Three Notch'd Road
{{Short description|Colonial-era route across Virginia}}
{{for|the road in Alabama|Three Notch Road}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=September 2019}}
File:Three Notch'd Road Short Pump.jpg]]
Three Notch'd Road (also called Three Chopt Road) was a colonial-era major east-west route across central Virginia. It is believed to have taken its name from a distinctive marking of three notches cut into trees to blaze the trail.{{cite web|url=http://www.charlottesville.org/Index.aspx?page=1978|title=Three Notch'd Road|work=Charlottesville.org|accessdate=April 16, 2015}} By the 1730s, the trail extended from the vicinity of the fall line of the James River at the future site of Richmond westerly to the Shenandoah Valley, crossing the Blue Ridge Mountains at Jarmans Gap.{{cite web|url=http://www.virginiadot.org/VTRC/main/online_reports/pdf/76-r32.pdf |format=PDF |title=The Route of the Three Notch'd Road : A Preliminary Report |publisher=Virginiadot.org |accessdate=April 16, 2015}} In modern times, a large portion of U.S. Route 250 in Virginia follows the historic path of the Three Notch'd Road, as does nearby Interstate 64.{{cite web|url=http://www.3chopt.com/pdf/ThreeChoptRoad.pdf |format=PDF |title=The Route of the Three Notch'd Road : A Preliminary Report |publisher=3chopt.com |accessdate=April 16, 2015}}
Jack Jouett's Ride
During the American Revolutionary War, a young Virginian named Jack Jouett is credited with an epic nighttime ride by horseback. He sounded a warning alert at Monticello and the town of Charlottesville of secretly approaching British troops seeking to capture the Governor of Virginia and key members of the Virginia General Assembly. Portions of Jouett's famous ride took place on the Three Notch'd Road.
In late May 1781, after General Benedict Arnold, who had defected to the British, had attacked the Virginia capital of Richmond, Governor Thomas Jefferson and Virginia's legislature, including Patrick Henry, Richard Henry Lee, Thomas Nelson, Jr., and Benjamin Harrison V fled to Charlottesville, Virginia[http://www.ushistory.com/jjrguide.htm ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070808165920/http://www.ushistory.com/jjrguide.htm |date=August 8, 2007 }} (Jefferson's home, Monticello, was nearby). Learning of this, British General Charles Cornwallis ordered Lieutenant Colonel Banastre Tarleton to ride to Charlottesville and capture them. On June 3, with 180 cavalrymen and 70 mounted infantry of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Tarleton left his camp on the North Anna River, marching his force covertly. With a fast maneuver designed to catch the politicians completely unaware, he had planned to cover the last {{convert|70|mi|-1}} in 24 hours.[http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1961/1/1961_1_56.shtml] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100625060949/http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/ah/1961/1/1961_1_56.shtml |date=June 25, 2010 }}
Captain Jack Jouett of the Virginia Militia,{{cite web|url=http://www.history.org/Foundation/journal/Summer06/ride.cfm |title=Captain Jack Jouett's Ride to the Rescue : The Colonial Williamsburg Official History & Citizenship Site |publisher=History.org |date=November 5, 2009 |accessdate=April 16, 2015}} then twenty-seven years old, was asleep on the lawn of the Cuckoo Tavern (or by another account at his father's house) in Louisa County, Virginia that night when he heard the sound of approaching cavalry and spotted Tarleton's British cavalry.{{cite web|url=http://americanrevolution.org/jouett.html |title=Jack Jouett |publisher=Americanrevolution.org |date= |accessdate=April 16, 2015}} Jouett was acutely aware of the military situation; his father and brother Matthew were also captains in the Virginia Militia, as was brother Robert in the Continental Army. He correctly suspected that the cavalry were marching to Charlottesville, where he knew that the legislature was completely undefended. Realizing the only hope for Jefferson and the legislators was advanced warning in time to escape, Jouett quickly mounted his horse, a bay mare named Sallie,[http://www.ushistory.com/story_jack.htm ] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227003412/http://www.ushistory.com/story_jack.htm |date=February 27, 2009 }} and, as the British paused for a 3-hour rest, began the {{convert|40|mi|-1|adj=on}} ride. Lit by a full moon, he had to ride fast enough to beat the British and warn the Virginians. Reaching Monticello about 5:00 AM, Jouett warned Governor Jefferson, and then went on to Charlottesville, where most of legislators were staying at the Swan Tavern, which was owned by Jouett's father. The legislators decided to flee west on the Three Notch'd Road, cross the Blue Ridge, and reconvene in Staunton, {{convert|35|mi}} away, in three days. Jouett's warning allowed most legislators to escape, but seven were caught. On the way west, as the British closed in, Jouett used a diversionary tactic to help General Edward Stevens, who was recovering from wounds he received at the Battle of Guilford Courthouse, escape.{{cite web |url=http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Jack-Jouett.html |title=Newspaper Article: Jack Jouett, the 'Paul Revere' of the South, Rode to Save Jefferson |publisher=Richmondthenandnow.com |accessdate=April 16, 2015 |url-status=usurped |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20110927125108/http://richmondthenandnow.com/Newspaper-Articles/Jack-Jouett.html |archivedate=September 27, 2011 }} Recognizing their debt to Jouett, the legislature passed a resolution on June 15, 1781 to honor him, and "Jack Jouett's Ride" became a legendary portion of Virginia's history.
Marquis de Lafayette
Late in the Revolutionary War, Marquis de Lafayette, the General commanding the French troops supporting the Continental Army, camped in Albemarle County along the Three Notch'd Road at Giles Allegre's Tavern (Later named Lafayette Hill Tavern, {{coord| 37.988085|N|78.31379|W}}) on Mechunk Creek while guarding important munitions stored at the Old Albemarle County Courthouse located at Scottsville on the James River.{{cite web|url=http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM53BA |title=Three Notch'd Road - Virginia Historical Markers on |publisher=Waymarking.com |date= |accessdate=April 16, 2015}}
U.S. Route 250
File:Three Notched Road Map.png
Much of the current U.S. Route 250 (established in the 1930s) from Short Pump in Henrico County west to Crozet in Albemarle County closely follows its path. In the City of Charlottesville, which was established near the headwaters of the Rivanna River, West Main Street and part of University Avenue near the University of Virginia follow its original course. In the 1960s and 1970s, Interstate 64 was completed nearby, also closely paralleling the Three Notch'd Road.
In Henrico County, Richmond
Another portion of the old road, now known as Three Chopt Road, runs from Short Pump through western Henrico County and the City of Richmond, ending at the former unincorporated town of Rio Vista at the intersection of State Route 147. Research by the Henrico County Historical Society revealed a map of Henrico County dated 1819 showing the road marked as "Three Chopped Road". Years later, they found the spelling of the road changed to Three Chopt on a map of 1853.{{cite web|url=http://www.henricohistoricalsociety.org/threechopt.html |title=Henrico County (Virginia) Historical Society - Henrico County's Three Chopt District |publisher=Henricohistoricalsociety.org |date= |accessdate=April 16, 2015}}
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
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- [http://www.virginiadot.org/VTRC/main/online_reports/pdf/76-r32.pdf "The Route of the Three Notch’d Road: A Preliminary Report"] (from the VDOT website)
- [http://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/WM53BA Virginia Historical Marker "Three Notch'd Road"]
Category:Transportation in Augusta County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Nelson County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Albemarle County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Charlottesville, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Fluvanna County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Louisa County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Goochland County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Henrico County, Virginia
Category:Transportation in Richmond, Virginia