Trace Widened To A Wagon Road
A few years later, the North Carolina legislature ordered widening and improvements to the Trace to upgrade it to a wagon road. They raised funds by a lottery. As a wagon road, however, the Trace still offered bone-jolting travel. Pioneers were advised to keep a close watch on their horses, which Native American hunters occasionally stole. The war over the territory had ended, so travelers no longer feared for their lives.
By the late 1790s, road conditions varied from "bottomless" to "fine and dry". Wagons often sank to their axles in mudholes. At places the Trace was covered with stone slabs, which made it difficult for horses. Much of the way was passable only on foot. Rivers and streams had to be forded. At Spencer's Mountain, the road became very steep and full of rock slabs. It was reportedly so bad that wagons could not go down the mountain without the brakes on all wheels and with a tree hung on behind to slow them down. The mountain top was said to be "quite denuded of trees."
Read more about this topic: Avery's Trace
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