For over a year I have wanted to provide some history — so “the best way to get something done is to begin.” I will begin filling this section up in late 2012.
I have to get back here for sure…
A note found August 2021 on VT Digger, an on-line news source on the history of Burlington, Vermont. “Many roads were private turnpikes, where travelers paid a toll. Like taxes, the tolls were unpopular, so in some areas people constructed bypasses around the tollgates. On one route out of Burlington, a 5-mile bypass skirted the tollgate. These bypasses, where travelers could “shun” the turnpike’s toll, were called shunpikes. A Shunpike Road still exists just outside Burlington, in Williston. … The prospect of avoiding a toll must have been a powerful inducement for people to decide to cover the extra distance, given the period’s slow speed of travel.” – https://vtdigger.org/2021/08/08/then-again-quirky-and-curious-events-helped-to-create-burlington/?u=89658773b4&utm_source=VTDigger+Subscribers+and+Donors&utm_campaign=782c00865b-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2021_08_09_12_17&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_dc3c5486db-782c00865b-406989354
more soon, I promise – RAY
Shunpiking with Ray 