Pennsylvania

-State parks:*French Creek State Park*Marsh Creek State Park*White Clay Creek Preserve-Demographics:As of the 2010 census, the county was 85.5% White, 6.1% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American or Alaskan Native, 3.9% Asian, 0.0% Native Hawaiian, 1.8% were two or more races, and 2.4% were...

. There it continued east via Atglen

Atglen, Pennsylvania

Atglen is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,406 at the 2010 census.-Geography:Atglen is located at ....

, Parkesburg

Parkesburg, Pennsylvania

Parkesburg is a borough in Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,593 at the 2010 census. The Zip code is 19365.-History:...

, Mortonville, and West Chester, crossed into Delaware County

Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Delaware County is a county located in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. As of 2010, the population was 558,979, making it Pennsylvania's fifth most populous county, behind Philadelphia, Allegheny, Montgomery, and Bucks counties....

 and there led through Lima

Lima, Pennsylvania

Lima is a census-designated place in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 3,225 at the 2000 census. It is pronounced "LYE-ma."-Geography:Lima is located at ....

 and Rose Valley

Rose Valley, Pennsylvania

Rose Valley is a small but historic borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States. Its area is and the population was 944 at the 2000 census. It was settled by Quaker farmers in 1682, and later water mills along Ridley Creek drove manufacturing in the nineteenth century...

, where it could go south to Chester or east to Darby

Darby, Pennsylvania

Darby is a borough in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States, along Darby Creek southwest of downtown Philadelphia. It has a public library founded in 1743 and a cemetery more than 300 years old. The Quakers lived there early in the colonial era. Darby was settled about 1660 and was...

, and finally to Philadelphia. Parts of Pennsylvania Route 741

Pennsylvania Route 741

Pennsylvania Route 741 is a long state highway that runs through western and southern Lancaster County in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The eastern terminus is at Pennsylvania Route 41 in Gap...

 follow the path in Lancaster County, and parts of Pennsylvania Route 162

Pennsylvania Route 162

Pennsylvania Route 162 is a long state highway in southeast Pennsylvania. The western terminus of the route is at the Pennsylvania Route 82 / Pennsylvania Route 842 concurrency in Unionville, Chester County. The eastern terminus is at U.S...

 follow the path in Chester County. These modern roads are generally named "Strasburg Road" and are connected by smaller roads carrying street signs of "Strasburg Road" or "West Strasburg Road."

East of West Chester, the Minquas Path travelled well south of Pennsylvania Route 3

Pennsylvania Route 3

Pennsylvania Route 3 is a state highway located in the southeastern portion of Pennsylvania. The route connects West Chester with Philadelphia. The divided highway that comprises much of its route is the West Chester Pike, built as a turnpike by the Philadelphia and West Chester Turnpike Company...

, the West Chester Pike, which today carries traffic between Market Street in Philadelphia and Market Street in West Chester. The name Strasburg Road is not used today east of West Chester except for a short stretch of road which branches off of the West Chester Pike going east, named "East Strasburg Road". After about a mile, this road becomes Goshen Road, which goes east to Newtown Square

Newtown Township, Delaware County, Pennsylvania

Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania, United States . Newtown Township is the oldest township in Delaware County. The population was 11,700 as of the 2000 census.-History:...

.

Historic buildings

Due to the commercial use of Strasburg Road during the Colonial and Early Federal periods, at least twenty-three buildings or historic districts along the road have been listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

 in Chester County. From east to west, these are:

• West Chester Downtown Historic District 39°57′37"N 75°36′20"W includes Market Street, with a dozen individually listed buildings nearby
• Taylor-Cope Historic District 39°57′32"N 75°38′50"W
• Cope's Bridge 39°57′31.9"N 75°39′19.3"W
• Taylor House 39°57′27"N 75°39′40"W
• Marshallton Historic District 39°57′0"N 75°40′35"W
• Marshallton Inn 39°57′1"N 75°40′43"W
• Humphry Marshall House 39°57′2"N 75°40′54"W
• Baily Farm 39°56′55"N 75°42′11"W
• Mortonville Hotel 39°56′49"N 75°46′41"W
• Bridge in East Fallowfield Township 39°56′46"N 75°46′43"W
• Mortonville Bridge 39°56′47"N 75°46′47"W
• Rev. Joshua Vaughan House 39°57′3"N 75°48′54"W
• White Horse Tavern 39°57′2"N 75°49′11"W
• Robert Young House 39°57′2"N 75°49′13"W
• Drovers Inn 39°57′14"N 75°50′18"W
• Robert Wilson House 39°57′9"N 75°50′32"W
• Isaac Pawling House 39°57′21"N 75°50′55"W
• Harry DeHaven House 39°57′18"N 75°50′56"W
• Asa Walton House 39°57′20"N 75°51′16"W
• Philip Dougherty Tavern 39°57′40"N 75°51′42"W
• Philip Dougherty House 39°57′32"N 75°52′20"W
• Parkesburg National Bank 39°57′35"N 75°55′22"W
• Parkesburg School 39°57′40"N 75°55′14"W

In Lancaster County

• the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
  Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania
  The Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania is a railroad museum in Strasburg, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania.The museum is located on the east side of Strasburg along Pennsylvania Route 741...
  
  39°58′56"N 76°9′40"W, which contains 25 NRHP listed locomotives and train cars, and
• Strasburg Historic District 39°58′51"N 76°11′15"W

are located on Strasburg Road.