York and Gettysburg Turnpike Road - 1891 dated Pennsylvania Turnpike Stock Certificate

Stock. Early turnpike!

The York and Gettysburg Turnpike Road was constructed between 1818 and 1819 to replace an older colonial route historically known as the Great Road. Built by private investors at a cost of roughly $4,000 per mile, the infrastructure project aimed to capture the growing commercial shipping demands between the industrial hub of York and the strategic crossroads of Gettysburg. The road entered Gettysburg from the east, crossed the town's central square, and extended backward into western York County. To generate a return for local landowners and merchants who financed the project, the turnpike company established several private tollgates. These collection points were frequently shifted over the decades to prevent locals from using bypasses to evade fares, with one of the final active gates operating just east of Abbottstown.

The turnpike's role in American history shifted drastically in 1913 when the Lincoln Highway Association selected the route to form the Western York County segment of the nation's first coast-to-coast automobile highway. This monumental designation marked the transition of the corridor from a 19th-century wagon path into a 20th-century motor vehicle thoroughfare. The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania formally purchased the private toll road in 1918, absorbing it into the public state highway system. By 1926, federal highway standardization forced the removal of the original turnpike and Lincoln Highway name signs, officially re-designating the corridor as US Route 30. Today, while a newer highway holds the Route 30 name, portions of the historic turnpike footprint remain visible as local driveways, agricultural landmarks, and segments of PA Route 462.